Fifty Nifty United States

School:: Corkscrew Elementary
Subject:: Social Studies
Teacher:: Jessica Shelbaugh
Students Impacted:: 44
Grade:: 5
Date:: August 12, 2018

Investor

Thank you to the following investor for funding this grant.

Ida & Jeff Margolis - $72.30

Impact to My Classroom

# of Students Impacted: 47

Thanks to the generosity of our community members, my students have enjoyed learning United States geography more than ever this year. Learning the locations, capitals, and abbreviations of our fifty states is a difficult challenge for fifth graders. We spent almost the entire first quarter in Social Studies on this standard. Along with our curriculum, my students were so engaged with puzzles, bingo, quizzes, and board games this year, often having so much fun they didn't even realize how much they were learning. I'm proud to say that all forty seven of my students mastered the location of our fifty states, along with their capitals and abbreviations. These games were definitely a huge factor in this accomplishment. While learning geography, the students also learned to work together in teams and to celebrate each other's learning. Another benefit these games introduced to my students was study skills. They learned that studying can be fun, and some of them even created their own games to help them learn the fifty states and capitals. I'm thankful that all of these resources can positively impact my future fifth grade students too, and can't wait to get started on this unit with them in the fall.

Original Grant Overview

Goal

My goal is to help my students master their understanding of United States geography, including the locations and capitals of all fifty states. Students learn more when they are engaged and having fun, so I strive to provide opportunities to practice their skills and deepen their knowledge through the use of educational games related to our standards.

What will be done with my students

Fifth grade students are expected to learn and master the location and capitals of the fifty states of America, along with the five regions and major land forms. This is often a difficult skill for many students, as it's the first time they are learning about states and capitals outside of their home state of Florida. While we have songs and maps available in the classroom, I have found that student engagement is exponentially increased when they are learning through games and fun. In my experience, kids will even ask to play educational games during free time or recess because they enjoy them so much. I've love to give my classes the opportunity to play and practice with these games throughout the year which will also increase their long term retention of their learning.

Benefits to my students

Although my ultimate goal is to teach my students to understand the geography, states, and capitals of the United States, these games teach them so much more. Students learn to collaborate with their peers while using critical thinking skills and teamwork. They work together and celebrate each other's successes while mastering difficult information within their social studies learning goals.

Budget Narrative

Items will be purchased from the most cost effective source.

Items

#	Item	Cost
1	U.S.A. Bingo Game	$11.02
2	GEO Bingo USA Board Game	$17.32
3	Scrambled States of America Board Game	$14.67
4	Sequence States & Capitals Game	$19.95
5	Hot Dots U.S. States & Capitals Game	$10.24
	Total:	$73.20

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