I teach English to high school seniors with varying post-secondary plans including four-year universities, community colleges, technology schools, and military branches. My student goals include keeping students engaged and improving writing for publication through drafting, peer reviewing, and revising; these are skills all of my students will need for their future educational endeavors.
Our school is located in a small town with a diverse and integrated rural/urban population.
A substantial percentage of our students are part of Hartford's Open Choice program, and about 40% of our students receive free/reduced lunch. Our school recently received recognition as #29 in Connecticut on US News & World Report's Best Schools.
My students are fantastic kids!
My Project
My students often disengage from revising their writing as they can become overwhelmed by areas in need of improvement; it then becomes too easy to consider their first drafts "good enough" and to submit it without edits.
When students can print and share their drafts with their peers for review and feedback, they see value in their writing and in the review process which, in turn, results in re-engagement in their learning.
Each student in the room must accept a role with a specific targeted area for review, so even disengaged students are motivated to participate as they must rely on each others' mastery of our lessons (grammar, MLA format, punctuation, style) for their feedback.
The revision process requires each student to perform targeted editing tasks which provides accountability and opportunity for improvement combined with student-to-student interactions. Additionally, students often choose the target area for which they most need reinforcement thereby personalizing their own instruction through the peer feedback process.
Having a printer in the classroom will be a helpful resource and save A TON of instructional time! Our school has provided laptops for every student, but our library-only printer access limits my students' abilities to publish their written work for assessment, peer review, and display. Additionally, most of my students do not have printers at home. A high-capacity, black and white printer will help support publications of their work while preserving instructional time.
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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. Kotula and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
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