Do you remember the boring busy work your teachers used to give you? Do you remember that special teacher that was able to make learning fun through exploration, games and hands-on practice? I want to be that kind of teacher. I want my students to feel successful and be excited about learning.
When teaching first graders you have many kids on many different levels.
Every year I have students with disabilities and special needs. These students need modifications to be taught in a way that engages them and catches their interest. Many are visual and tactile learners. They need to practice in more ways than with a paper and pencil. They need freedom and choices on a variety of levels to meet all their needs. Every student has strengths and weaknesses and needs to practice different skills.
We live in a community with many economic levels. Some kids come in high with involved parents who want their child to be challenged. Some kids come in very low with little parental involvement and low self esteem. Many students come with ADD, Autism, speech issues and learning disorders. Each year I try to meet the needs and different learning styles of each student. These games, centers and tools will be instrumental in helping me to achieve this task.
My Project
With hands-on activities and centers I can make learning exciting and fun for my students. With the math items, I can provide learning for all levels of students. I can help my struggling learners to see how numbers relate to each other and visualize why a math fact makes sense rather than just memorizing. I can challenge high students with higher level math games while I use other tools to work with my struggling students. I plan to use the dividers with seat games to cut down on distraction from others I may be working with.
All students deserve to continue to grow and achieve greater knowledge. I firmly believe in the importance of differentiating. Struggling students need activities on their level to feel successful and confident. This is the key to academic growth. My higher students can be pushed to not only learn more information, but to understand it more deeply and concretely. With the leveled reading centers I can achieve this goal with all of my students.
Research shows worksheets should be a thing of the past.
It is critical for students to be able to learn through exploration, visuals and hands-on practice. Learning should be challenging and fun. It should promote confidence and a desire to learn. I firmly believe in this principle and want to adjust my teaching accordingly. I do not have the means to provide the centers and hands-on activities that are so desperately needed. Please help me provide a meaningful education for my students!
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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. Wilcox and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
