Creating a Collaborative Community Center for Critical Thinkers
My students need a community rug space where they can collaborate and share ideas. Through partner talk and whole class discussion, we can build our classroom community and learn from each other.
Our classroom population is a perfect representation of the beautiful diversity of San Francisco. Mostly comprised of immigrant families, our classroom is a combination of children from many different countries all learning with and from each other. While 40% of the students come from Asian backgrounds, the remaining 60% mostly originate from Africa, Central and South America, as well as Western and Eastern Europe.
Although rich in heritage, a majority of our families are struggling with the high costs of living in San Francisco, with 62% of them qualifying for free and reduced lunch.
My Project
My students need a space where they can gather together to share ideas and collaborate. All students have unique learning styles with individual strengths and needs. Some learn best working alone at a desk, while others thrive in group situations. Having a central place such as a whole class size rug gives us a space to come together as a class during instruction and discussion time. Students of all types, especially second language learners benefit from pair-sharing and turn-and-talk techniques that can occur in a central meeting place.
A large rug provides a meeting space where we can gather to build community through class meetings and whole class discussions.
The bean bags are a wonderful incentive for reluctant readers who need a comfortable space to fully relax and immerse in their books.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. Partika and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.