Do you want to know what the most often asked question by students is in my classroom? You might think it's, "Can I go to the bathroom?" or "When's lunch?" But surprisingly, you'd be wrong! The question I get asked the most by students is: "Can I draw?"
I teach at a small, diverse school in Washington state.
My school is classified as a high-poverty school, with many students on the free or reduced-price lunch program. My classroom of second grade students is always made up of a wide variety of abilities, interests, and challenges. From learning support students, to English language learners, to gifted students, I am here to teach them all and give them the best education!
My Project
"Can I draw?" Yep. THAT is a question I hear every day, multiple times a day! Second graders LOVE to draw! They draw for fun, they draw to tell stories, they draw to create -- it's awesome! The problem is that there really is not much time to draw in school these days. Art in general is being pushed aside to spend more time on reading, writing, and math. As a result, the natural creativity that kids possess is being squashed. It's truly heartbreaking. A few minutes before I started writing this project, I had a mental breakthrough on HOW I can integrate my students' love of drawing with other curriculum. I just so happened to see one of those "How to Draw. . . " books and I realized how FANTASTIC it would be to have a BUNCH of those books in my classroom! These books are actually a type of nonfiction text that requires a different type of reading that we could cover in our reading workshop!
I also realized that it is vital for kids to be able to follow directions, and these books are literally filled with pages of steps/procedures that the kids will have to follow in order to make it to the end product -- their finished drawing!
I am especially excited to use these books at the beginning of the school year when we are building community. The kids can form their own artist-groups and work together on community drawings and scenes. I am SO excited about this project! Thank you!!!
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. Kelly and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
