Technology For Little Hands And Little Ears

Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month

This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.

My Students

This year over 67% of our second graders are a year, or more, behind in reading. I want to work with small groups of 6-7 students in guided reading groups. But, the remaining students need computer mice, and headphones with microphones, in order to fully access our school's reading technology.

Our school is located on the United States and Mexico border.

We are a large school of almost 1000 students. More than 80% of my students are English Language Learners and struggle to become fluent readers and speakers of English. These students receive limited help at home due to language barriers and socio-economic pressures. In addition, more than 50% of my students do not have access to technology, like computers, outside of school.

My Project

I have 29 students in my reading group, all of whom are reading at an early 1st grade level. Having my students completely engaged would be invaluable to me when I am trying to work with small reading groups. We are fortunate to have access to netbook computers. This year my students' parents made an investment in their children's learning and purchased a subscription to Raz-Kids.com. This program allows students to practice reading at their own level using high-interest online books. Unfortunately, over half of my students have difficulty using them without a computer mouse. In addition, Raz-Kids reads aloud to students, helps them with words they cannot read on their own, and allows students to record their own reading for fluency practice and review by the teacher. However, having 10 students all on this program at the same time is noisy and disrupts learning for everyone. Having headphones would minimize disruptions and allow everyone to focus on their own learning tasks.

Computer mice and headphones will provide each individual student the additional opportunity to have their learning needs met, and increase their academic achievement and potential for a productive life.

In addition, I plan to extend the use of these materials for extra math and ELD practice. Finally, these materials will travel with the netbooks and be used by all of our second graders. Thank you so much for your support, and for believing in our students!