My fantastic students need Kaplan WhisperPhones to enhance their reading, speech, thinking, and writing skills.
FULLY FUNDED! Ms. Gavin's classroom raised $249
This project is fully funded
"Ms. G. it's too loud! I can't hear".. and in our Kindergarten classroom this is both good and bad. Our classroom IS loud, it IS fun, and it IS a place for exciting learning. However, when it comes to independent seat work such as reading, learning to sound out words, writing stories, etc., sometimes five year-olds don't know the power of their voice. Soon 18 children are all sounding out words at the top of their lungs, albeit, they are excited and engaged with their learning, it is not conducive to a quality work environment.
The moment children realize they have the power of language, the possibilities are endless! They want to write their friends names, read harder books, write lists, and sound out larger words. However, these skills are not possible to 5 and 6 year olds if they can not hear the phonetical break down in their heads. Do you remember when you were in elementary school and you were writing a valentine to that someone special? You really wanted to spell everything right so you were working extra hard, but the kid next to you was always so loud? Well here is your chance to help my students alleviate some of that annoyance, anxiety, and roadblocks to their education!
Part of the solution lies in a tiny plastic tool called a WhisperPhone. A WhisperPhone is shaped like a real phone and has a headset so it can be hands-free for the students. Through the delicate formation of this tool, children can hear their voices amplified up to ten times their normal volume! This allows for children to hear back what they are saying, to work on their fluency in their reading, hear whether or not they are using the right letter sounds, and even improve the education of special needs students in speech. I wanted to check out the success rate of these before asking for funds and I personally bought 5 WhisperPhones to use during small guided reading groups. I could only afford the kind that children have to hold to speak into, but the results were instant. I had English language learners hearing themselves slip between their two languages, I had children who never self correct their reading changing the words they said, and higher ability Kindergartners even practicing their fluency with character voices and expression!
As a teacher, I take it very personal if a child ends the school year below grade level. I ask myself "What more could I have done? What special tool or trick would have finally helped that student to understand? Did I fail him or her?". Working with a large percentage of free and reduced lunch children, as well as a growing ESL population, I constantly hear things around me about how these students will always be failing to thrive. I will never cease to be their advocate, and with your help, we can provide the best learning environment possible for all students! I look forward to the day when my students are quickly whispering "I can hear!".
More than half 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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