My classroom is one of my favorite places in the world to be - and that is entirely because it's where my students are! They are a passionate, funny, intelligent, and yes, noisy bunch that get so excited when they discover that learning can be fun. They love to have their voices heard, whether it be through discussion or writing, and they're almost always ready to offer up an opinion. Their favorite activities are always those that allow them to express themselves creatively or to debate their points with others.
We share an open classroom environment, and the students are as unique as the setting in which they learn.
Many of the kids at this urban, southeast Virginia K-8 school are children of military service members. Others grew up in the low income housing in nearby neighborhoods. Some have come recently to the area from other countries and are just learning English. Still others grew up with the Chesapeake Bay as their backyard. While they come from (sometimes wildly) different worlds, they find a home and belonging in the classroom. They bond together to create their own school culture that feels very much like a family.
My Project
Everyone hates a worksheet! My students appreciate the ability to use their creativity and problem solving skills in language arts, especially through technology. Unfortunately, our school has limited resources, and the computers we need to complete projects and learn deeply are not always available to us. Long wait times through testing windows or technology upgrades can sometimes derail our innovative projects.
These requested Samsung Chromebook laptop computers will allow my students to more authentically engage with language arts content.
They will build their own blogs and write, produce, and record podcasts to learn to communicate effectively with others different from themselves. They will utilize Google Apps, in particular Google Classroom, to become more collaborative learners while enjoying instantaneous teacher feedback. They will engage in genius hour projects that allow them to explore their own interests and discover the joy of learning something by choice. In a world that has an increasing demand for those that are digitally literate, these students will have the tools that they need to apply their content knowledge to real-world needs.
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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 Mrs. Ayala and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.