My students come from a variety of cultural backgrounds, some with English language challenges, most from low income families, some newly arrived in this country or this city and unfamiliar with our school and our classes.
They sit in groups with classmates who would appear to be very different from them, but quickly find common interests and learn to work together as they learn Algebra 2, improve their work habits, and develop effective teamwork.
They help each other with the math problems, they talk about school sports and events, sometimes help translate for those whose English is not strong, and over the course of the year, they become friends.
My Project
Interactive Student Notebooks (ISN) allow students a way to organize their notes and examples for math class. Students build a personalized resource over a year-long class. Students take pride in their work and are able to build their own interpretation of the material (with some guidelines.)
My school is in a high poverty, urban area and many students can't buy their own school supplies.
I provide all my students with the same composition books, and the supplies to complete their notebooks in class. Students are able to use their ISNs to complete homework, classwork, and on quizzes and tests (as necessary.)
They like having neat and orderly (and colorful) notes. Student feedback: “using color coding helps to find things very easily” “keeps all my things in one place” “helps when I need to remember how to set up and do a problem” “good visual, comes in handy” “great to reference later on for a math course in college” “I like being able to have notes that are organized and to be able to color it” “I like how I can go back to what I learned earlier in the year” “If I don’t remember a formula or something I can go back and review the page” “it was nice to keep my notes all in one place” “I had all my notes!”
The benefits for me as as a teacher are that I can encourage my students to use their own notes for support rather than asking me for help, so they become more independent!
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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. Maidelis and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
