My students need a table-top team buzzer system to make learning new languages more exciting and promote bilingual education in my classroom.
FULLY FUNDED! Mr. Captain Jack's classroom raised $417
This project is fully funded
Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month
This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
My Students
Learning a new language is never easy, but it is something that can yield huge rewards and open many doors in life. Not all the students in our large and diverse school are fortunate enough to take classes in a foreign language. Those that do really need to make the most of their class time.
I teach Spanish to about 150 7th graders in our middle school of over 1,200, and I teach English as Second Language to some of our most struggling readers and writers.
Our school population has high rates of low income, but our students come ready and eager to learn everyday. They represent a huge variety of cultures and languages. They speak Chinese, Bengali, French, Arabic, Spanish, Urdu, Albanian, English, and more. My students are curious and hopeful, but they don't always have easy opportunities to broaden their horizons and learn about the world outside their own experience. I share my classroom with another Spanish teacher who has over 200 students in the 6th and 8th grade, and between both of our programs. I is rare to see the classroom without 28 to 30 students trying to improve their Spanish, English, or both. They crave creative and collaborative learning activities, and we strive to make that happen as often as we can, despite the inherent challenges.
My Project
The item that I am requesting is a buzzer system that can be used to play classroom Jeopardy, to review material for tests and quizzes, and to enable a huge range of other creative group activities. The buzzers are large and sturdy and will sit in the center of each table, so any member of the group can buzz in if they know the answer. The first buzz locks out the others, the students are able to answer the question for the points they want so badly. The whole thing is programmed, controlled and projected through a computer for the entire class. I often try games like this even without such technology, and the kids are transformed by the excitement and competition into much more engaged and active learners. This system will bring that experience to a whole new level, and I hope will help expand the minds of thousands of students over the following years.
My own experience learning new languages had a huge impact on my life and is indeed the reason I became a teacher, but I also remember how resistant and disconnected I was to it at first.
I want to help my students get past the feeling of being daunted by the enormity of the task, so they can get the full benefit of what it has to offer. I know that this buzzer system will be an instant success. It's just the right thing to make them learn while they are having too much fun to even realize it.
More than half of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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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 Mr. Captain Jack and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
