From Snapshots to Strategy: Empowering Girls Through Play
Help me give my students games for engaging brain breaks and digital cameras for the opportunity to capture their first year of middle school!
$997 goal
This project expired on September 19, 2025.
This project expired on September 19, 2025.
My Project
At my school, we have a class block called "Academic Enrichment." Each teacher is encouraged to use that time to engage in creative lessons that take learning beyond pencil and paper. This year during my Academic Enrichment classes, we focused on Project-Based-Learning; my students made menus to accompany our novel study, suffragette postcards during our study of the fight for women's rights, and most adored by students, we played board games. When the year started, the board games were a great way to break the ice with anxious, newly-minted sixth-grade girls. Chinese Checkers, in particular, has become a classroom favorite.
Having weekly board game sessions lets students know that while school should be rigorous, learning happens in all types of ways.
A hush comes over the girls when they see Chinese Checkers on the tables; they're ready to lock-in and secure bragging rights for the week. Playing Chinese Checkers has helped build my student's strategic thinking and problem solving skills. Our board game time allows students to still use their brains, but in a competitive, engaging way beyond traditional learning. UNO and The Game of Life bring a different vibe to the classroom (it's impossible for a middle school classroom to be quiet while playing UNO), but still allow students to practice strategic thinking and maybe most importantly to them, gain some bragging rights. These games are so popular that we need more sets of Chinese Checkers and UNO and Game of Life so more students can participate.
We are a no-phones school, so digital cameras will all students to document their first year of middle school from their unique perspectives. Our team would like to use the digital cameras as a behavior incentive; if a student is on-task, getting their work turned in, and being respectful, they will earn a "press pass" to document the happenings of the hallway.
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
120 students impacted
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Polaroid - 16MP Waterproof Digital Camera - Red
• Best Buy Education
$49.99
10
$499.90
Pressman Chinese Checkers, Pack of 3 (PRE190206-3)
• Quill.com
$35.36
5
$176.80
Mattel UNO Card Game - Classic Family and Classroom Game for Kids Ages 7+, Educational Card Game for Number Recognition, Color Matching, and Strategic Thinking - 2-10 Players, Ideal for Home or School
• Kaplan Early Learning Company
$8.96
5
$44.80
Hasbro The Game of Life Goals Card Game - Quick-Playing Family Game for 2-4 Players Ages 8 and Up
• Amazon Business
$5.19
5
$25.95
Materials cost
$747.45
Vendor shipping charges
FREE
Sales tax
$58.30
3rd party payment processing fee
$11.21
Fulfillment labor & materials
$30.00
Total project cost
$846.96
Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms
$149.46
Total project goal
$996.42
Our team works hard to negotiate the best pricing and selections available.
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 Ms. Sidney McCurry and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.