This project is part of the Black History Month celebration because it supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of the students are Black.
My Students
My students do most of their work on paper, but my goal this year was to integrate tech so they have more opportunity to work at their own pace while using apps or software programs. I want my class to have 85% mastery in math and reading. Pacing is the biggest challenge for me, and tech will help!
My students are all amazing and they all have amazing abilities that vary from subject to subject.
My school gives teachers the freedom to shape classroom culture and find innovative ways to maximize outcomes for our students. In 2nd grade all the classrooms have chrome books, but for my 1st graders we do not. One of the things we've been able to do is create stations and differentiated groups to give students the remediation or enrichment they need. The students have progressed well, but what we have noticed from 2nd grade is that the data that can be collected from these apps and websites are incredibly detailed and can be used to identify misconceptions and areas of weakness. The teacher then becomes better equipped to teach and plan for each student and thus maximizes teaching time with the students as the teacher spends less time analyzing data and grading to see where those areas of need are.
My Project
Having tech in our classroom will free up time for me to focus on these groups while other students get experience working with tech, collaborating and learning from each other, and developing skills at their own pace by using apps and sites like Khan Academy. While we have done well with these stations this school year, incorporating tech will enhance and better inform me as I can easily review data form the apps and sites they use to inform my future lesson. The tablet also doubles as white board for guided reading and writing. The students will be able to navigate between writing and reading quickly, with far less material to manage, and thus more time working on the particular skill. This will be especially important for my IEP and ESL students. My ESL students would be getting the math skills they need while also having the word problems translated into their native language and in english. They will effectively be learning english as they are learning math.
My First Graders do not yet have access to laptops or tablets.
Having a tablet that also acts as a full PC gives my students the opportunity to practice writing with the stylus, download reading software programs and freely move about the class while working on sites like Khan Academy, duo lingo etc. My English as Second Language students will be able to show their true potential by having math word problems translated into their native language. This will give me more credible data as well!
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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. Blake and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
