My students are the zestiest, kind, and enthusiastic group of first graders I have ever had the privilege of working with. I feel so blessed every day to be a small part of their educational journey. Even though they face many obstacles, they never let those challenges affect their work ethic or confidence. My students inspire me every day to be the best teacher I can be because they deserve the best. The near south side of Indianapolis has some amazing attributes, but my students have also been exposed to some heart-breaking situations.
My students love working on STEM-based projects and working collaboratively.
We have been fortunate enough to have received amazing donations from generous donors this year and this has led to an increase in reading fluency scores and engagement. We are finishing the year with a reading “boot camp,” goods and services unit, and a field trip to a dairy farm. I cannot wait to see all of these learning experiences come to fruition!
My Project
This project will serve as a resource for our multi grade-level end of year unit on plant life cycles. At this time, we are working across grade levels to implement a discovery initiative in both kindergarten and first grade. Our students rotate to different teachers for reading and math, which allows us to be extremely intentional about planning! In the two discovery rooms, students are exposed to science and social studies standards while working in collaborative groups. We often attempt to take our learning outdoors to increase engagement and allow students to get in touch with nature! This will give us an amazing, student-centered outdoor learning environment!
This project will allow both first grade and kindergarten to work together to create an end of the year final unit that will combine the scientific method, measurement, and plant life cycles, all while learning in the great outdoors!
We are requesting seating/tables that allow students to be comfortable while planting, observing, and cultivating their flowers. Our vision is for each student to choose one of three flower options to plant and then students will make a prediction to which plant will grow the fastest. We will be tracking the plant’s growth using seed journals and we will be graphing our observations as a class to be compared with the other home room classes! This project will allow us to use multi-curricular topics while learning outdoors in a safe and sturdy environment that our students will adore!
Nearly all students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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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. Lewallen and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
