My students need colored pencils, markers, and construction paper to express themselves and enhance the Spanish learning experience as they build cultural artifacts.
My students are linguistically, racially, and economically diverse urban high schoolers with outrageously bold dreams. They decided to "take a chance" by attending a unique high school that values their voice and believes that their imaginations can be harnessed to unlock success. The students learn through the design thinking process. They apply this process in order to solve exciting real-world problems. These students work hard everyday to create better futures for themselves, whether that entails joining the workforce, becoming a parent, going to a trade school, or attending a university.
Students at Design Lab want a "hands on" experience that allows them to use their gifts to create something special, whether that creation is a work of art, or an design engineering masterpiece.
They want to share these creations to help the world, make a change, and create a better world to live in. They are an innovative, smart, and scrappy group, and even though the odds are often against them, they never ever give up.
My Project
These markers, colored pencils, and construction paper will allow the students to learn Spanish through a design thinking lens as they create products that represent the cultures being studied.
The students will create cultural artifacts based on what they are studying in class.
Some examples are alebrijes (Mexican "spirit animals,") papel picado, bilingual storybooks, calaveras, and regional Latin American folk art. These design-centric experiences enhance their Spanish learning, create interest, and allow for a more "hands-on" experience. At the end of each design challenge students are also required to present their artwork in Spanish, which means they also learn presentational speaking skills in the target language.
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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 Ms. Yonkers and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
