I work in a school of 186+ ESOL students (our numbers are always growing) who live in high poverty. I would say I work with a very special population of students. These students are immersed into our school that is different from their culture and first language, yet they come eager to learn with a smile on their faces.
Vietnam, Guatemala, Mexico, China, Honduras--just a few of the places my students are from!
They bring so much diversity to our school. They are a valuable asset to what makes our school a great place to be!
My Project
My ESOL students participate in an annual language proficiency test to determine their language abilities and how they have progressed year to year. Having been in this position for a few years, I have noticed that a lot of my students have a hard time performing on the Speaking domain of the test. This domain is set up to have students receive information digitally, and then the student is to produce information orally back to the computer, through a microphone. Typically, the student is expected to answer in short answers, as well as retell a story. Students not only struggle with speaking to a computer, as it is an unnatural way to speak, they also do not have much experience with talking into handheld microphones.
I would like to provide my students an authentic opportunity to practice speaking to a computer, and to do so in a fun manner through digital storytelling.
For my project, I would like to set up a station in my classroom that would serve as part of our small group rotations. In this station, students would get on the laptop and use a microphone to access various websites that provide speaking practice for the students. Students will see models of storytelling by watching StorylineOnline.net, and then they will visit Storyjumper.com to produce their own version of the digital story they heard. This site will be a great resource since it enables children to add their voice to the books they create. I believe the laptop I have selected will be one that can withstand the use of 100+ students, through rotations, and also have the capacity to store all of their stories to the computer, instead of having the risk of losing their hard work by saving it in other places.
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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. Eskew and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
