1 iPod Touch and case and 1 iTunes Gift Card to purchase educational applications and Kindle Audiobooks to improve reading levels and differentiate their unique learning capabilities.
"Staying in sync with technology has always been a goal of mine. When I was a senior in college, I can remember hearing a funny new word called the INTERNET, and thinking to myself, “What? There is no way there can ever be such a thing!” And yet, here I sit today amazed by the advancements in technology, and how they affect the everyday lives of our students.
Approximately two years ago, I visited a good friend of mine who knows I am a technology junkie and couldn't wait to show me her new 'find'. Mindy's mother, a retired elementary principal, resides with her. We began talking about this new piece of technology from Amazon called the Kindle. Two years ago we knew the profound affect the Kindle could have on education, and it has yet to be explored. In September, the Kindle was featured on the Oprah Winfrey show...I was so pleased to have found something before Oprah!
I have been watching the price of the Kindle decrease over the years and decided in August to finally purchase one for my classroom. I thought it was a good time as I had recently been asked to move to a different school to teach the High Ability Program. Though I was excited, I was nervous about finding content that was challenging enough for the kids, yet also age-appropriate. Spending $359.00 was a big investment, but one I thought would make a difference in the lives of my students. I wanted to explore the possibilities of the Kindle before applying for a DonorsChoose.org Grant, so I could be sure it was money well spent. I am proud to say I believe the Kindle has an amazing outlook in the field of education!
Though it is a challenge to rotate the Kindle through the classroom as we only have one, already I have students who have improved their Lexiles by as many as 250+ points. This is amazing as my students this year already were very good readers. Typically, students in high ability classrooms do not improve their scores as much because they are already high. Yet, we are growing! I can only imagine what we could do with more Kindles!
The first thing the Kindle does is excite and inspire the learner. All students want to read using the Kindle. (They think it is cool!) The Kindle is almost infectious as the kids beg to have it, and there are literal 'sparks of excitement' as the Kindle is passed through the classroom. Currently, I have students take the Kindle home on Monday-Thursday and Thursday-Monday. This schedule works, but it takes us about ten weeks to get through the entire class. My hope is to have four Kindles rotating through the classroom so we can cover even more content on top of the current curriculum! The Kindle books are easily downloaded. The possibilities are endless. I have now learned the iPod Touch supports the Kindle too!
Covering multiple topics within the State Standards is a snap with the Kindle as it lends itself to every topic, genre, and level of literature.
Reading aloud grade-level appropriate narrative and expository text fluently and accurately with appropriate timing, changes in voice, and expression is a constant standard through middle school. Analyzing characters, identifying themes, comparing and contrasting literature elements, and evaluating literature continues on through middle school and high school. The Kindle lends itself to academically and easily meeting the needs of all the students. I can quickly download a book of interest, and give the students a FREE sample before purchasing the book. The book is then available within 60 seconds! My goal is for 100% of the students to be reading in the Advanced Category!
I believe the benefits of this project on student learning are endless. First of all, the Kindle can be used cross-curricular in an endless number of possibilities. To date, there are over 300,000+ books, magazines, and newspapers available. Gone are the days of the heavy backpack, a definite concern in the elementary classroom!
The assessment strategies I will use with the implementation of this grant include daily work, Reading Counts Quizzes, Lexile Growth, NWEA, and ISTEP+ Growth. I am also the Corporation Differentiated Instruction Cadre Representative for my Elementary and plan to share this amazing new concept with my colleagues across the corporation by sharing Differentiated Instructional lessons that can easily be adapted at each level.
By supporting this project, you would be aiding strong students to become stronger. The leaders of tomorrow have a great need to be exposed to 'out of the box' thinking. By utilizing iPod Touches and the Kindle application available on them as well as the other phenomenal learning applications, the kids are immersed in 21st Century Learning. Exactly what we need for tomorrow's successes to occur!
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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. Chadd and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.