The Power of One: Harnessing the Wind & Our Imaginations
Help me give my students an inspiring example of human inventiveness & its power to overcome crippling adversity in a real-life story of a boy who constructed a windmill from scraps to create electricity for his famine-stricken community.
FULLY FUNDED! Mrs. Davis's classroom raised $293
This project is fully funded
My Students
My fab fourth graders hail from New York and are proud members of a gifted and talented public school program in an ethnically and socioeconomically diverse community. Throughout the years, they have flourished as critical thinkers, readers, writers, creative problem solvers, and observers of the world in which we live. From the first day of school, students are encouraged to think for themselves and engage in activities and discussions that that allow for in-depth analysis of texts and life issues without having to find the “right answer.” They are empowered to know that they can make a difference in making the world better and brighter.
The first step to building literacy and social comprehension skills is by finding humanity in ourselves and in others along with the realization of the power of one individual's ability to change his or community and better the lives of those around him By providing students with engaging texts, we help deepen their interpretive analysis in exploring themes, symbols and other important ideas.
My Project
We will engage in a shared reading of the Young Reader's edition of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, William Kamkwamba's gripping memoir about the heroic young inventor who brought electricity to his Malawian village.
Students will explore important themes (including survival and perseverance).
Since our first fourth grade reading workshop unit after "Making Reading Lives" is "Thinking Deeply About Characters & Developing Interpretations about Characters," students will work on a text where the protagonist, a 13 year old boy, is deeply committed to making a difference in his community.
Our shared reading will provide cross-curricular connections since we will study various forms of energy and alternative energy sources in science and students will begin to think about important issues in their own community that they care about and may wish to embark on with service learning endeavors.
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. Davis and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
