My third grade students live in a rural community on the Navajo Nation. Some live in traditional Navajo hogans with no running water or electricity, and some live in regular homes as the rest of us do. Almost all my students live on dirt roads, and when it rains or snows, it is a struggle for them to get to the bus or to school, but they make it to school, ready to learn. Our school offers free breakfast and lunch for all our students. We also have a backpack club for those who need a little extra food on the weekends.
The students in my classroom are bright and eager to learn.
Some of my students have learning and emotional disabilities. We are definitely the eclectic class of the school, but we are also the most loved in our school.
Choice is a big word in our classroom. Allowing the students to make free choices in our classroom helps them to learn responsibility and choose what works best for them. With this class, they have to begin to learn to make good choices and know what works for them. This is what we are working on.
My Project
We are grieving our time lost in the classroom. It was March 12th our school activity was cancelled. We were supposed to see each other on the Friday the 13th. We were supposed to celebrate then end of our 3rd quarter. But that time never came. School was closed until April 4th due to the outbreak our nation was experiencing. Fast forward 3 weeks later, school would be closed indefinitely.
We would not see one another for the rest of the school year.
I would not be able to see them finish their year. I would not be able to see the growth made. All the traditions of "Fear Factor Boot Camp" was gone, all the stories I had been promising them we would read was gone.
I created this project because a quarter of my students third grade year was taken away. Although it would have been a stressful time with state testing it would have been the best time. A time we can relax a little after testing is over, a time when we can enjoy a story and create some projects and art based on literature.
The two stories I chose "Thank you, Mr. Falkner" is an inspirational story which we read earlier in the year and had an impact on myself and some students because it talked about having a learning disability which many could relate too. The second story, "The One and Only Ivan" is the book I read at the end of the year and it is a very touching story and students would be able to make many connections to it because of our end of the year school trip to the zoo. It is a sad time for all those in the United States, but student's lives have been turned upside down.
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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. Sanchez and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
