More than 80% of the students in my classroom receive free or reduced lunch at school. With limited resources, the students can use all the help that they can get in enriching their school experiences.
Many times students don't see they reasons why they are learning something in school.
Through hands on learning experiences they can see the why and its impact on their lives as they grow. These experiences can also plant the seed of career choices for when they are older.
My Project
We practice project based learning in our classroom and have done many things to help our community around us. We are always taking what we are learning in class and applying it to practical use. The hands on learning has not increased academic scores but has also improved self confidence in my students. We are currently working on a project to renovate our school courtyard. It was not an inviting area and not a place that was frequently used. Our PBL began with the driving question of "How can we, as landscape designers, make the courtyard a place that all students and teachers will want to use?"
The students created a plan to renovate the courtyard to make it more inviting and are consulting with community experts to help them make their plan come to life.
The students are learning how to use power tools, put their math lessons into practical use as well as learn about landscape design. We have already made the place brighter by removing overgrown weeds, building a deck, creating people out of wooden pickets as well as transform the windows with bright, vibrant window decals.
We are almost finished with the renovation and the materials included in this request will help with the finishing touches. The courtyard will finally be a place where the students in the school will want to be used. What will make is even more special is that the renovation was done by their fellow schoolmates.
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 Mrs. Diehn and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
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