How can students who come from homes with a limited income believe that their capabilities are limitless, especially when they have so much stacked against them? How can I teach them to be kind to each other, when the world has been unkind to them?
When we show students that they are more alike than different, we create an environment for working, learning, and growing together.
This is my goal for every child who enters my room: to know they are loved, they are wanted, and they belong in room 123. Once they know and understand that they have a classroom family who cares for them, they quickly begin to treat their peers with respect, even if they do not agree on everything. Our classroom then becomes a place where we can experiment, learn, and grow together, supporting each other every step of the way!
My Project
Spencer and Laurie Kagan have developed phenomenal materials to guide teachers in creating collaborative, dynamic and engaging classrooms. With the structures outlined by the Kagans, students work in teams, partners, and pairs to actively solve standards-based problems. Every student is held accountable for the work, and no one is allowed to sit idly by while others participate.
I have never met a student who would rather listen to a teacher talk at them while they sit silently, than work with and spend time with their friends.
By structuring activities that allow students to talk with a purpose, student achievement increases as students collaborate to solve problems and discuss possible solutions.
These books outline activities to foster classroom communities which are ready to collaborate and provides teachers with a platform to experiment with collaboration even if they have not attended a Kagan professional development session. By equipping our school with a set of Kagan books, you are providing every teacher at our school with the tools to revolutionize how students learn and engage every learner every day, and make learning fun again!
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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. Sinnott and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
