I begin each school year by telling my students that they need to "Hold on," because the year will fly by. I can see the doubt in their eyes, but within a couple of weeks, they start to remind me that I said that. Most days, I hear comments that they can't believe it's the end of the day, or week, or month. I am glad to know they think the year is flying by.
If students are actively engaged in their learning, their school year will be much more satisfying and productive.
My classroom is made up of all kinds of learners, each with their own strengths and needs. We have gifted students, hearing impaired students, English language learners, and students with learning disabilities. As adults, we like to have someone with whom we can discuss ideas. Kids also want to learn collaboratively. My students work together to help each other grasp our 4th grade curriculum, encouraging both cooperation and personal responsibility for learning.
My Project
My students draw a lot of models to help them see the math concepts they are learning. These class sets of whiteboards are pre-printed with many of the models we draw to help us visualize our math. In addition, the task card sets include several levels of story problems. I can be selective in which cards I assign to meet the needs of students of different abilities.
My students will be able to use these math materials independently, or with teacher support in small groups, to build their mathematical thinking.
By using these whiteboards, we will save the time we would have used to draw the models ourselves, freeing up that time for additional problem practice. Furthermore, having pre-drawn fractions improves accuracy since hand-drawn models are often incorrectly proportioned.
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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. Walker and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.