This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
My Students
Imagine sitting in a class where everyone around you was speaking in different tongues. Your teacher asks you to take a spelling test and to memorize words which, to you, look like nonsense. First up: bcvzieumn. Next word: iuclepxxqut. I challenge you to take five minutes to memorize these words. Can you? With no knowledge of how to speak this mystery language, these "words" seem meaningless. My students struggle all too similarly when it comes to spelling and writing words in the English language.
Our school is located in a low-income area of Manhattan where a high percentage of our students are immigrants and English language learners or students with disabilities.
As a result, these students struggle with literacy. Research shows that 7,000 students drop out of school every day in the United States where the largest contributing factor is a lack of literacy skills. Couple this ongoing struggle in literacy with the problems our students face outside of school such as gang life, poverty, and a lack of focus on academics, our students' lives are riddled with obstacles.
My Project
Spell check is all too common these days. While we encourage our students to become expert writers without the use of technology, many of us do rely on technology to correct our errors. In fact, Donors Choose even offers the use of spell check for teachers who create projects such as the one you're reading.
Students in my class should be offered the same opportunity to use spell check in their own writing.
With these handheld spell correctors, students who struggle with spelling and phonics can edit their own work. By typing in a word using creative or inventive spelling, the spell corrector will locate the actual spelling of the word. Students will be forced to stop relying or depending on others to improve and, rather, use the tools around them to help themselves.
Nearly all 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
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
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 Ms. DeGrazia and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
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