Everyone has a story to tell and if you can tell it, you can write it! I want my students to grow to love writing. I want them to believe that they are authors. At the end of writer's workshop I smile when the children moan and complain that writing is over.
I teach in a public school that receives Title I and SAGE funding to help close the achievement gap.
My 3rd grade students come from diverse backgrounds and each one brings special character to our room. Their learning styles are as diverse as they are. We work daily on building a classroom community that works together, builds each other up, and respects one another. They make me smile.
My Project
At the present time we have one manual pencil sharpener in our classroom that is loud and breaks the pencil leads until there is often no pencil left. During writer's workshop while I teach the children to write long and strong, they often have to get up and sharpen their pencils because they write so much. That becomes a problem when students congregate around the only sharpener in the room. It causes disengagement from writing and an opportunity to cause disruption. I would like to strategically place the three electric sharpeners around the room so that when their pencils wear out they can quickly move to the sharpener nearest them and quietly sharpen. The minutes they will save daily will in the long-run turn into hours of focused writing.
My goal is to keep my students engaged in their writing and during other times they work at their tables.
They are easily distracted when they have to take care of broken pencil tips. It may not seem like a big deal but even just a few kids up at the pencil sharpener at one time brings an opportunity for disruptions. Being proactive by providing multiple places around the room with quiet electric sharpeners should keep the kids writing and working with stamina!
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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. Hustad and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.