Heart rate monitors make exercise fun and motivating for these elementary students. “Baton” style pulse monitor bars on stands placed throughout the gym, allow students, with one two-second grip, to see instantly if they are working hard enough to raise their heart rate. Students can self-assess and set goals for improvement.
Grants - 2012-2013 (fall)
Heart Monitor Motivation
Nick Pitcher, Ravenwood Elementary School, $880
Ukulele Utopia
Kody Willnauer and Libby Whittle, Regency Place and Ravenwood Elementary Schools, $2,745
Music teachers at these schools collaborated to bring something unique and exciting to students. Less expensive and easier for smaller children to handle, ukuleles capitalize on a popular instrument that is new to most, while teaching students to read chord tablature, utilize correct finger positions, strum and practice team work through ensemble performance. The instruments are shared between schools using alternative ukulele unit schedules.
Mimio Teach
Jennifer Bruse, Mahaffie Elementary School, $800, Heather Lowe, Mahaffie Elementary School, $800
The Mimio Teach Interactive System attaches to the ordinary classroom whiteboard, turning it into an interactive whiteboard. It enlivens lessons with audio, video, and flash files. It can record audio and video lessons to reuse whenever needed. It also allows the teacher to save whiteboard notes and drawings to the computer, and even print them for students. Two systems enable this fifth grade team to maximize the full benefit of having a Mimio System as a pilot program on the elementary level.
On the Road to Common Core State Standards
Kamiel Rawie, Maureen Bauer, and Donna Kimpel, Fairview Elementary School, $1,700
New common core state standards will take effect in 2014, ensuring all students are college and career ready in literacy. This elementary is planning ahead by updating their guided reading books for all grade levels now. These new instructional leveled books will provide the rigor and depth that students will be required to achieve in reading.
Promoting Lifetime Fitness
Mike Potchad, Santa Fe Trail Middle School, $2,190
A set of 35 fitness weight bars enable younger and physically smaller students to enjoy the benefits of strength training as a way to increase muscle tone and overall fitness. Using lighter weights with more repetitions give the student a better chance for success and prepare them for their future.
Daily 5 Implementation
Gayla Posch, Tomahawk Elementary School, $714
A diverse school population and many students who are reading far below grade level require this teacher to spend a lot of one-on-one reading time. Personal CD players and books-on-CD allow students who are waiting for their instruction time to be meaningfully engaged in a very important reading component: listening to reading.
Mimio Technology
Rebecca Reyes & Candy Birth, Olathe South High School, $5,000
User-friendly Smartboard technology creates an interactive learning environment and the ability to capture teacher notes, drawings and classroom discussion in a PDF for those students who are not able to be in the classroom or have difficulty with note taking. The Mimeo Vote component to this system allows teachers to immediately assess the learning environment by student clicker response. Teachers can correct any misconceptions or misunderstandings during classroom lessons before incorrect patterns set in. A multi-component system will allow the many grades and content areas to have this as a pilot program on the high school level.