MY PROJECT:
My students go to school in Vancouver, Washington. We have some pretty cool things around here: Mt. St. Helen's; an air and space museum; Portland, OR. is right across the bridge. . . but my students want to see MORE. They want to LEARN more.

I teach 27 active, wonderful, creative, eager to learn third graders. They are so smart and so curious -- the perfect combination for optimal learning! My classroom is made up of students who receive learning support services through special education, students who speak English as their second language, students who are in our gifted program, and every student in between! It is challenging to teach such a wide range of abilities, but each student is a unique individual and it is my job to reach them all!

One of our major units of study is "Cultures." My students research their ancestry and discover from where their ancestors immigrated. The kids then choose one country from their heritage to study. They learn about their country's culture: food, school, language, clothing, games, holidays, traditions. . . they learn as much as they can without actually visiting the country! But, OH! What if they COULD visit the country!?!?! How AMAZING would that be??? THAT is why I am requesting a Macbook Air laptop for my classroom. My students will be able to use Skype in the Classroom on the laptop to connect to classrooms from other countries -- the countries they are studying!!! They can actually talk to students from the country they are studying and learn from them, while building friendships across cultures!

Short of a student-exchange program (which we just can't do at the elementary level!), using Skype in the Classroom is the best way for my students to learn valuable lessons about different countries and cultures. Learning from books and pictures is great, but it can only take a person so far. I want my students' learning to SOAR!!! Thank you!!! Show Less