"To teach is the art of assisting discovery." In my classroom, students and teachers work together to discover new knowledge, and to inspire each other to reach their fullest potential. By setting high expectations, and using peers and teachers as resources my students harness the power of language.
My school is a majority low income, very diverse setting.
My students are eager to try new things, and to explore various technologies. They are middle schoolers, so they are awkward, goofy, and fun. My building is a safe place where students can form relationships with teachers and peers. They love music, and food! Although some of them come from difficult backgrounds, each one of them means something to the building. With our building being small, we are able to treat students as individuals, so they can grow and achieve everything they set out to be. Our building fosters a sense of independence and strength in our students, that lets them know they can and will succeed.
My Project
I teach majority writing classes, so a document camera would be an invaluable asset to the classroom. With a document camera, I could have students display their work in the projector to model various changes they make on their drafts. Not only that, but I could help my visual learners by taking them step-by-step through formatting, and editing papers. At the end of units, students could show their work, and display it while they read to their peers. This would boost their confidence in their writing skills. I too could tap into this idea as I use many children's books as mentor texts. I could display the book while it is being read, and students could follow along, and get a better understanding of how the writing traits are being used in these mentor texts. Finally, it would reduce the numbers of copies needed for my class, as students could follow along on the projector, thus helping the environment, which is a quality I wish to instill in my students.
This would allow me to show and discuss with my students how my thoughts work when constructing a piece.
It would show them it is OK to make mistakes when you are writing, and encourage them to constantly evaluate the words they choose to get their point across. It would instill a sense of confidence, and willingness to take risks.
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
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. V. and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.