My class is full of brilliant 6 year-olds ready to take on the world. They come in with little knowledge and will come out reading in two languages. My first graders are in a Dual Language Spanish/English Program.
Approximately 50% of my students come from native Spanish speaking homes, while the other 50% are from native English speaking homes.
Every day, 90% of the instruction is in Spanish. As we strive to learn the target language, we also introduce English into our day. We follow all the standards for the Common Core State Standards, but they learn primarily in Spanish in first grade. About half of my class receives free or reduced-price lunch and could use extra help in all areas.
My Project
These items will be used for STEM kits to do with the class, but at home during distance learning. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. One of the most important things when doing a STEM project is allowing the students to explore, question, try their ideas, fail, correct and learn from others. We will use the bags and mesh zipper pouches to house supplies for STEM learning projects. The kits will be making a boat, a car, and an airplane. The supplies will be given to each student for some exploration time before instruction starts. During our online instruction, students will have the opportunity to share their ideas and show their work as they try to come up with the solution.
Exploration, trial and error, and giving students the chance to problem solve are some of the most important aspects in STEM learning.
The IF/THEN Collection of STEM scientists, collections and women in STEM related professions helped inspire this project. We have a great opportunity to examine other scientists and their ideas to spark their imagination. Parents will be given specific instructions to guide, but not do the work for the student. This way the student can have productive struggle which in turn grows their cognitive development. Who knows, maybe by supporting this project, you will be helping grow the next bilingual scientist!
More than half of 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 Mrs. Tinseth and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
