Rome wasn't built in a day and neither is a child's word knowledge. Over 50% of our written materials are made up of sight words. Learning words helps readers build fluency and develops reading skills. It is essential for teachers to provide meaningful literacy centers to focus on these skills.
I have a class of 18 little curious, eager, quick-witted, and simply sweet and loving students.
It amazes me how they do what they do everyday. When I was their age, Kindergarten seemed like a piece of cake compared to what is expected out of these 5 and 6 year olds in 2011. Gone are the days of cut, color, and paste, and as the years go by, the more is expected from our elementary school students. Even with all the demands these little guys and gals are facing, they come to school everyday and want to learn, want to achieve goals, and want to make me proud. Many of my students are on Free/Reduced Lunch and we are a Title I school. All I can hope for for my students is that I can provide the tools for them to help them academically and socially achieve the very best. My class gives to me every day and it would be nice to give to them tools that they need to grow as learners that I simply cannot afford.
My Project
With these resources I will be able to focus my centers around the areas that help build the reading skills they need to flourish in the primary grades. Hands on materials and manipulatives help teach students by having them do it and use the skills they are taught by the teacher. Sure, I can teach a lesson on sight words, but without real world practice how much of the lesson is that student really going to retain for future use? These materials I am asking for donations for will help build my centers around hands on learning. Many students are not auditory learners and need to learn by visual and kinesthetic manipulatives. The use of these materials should help increase my students' word knowledge dramatically, which in turn will increase reading skills and fluency.
Short term: The students will enjoy learning more by having fun, engaging, learning centers.
Long term: The students will increase their word knowledge and in turn will increase their reading level. I have seen with a bigger word knowledge many of my students in the past have left Kindergarten reading on a 1st and 2nd grade reading level.
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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. Clark and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.