My Engineering for Girls elective for K and 1st grade girls is always full, and I'd love to increase the number of seats but need additional resources to do so! My goal is to create an "Advanced Engineering for Girls" elective to increase opportunities for those with the interest.
My students are a wonderful group of diverse and enthusiastic 5 and 6-year-olds who love to explore and learn.
Many of them come to school having limited experiences in math and science, and few female role models to encourage their interest in engineering. While I have many girls who possess critical thinking and mathematics skills that lend themselves to STEM fields, including engineering, their aptitude is often untapped because of limited outside resources. The Just For Girls engineering elective I teach provides a learning environment which nurtures Kindergarten and 1st grade girls who are interested in beginning engineering concepts. It is amazing to watch the girls brainstorm and problem solve using the engineering design process at such a young age! They ask if there is another engineering elective for them, and I'd love to say yes with additional resources!
My Project
Our favorite read aloud is Rosie Revere, Engineer! We use her, and Goldie from the Goldieblox series of engineering toys, as our role models to empower emergent girl engineers. We begin our elective learning about the engineering design process, solving simple problems collaboratively. We will use the Magna Tiles to help learn about structural engineering by designing and building, then making revisions using the critical thinking steps of the engineering design process. The Fairy Tale kits provide enough support for young learners, but also challenge girls who are advancing in their engineering abilities of problem solving and revision. As a teacher, I love that the kits provide directions students are able to read through independently, and also flexibility to design solutions for other problems they come up with.
The donation items for this project will allow my students increased opportunities to engage in activities which will foster their interest and aptitude in engineering.
They will allow me to offer more seats in my elective, and even consider expanding into an "Advanced Engineering for Girls" elective in the future!
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
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. Gill and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.