My students need a comfortable carpet and various seating options for our library and learning areas. This will provide a welcoming environment for reading and learning, allowing students to build stronger reading and classroom skills!
This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
My Students
Our vibrant 3rd grade classroom is filled with students who are fun-loving, optimistic, and bright learners, who attend school in an urban setting.
Students spend the first 20 minutes of each of our daily lessons on the carpet in front of our interactive SmartBoard; a guaranteed total of an two hours of carpet time a day.
Afterward, students return to their desks for independent practice and later return to the carpet to confer with the teacher or to work collaboratively with their peers. When students have completed their independent and group tasks, they are given permission to read at their desks or in the classroom library area.
My Project
A cozy corner allows students to see the classroom library and reading as a reward. According to education specialists, "A classroom library must be well designed to entice children to read..." (Fractor, Woodruff, Martinez, & Teale, 1993) The article goes on to explain that an inviting library corner significantly increased the number of students who WILLINGLY CHOSE to read during classroom free time. After making the decision to move our carpet from the library area to the front of the room for flexible seating, students no longer have the option to sit in a designated "library area." Students grab books and return to their seats during reading time. With a comfy carpet, bean bag chairs, and benches students have both a cozy library area and flexible seating options within the area.
"Students need comfortable options, but they also need choice." This quote comes from Erin Klein's "Brain-Based Classroom Redesigns." Research shows that students learn better when they are able to use the ENTIRE learning environment as they need and choose.
With these lap desks, students will have the option to learn from their desks or seated on the carpet in front of the room. Since the carpet has been removed from the library area and placed into the front of the room in front of the SmartBoard, students are eager to sit closer to the board, volunteer, and learn comfortably. As of now, students lean on either the few clipboards available to the class, or on notebooks from other subjects. These lap desks will allow students the choice of being closer to learning, flexible seating, and less strain on their bodies.
Please help to support and empower our scholars as readers and comfortable learners! :)
More than three‑quarters of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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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. Henderson and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
