Most high school students do not start their day with MC Hammer, but my kids are used to hearing an edited version that signals "Grammar Time." My juniors and seniors approach class knowing that they will learn and laugh.
My school serves students who are born into wealth and students who were born with nothing.
Each week, I have conversations with kids who are unsure whether or not they will have food to eat or a place to stay. I've watched kids cry as they commiserate with Huck Finn's difficult childhood and other kids explain that Jay Gatsby was chasing a false dream because money doesn't bring happiness.
Each year, I watch my students bond across lines that society tells them ought to divide. These 17 and 18 year old kids are still kids, still curious about other races, religions, and lifestyles.
My Project
A projector and document camera will make it possible for me to model reading and writing strategies immediately to my entire class.
Imagine reading a difficult poem and struggling to understand why your teacher and the academy thinks it's so important. Then, the teacher projects it onto the board, making notes as she reads aloud and you see how the repetition and the cadence can change your view completely.
Imagine projecting a recently collected SAT Essay to the whiteboard, with a post-it note covering the student name. Individual groups of students might make suggestions for word choice or syntax and students. The class as a whole could grade the essay according to a rubric and then revise their own work accordingly.
This might not seem idyllic to you, but it makes me giddy to think that my students and I will be able to immediately approach their concerns.
These donations will help build my classroom community and help my students become better readers and writers.
I have seen document cameras change neighboring classes for the better, and I look forward to watching my students grow and develop.
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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. Streza and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.