My students need binders with accessories to help them organize their class work, track their assessment data, goal set, and bring important papers and activities home to parents.
As many of you know, I am a second grade teacher in the Pacific Northwest. I work at a Title I school where the majority of the students are English Language Learners. That means that English is their second, third or sometimes 4th language!
Each year my classroom consists of a large number of students living below the poverty line.
Many come to school needing a bath, a meal, and warm clothes. Looking at school-wide data from past years, 41% of our 750 or so students were English Language learners, while close to 80% of all students were receiving free or reduced price lunch due their family's economic status. These percentages continue to rise each year. You might be wondering why I am boring you with this data, but research shows that students from families of low socioeconomic status along with African-American, and Latino students are TWO years behind their other peers by the 4th grade.
Through this binder project, I hope to give students invaluable skills necessary to succeed. Skills such as data tracking, goal setting, and understanding quality work are those which help to close the opportunity gap between privileged and under-privileged students.
My Project
The binder project serves many powerful purposes!
The binder and accessories will create opportunities for students to be accountable to themselves and the teacher, involve their parents in their learning, set academic goals, and celebrate their own achievements!
How can a binder do all of those things?
It will:
1. HELP STUDENTS STAY ORGANIZED
Working with 7- and 8-year-olds has shown me that organization must be modeled and explicitly taught. Second graders do not generally see the difference between an important assignment and a scribbly drawing; all of it gets shoved into the black hole that is their desk! I want to teach students how to be accountable to their own work.
2. KEEP PARENTS INFORMED
Inside the binder will be a take home folder where students will place any notes from me that must be signed or read by parents.
3. ENCOURAGE DATA TRACKING AND GOAL SETTING
It is my belief that the goal setting and data tracking process is much more meaningful if it is student-led, meaning that students, with teacher support, are tracking their own academic growth and setting goals based on what they achieve.
4. BUILD ACCOUNTABILITY
Not only does this binder help students learn to be responsible for their work, it also increases teacher accountability! It will be my job to check their binders each day to collect notes from home, make sure they are filing their work correctly, and check their data tracking pages. This creates daily opportunities for me to conference with students, track data and set goals!
5. SHOWCASE QUALITY WORK
A goal I have my students this coming year is helping them recognize the attributes of quality work. They will store their quality works in this tab and then be able to replicate the traits of quality during the year!
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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. Yoder and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
