My students have character! They are all unique: in personality, in style, in background, and especially in learning. 40% of my students receive special education interventions. 60% qualify for free or reduced lunch. Many have met difficulties working toward an education. At our school, they get a real chance to reach this goal.
Authenticity is important for my students.
They need to see how the things they learn relate to their own lives. I need to show them the world.
My Project
My students regularly ask the dreaded question: "Why do I need to know this?" My philosophy of teaching science is that through experience we make connections with how things work and how we come to understand the world. I teach in a charter school housed in an old elementary school lacking the science facilities of a traditional school. This makes providing real-world experiences that answer this question difficult.
My students need to experience the world, and they need to do so themselves with my guidance.
These tablets will allow them to research concepts, a major element of scientific study, by using online sources. This will also provide them real practice with assessing sources critically and supporting arguments with research, aligning with MLA standards as well as nature of science standards. They will also be able to use these with interactive science learning apps for life science, Earth science, physical science, biology, chemistry, and physics (BrainPOP, Atoms in Motion, Earthviewer, Stop Motion, etc.). These tablets also open up the suite of Google Docs for the students to use for both displaying information and for collecting data.
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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 Mr. Cutter and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
