December 2019 Grant Recipients

I have recently created what I call "Coffee Club" in my classroom. This is simply a hot water/coffee bar in the back of my classroom that is open to any student who wants to participate. Students contribute what they can to the collection and they are able to drink hot chocolate, coffee, and tea. My students feel comfortable and therefore are much more engaged in class discussions and in their own assignments. The environment I have created allows them a safe place to express their thoughts, feelings, and questions while allowing them to be authentic conversationalists without fear of failure. I will use the grant money to help purchase items such as: coffee, hot chocolate, tea, creamer, and other "coffee" supplies for my classroom.

This grant will help our second grade gain access to folktale books to enhance our reading curriculum and to help us meet our content standards. We will purchase four class sets of read alouds to help with this goal. We have been borrowing books from the public library each year and sharing them between four teachers. It will be great to have a class set for each teacher so that the students can spend more time exploring the books. The students love these books and they do a great job of connecting to our reading standards and helping students understand folktales.

In order to expose students to the innovations and opportunities of the outside world, I will purchase a classroom library focused on Science and Technology. This library will have books ranging from STEM stories about Computer Programming to books about how pencils are made. Books included have subjects about Environmental Engineering, Forensics, and Meteorology. This series is at a lower level for struggling readers, yet at a very high interest level. These books will be used in my Special Education classroom and with mixed ability groups, opening students' minds to new ideas, while improving their literacy. With exposure to the vast career and STEM opportunities available, Council students will broaden their horizons and reach for knowledge beyond the mountains.

Auditory brain development is the foundation for listening, language and literacy for all children. Language is learned by listening. Literacy depends on language. In order for the brain to develop auditory connections, the child's brain needs access to clear auditory information. Children spend up to 70% of their school day listening to teachers, peers, instructional media, and their own speech. We can improve children's hearing/listening by managing the environment. One way to do this is with a classroom amplification system. The FrontRow to Go system allows for amplification of verbal output by the teacher, peers, and instructional media. Benefits have also been noted in children with auditory processing difficulties and those students who are learning English as a second Language.

Computer science standards in Idaho include numerous skills that can be taught, developed and practiced in an "unplugged" setting without devices. This project will create a lending library of STEM and coding resources to be used by all K-4 classroom teachers at our school in order to better incorporate computer science into classroom content instruction. Core computer science practices within our Idaho standards include collaboration, communication, critical thinking, problem solving, creativity and innovation. These will be embedded into our lending library as students are given opportunities to classify and sort information, create and recognize patterns, design and test sequences, break larger challenges down into smaller pieces, and use teamwork to problem solve. Movement activities have been created to simulate coding and sequencing. While students at our school receive computer science weekly, this lending library will provide additional practice in a less isolated setting; as a STEM school, teachers are motivated and interested in increased support to bring computer science into all classrooms, not just the computer lab.

Our school is serving an ever-growing population of students who need additional support, they face challenges at home that are beyond their control. From food to help them through the day to clothing items, our students need basic necessities so that they can focus on learning. Instead of being able to focus on learning and growing, many of them are focused on their growling bellies or on their state of dress. Our project includes stocking a food pantry where students can access snacks on an as-needed basis. Our school counselor, safe school aide, and nurse will monitor this area and work together to identify students who would benefit from receiving food each day. These same individuals will also be in charge of working with families and students to make sure clothing and footwear are appropriate for our changing weather and the school environment.