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Goal

My goal is to motivate my students to read, develop their reading comprehension skills, provide opportunities for STEAM, improve student behavior, support literacy, help students develop a love for reading and learning, and have fun learning and teaching.  

 

Category

Other -  

 

What will be done with my students

For the past 2 years, I have used Legos to reinforce good behavior and reward increased reading fluency. This year, I want to continue to develop the culture of reading and STEAM in my classroom. Students have already been receiving time to create and build with Legos as a reward for reaching reading goals and completing activities. Students also receive bricks as a behavior incentive for participating, following directions, answering questions, and other beneficial choices. The number of bricks they receive during class time are the number of LiveSchool points they receive for the day. LiveSchool is our school's program for positive behavior support (PBS). Students earn points that can then be redeemed for rewards. As I continue to use the Legos in the classroom, I see a need for more Lego builds, places for displaying Lego creations and also a comfortable place for students to read.

Goals will depend on the students' individual needs and may change throughout the year. Some students will need to work on increasing their reading fluency rate, while others may want to reach an AR point goal or increase their scores on assessments. As well as building reading stamina. They will have a data sheet that has their goal on it and how they can record their progress.
I also want to use bricks to develop students' understanding of word morphology (ex./ Greek and Latin roots, prefixes, and suffixes) and providing another way for students to answer comprehension questions about texts and books we read.  

 

Benefits to my students

I have two classes of third grade students that I provide instruction for in the area of English Language Arts. Both classes have 19 students. I have a total of 38 students at this time. Only 32% of these students are considered proficient in reading according the F.A.S.T. PM1. I have several students that started the year reading less than 10 words per minute and so require a lot of extra support in reading, I have 2 students that have behavior plans because they have made choices that is interfering with their learning or the learning of others. I have 3 students that are ELL (English Language Learners) and have plans for support. I have 5 students that have a 504 or IEP for academics. Third grade students must score a Level 3 on the F.A.S.T. to be considered proficient. In order to score this high, they must be fluent readers and have reading endurance or stamina. The test consists of 4-6 sets or pairs of passages. It is a long and difficult test. If they score a Level 1 they are endanger of retention. Students must be a fluent reader in order to understand the text. According the FLDOE, students should be reading 139 words per minute (wpm) in order to score in 75% percentile or higher. They must reading 166 wpm to score in the 90%. My classes average fluency rate at the beginning of the year is 81 wpm. Students are motivated by fun, creativity, and Legos. This is a great way to reward them with something tangible that they can then turn around use to build and create. They can literally see their progress each time they look in their Lego container, their graphs, and pictures I take of them with their builds. They will also get time to build and create with Lego kits and with bricks on their own and in response to STEAM and Lego Challenges that I give them. Kids love to build and create and it is so good for their minds. This plan will give my students those opportunities, incorporating STEAM, along with having a positive impact on their reading and classroom atmosphere. The main goal however is to help make them successful readers.  

 

Budget Narrative

Lego building sets and kits that are for a specific build will support students' individual goals. Shelves and display boxes are for displaying students' builds and creations. Bean bag chairs are to provide students will inviting place to read and can also be a "reward" seating choice (alternative to desk and chair). 

 

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