My classroom consists of developing readers. These young minds come to me from varied backgrounds. Some are affluent, well cared for, and ready to learn. Some are sleep deprived, hungry, and concerned about their safety at home. Some have two parents working and trying their hardest to keep the family afloat and others are doubled up with another family hoping for a new start.
On the front wall of our classroom, for all to see, is the quote, "You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think!" These wise words spoken by Christopher Robin to his friend Pooh sum up how I spend my school year, convincing elementary school children they are smarter than they think!
No matter their background, no matter their struggles, no matter their accomplishments, my job every day is to convince them that they are braver than they think, stronger than they seem, and smarter than they think! It takes compassion and guidance to instill braveness, but it takes tools to teach students how to access their inner genius and potential. It takes technology to assist them in accessing worlds outside their own limited perspective.
My Project
Research shows that phonemic awareness and phonological processing skills have a significant impact on a child's ability to read. As a reading specialist, I work with students who are struggling to master these skills. My goal is to support every student in becoming a reader. Intervention can be very dry and boring, but it doesn't have to be!
Incorporating hands-on and engaging wordplay like the Splash word games and interactive letter pocket chart increase student engagement raising the likelihood of important learning being stored in long term memory.
By providing interactive and multi-sensory games for students to play, it will make learning seem like playing. We have all heard that children's work is play. By using these games to manipulate sounds, my students will have a higher probability of becoming proficient readers as they enter the older grades. Thank you for making learning fun again!
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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. Miller and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
