My students need Dreambox, a mathematical program that will help each child develop a deep understanding of math. It's an adaptive program that teaches concepts and increases with difficulty as they master each concept.
Our school is affiliated with the International Baccalaureate Program. We strive to establish and maintain an educational community that empowers all students to become principled, independent inquirers who are socially responsible global citizens.
I love my students and their endless enthusiasm to learn and communicate what they have discovered.
They are 6-7 year old first graders, who have busy, hard working parents who want the best for their children. I work hard to partner with parents to help support their children in class and at home. I'm always looking for ways to engage and inspire my students to do their best.
They love to play learning games that are active on the iPad and Chromebooks in the classroom. Last year we started using code.org and the kids couldn't wait to show me how they were doing. When given the choice of center activities, they often choose the ones that involve technology. I just love to see them excited to use these educational programs.
My Project
After watching my own kids' enthusiasm and confidence for math blossom with the use of DreamBox I started to do some research. I set up demonstrations with DreamBox, I talked to numerous other parents and teachers that use this program and decided my students needed to have this program.
DreamBox is an adaptive interactive math program that allows all students to feel successful.
It starts the children at their level and then builds based on their progress. It allows kids who are ready, to do more advanced math. It gives those who need more assistance, the lessons that will help them grow. They have a choice of 4 different adventure themes. As they work through different math concepts they are given clues to help a character in their adventure story (i.e. given things to make a turtle sneeze so the pirate stuck in its belly can escape). To improve conceptual understanding students use a variety of virtual manipulates to "show their work" rather than click the answer. The program then analyzes the strategies they used to solved the problem and immediately adjusts the lesson and level of difficulty; scaffolding the students needs to strengthen or introduce new more complex concepts.
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. Smith and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.