My students are about to embark on a special journey as our school transforms into a STEM magnet program. This program will give my seventh and eighth graders the skills to solve real world problems. This semester, they are investigating colleges and learning about factors that may affect their decision of where to apply and ultimately where to live. They come from a low to middle income rural area where funding for these types of projects is not available. My students are very motivated to learn Spanish and how it can help them have a brighter future. My middle school Spanish students are actually taking Spanish 1 and 2 for high school credit to get ahead in their educational careers. Please help foster a college going culture in our community by supporting our trip to the University of South Florida!
My Project
My Spanish students are currently working on learning housing vocabulary and practicing how to describe people. To get students motivated to learn and provide a real world felt need, they are working towards using this vocabulary to describe a college dorm or other housing option of a college that they are interested in attending in the future. This project is aimed towards getting middle school students excited about looking for colleges and thinking about how finances may affect where they choose to live in college. As an end result, students will create an advertisement, commercial, flyer or brochure to explain the features of their chosen housing option in Spanish to try and attract a compatible roommate.
To further the goal of my College Culture Classroom Project, I would love to provide students with the opportunity to actually visit a college campus.
I have noticed that many of my students are unsure about if college is for them and what the benefits are of attending college. It would be beneficial for students in so many ways. First, it adds another layer of felt need to their project and their learning of the Spanish content because they could actually visit the dorm and see it for themselves. Many of my students have never set foot on a college campus and I think that this opportunity would be a game changer for them. Many students don't realize that you get to pick where you live, when your classes are and what you study. They also can get a preview of student life on campus and realize that attending college is not only an educational experience but a transformative social experience as well. I would really love to give my students this amazing experience to promote a college going culture in our community.
More than half of 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
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