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
There is more than one way to skin a cat....and there is usually more than one way to solve a math problem! When students are able to display their thinking with a document camera in front of the class, it will encourage confidence! They can challenge each others thinking
and share new strategies.
My students are amazing despite the fact that parental apathy is a huge obstacle in our community.
Most come to school without academic confidence or internal motivation, therefore it is my job to instill these skills. I have found that teaching multiple strategies for every math skill works! For example, when it is time for double digit multiplication, I teach it 3 ways: the "old school way", the lattice method and the partial product method. This way all students can choose the method that works for them. My students also love to share "their way" of thinking when it is different than mine or another student's. This is a maximum confidence builder, it even motivates kids to look for new solutions. Most of all our students love to teach each other! This not only requires the deepest understanding of the skill, but it enables students to OWN their learning. My kids need to understand that knowledge is power and that they need to develop their own knowledge to embrace their futures!
My Project
Show What You Know!! This is a well known phrase in my room; it is what we call quizzes! It is also the ability to show others what you are thinking. An Epson Document Camera would be a VERY EXCITING tool to facilitate this everyday! A document camera enables kids to display math work they have done on their own and would like to explain to the group. They can simply take work they have done independently, put it on the table, aim the camera and WHAM! their work is shown on the board! They can then "teach" the group their way to solve a problem. Students will learn many things. They will learn there are many ways to get to the same solution. They will learn that others may think like they do, which can be a very comforting feeling to those who lack confidence in math. They will see that divergent thinking and acceptance of it is an attribute to be valued. It is as important as a bully free environment.
Believing in yourself is one of the most important things I can teach my kids.
I have seen very low functioning students improve simply because they believe they can. I often ask kids, "Has anyone ever told you how smart you are?" and they often simply answer "no". To combat this I must tell them how smart they are, everyday if I have to, until they believe it. Making every teaching minute count is crucial to this effort and I believe the magic of a document camera would make this job very cool!
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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. Rendock and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
