Do you remember that feeling of pure joy after succeeding at a new math concept that you had battled with for days? That feeling of success is enough to take a student who struggles on a daily basis to a whole new level of positive self-esteem.
My students are wonderful little people with all of the potential I could ever ask for.
They are passionate and determined to succeed. They encourage each other to do well, stand out as leaders and individuals, and embrace each other's differences, strengths, and weaknesses. I teach 48 5th graders, all at different ability levels. I teach at one of the only schools in the parish that is not Title 1. This comes with many benefits, but also leads to struggles in other areas such as technology. We simply do not get extra funds. We are also the only K-8 school in the parish and share all of our technology with 9 different grade levels. We have very little to work with in an age where technology is highly utilized by both teachers and students.
My Project
My 5th grade students, especially the ones who struggle, are in need of more activities to aid them in the new math program that we have adopted in the parish. We have transitioned to the Common Core at a very fast pace, and there are many gaps in learning that have occurred. They have basically gone from 4th grade math to 6th grade math. We have available to us a program called Accelerated Math that helps students to focus on target areas that they are struggling with. They are able to move at a pace comfortable to them, utilize technology, and hold themselves accountable to their progress. Our goal is that some of these gaps in mathematical knowledge can become less wide, and even close. Over the years, I have witnessed the success of this program. My students and I are asking for ink because each set of practice problems and formal tests provided by the program require the printing and scanning of documents. We are asking for enough ink to last us for the rest of the year.
This project with most definitely help my students increase their mathematical knowledge.
More importantly, my students will feel much more confident in their abilities and hopefully will be able to take their confidence with them to middle school and beyond. My classroom with be a more cohesive environment as the students will always have an activity to work on at their ability level and can go at a pace they feel comfortable with.
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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. Lemoine and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.