My students need pencils, math centers, math journals, and math literature books to use in small differentiated groups to develop their math skills and math vocabulary.
My students are a diverse but eager bunch in a public school. Math can be magical but it can also be frustrating; some struggle with the basics while others don't recognize the math vocabulary or concepts. Building vocabulary and concept understanding requires them to have targeted math centers.
My most reluctant students struggle because they need more practice in earlier concepts.
Others struggle because they are English language learners, some who just came to the United States this yea. While they know how to do the math calculations and problem-solving in their native language, they don't understand the key math phrases and concepts in English. Finally, some of the students are just different learning types, and they need hands-on materials and texts to absorb new concepts completely. Math centers and math literature will address these varied needs in my class.
My Project
I have requested a math literature library and the related teacher's guide because these picture books will serve all my populations. The pictures will help the English language learners connect math text to the images. They entry level of the books will also make these more complex concepts easier to access for my struggling general education math students.
I have also asked for a class set of elapsed time cards that will allow the students to determine the passage of time, a concept that even my more proficient math students find difficult in word form. Additionally, I am requesting a math fractions and decimals kit and fractions games, so that these abstract concepts of "pieces of the whole" will be more accessible to visual and kinesthetic students.
Finally, I am requesting eight different partner games so that the students can work in mixed pairs of beginners, intermediate, and experienced so as to have both supportive and challenging learning opportunities.
These math centers, journals, and the math literature will help differentiate learning according to the particular math group's needs.
These materials will allow the students to access math concepts in small group and individual situations. Having these math materials will allow me to target at risk students according to their needs and to work with them in a personalized way that enhances their concept retention. Finally, these materials will make math mesmerizing for many years to come.
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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. O. and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.