My students need recumbent exercise bikes to improve their fitness while they improve their reading in media center and batteries to keep them running.
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
In our middle school media center, reading is key, yet students love the opportunity to be active. Providing exercise bikes for readers, we can reduce obesity, promote wellness, and improve literacy! This fits our mission to promote a culture of excellence and achievement, without forgetting fun!
Our students are hard-workers striving for excellence in a Renaissance Middle Magnet School where over 95% qualify for free and reduced lunch.
They are like all students, learners who would love to be in constant motion, and they hate sitting still. Our school has a health and wellness magnet program, and this is a way for our students to promote their wellness while improving their reading achievement and fostering enjoyment. Our students comprise a mixture of backgrounds, over 90% of whom are classified as minority students, and approximately three quarters of whom are African-American.
My Project
Students visit the media center throughout the day, from before school, through passes from class, during lunch and at times after school. With these two recumbent exercise bikes, students will be excited to have the opportunity to exercise their bodies as well as their minds! They will be encouraged to read, even those who require activity to focus. Instead of being fidgety in their chair they will feel themselves as active and be able to focus their attention on whatever they are reading. I envision students waiting impatiently for their turn, reading in line, and eventually I envision at least 6 bikes in the media center to meet demand. Through the Read and Ride program, achievement in reading will be increased and so will reading enjoyment for these students who just don't want to sit still. Additionally, for some of our less active students, this will provide them a way to improve their wellness.
We want students who are healthy of mind and body, and these bikes will begin the process of providing students a fusion of both.
Articles have been written of success stories in classrooms, though to my knowledge this is the first example in a media center. This will infuse our magnet theme in the media center, and more importantly improve health and reading for our students. We expect this to be a program other schools will emulate when they hear how this has enhanced our students health!
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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. Newhouse and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
