My fabulous first graders walk into the classroom every day with a huge smile and eagerness to learn. It is not unusual for them to beg me to stay at school at the end of the day. They love learning, growing, moving and interacting with one another.
Our campus has a very diverse population of students that speak over forty different languages.
Students come to our school from all over the world, many due to their parents employment with NASA. These students come from families of engineers, doctors and scientist. They require challenges in their learning to reach their fullest potential.
My students all have varying needs: some are second language learners, high achieving/gifted learners, autistic, and ADHD. Other students were retained in the previous grade levels or are below grade level in several subjects. Despite their academic background they all have one thing in common: their love for learning.
My first grade friends are motivated, goal orientated, risk takers. They enjoy working with groups, interacting with technology, participating in hands on activities and opportunities for self directed learning.
My Project
Education has changed drastically as we keep up with today's society. Students are in constant need of engaging activities that are individualized for their current learning needs. As a first grade teacher, I am responsible for teaching students every subject throughout the school day, that includes math, science, social studies, reading, writing, interactive writing, shared reading, readers workshop and of course character education. It can be difficult to provide the personalized instruction that students crave while meeting with the various levels of students in your classroom.
During Hurricane Harvey my students missed three weeks of instruction.
Thus making every moment that students are at school precious. We have a lot of material to cover in little time.
My classroom currently has five iPads. This allows one iPad to every four students. Four first graders using one device can become a little frustrating. However the students still love to utilize this tool throughout the day. Students enjoy using the iPads for various math and reading programs. The kids often race to an iPad when they finish an assignment early, or they just want to know the answer to one of their many wonders. Along with using iPads as a "fast finisher" we often use them in a small group or even in students' literacy stations.
iPads allow me to differentiate instruction for my students as well as plan engaging whole group lessons. These devices allow me to maximize instruction for all of my students, by giving me the ability to incorporate lessons with technology that captures the attention of my young learners.
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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. Hirsch and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
