With my action project so far, I have volunteered at Ranch Park Elementary School. I was supposed to volunteer at my old middle school; however, I decided to help in a different environment to gain new experiences. I helped out in Mrs.Menard’s grade 3 class. I went last week on Wednesday in the afternoon. Throughout the day I helped the students with their reading, writing, and vocab. I also played a game with them called 21 questions where they learned more about me.
I succeeded in connecting with Mrs. Menard to volunteer in her class because I was originally helping out a different teacher, but our schedules didn’t align. I overcame this by reaching out to multiple teachers until I found one that met my project goals. Another success occurred when I was aiding the kids with setting up their page for their vocab words because the teacher wanted it done in a certain way; however, the kids weren’t following it at first. I overcame this by walking around the class and showing them an example to follow on my phone if they were struggling. 65% of students are visual learners, so this definitely helped a majority of the class. (1) Furthermore, a success I had was introducing myself because we played a fun game where the students were engaged by asking me questions about my life.
A challenge that happened was talking to the students at first. This was because they were shy young kids, and they didn’t want to talk to someone new. I overcame this by remaining positive and having a welcoming smile on my face. I also engaged in conversation by approaching the students first. Another challenge I faced was putting the iPads where they belonged because I was confused about where the different models were stored. I overcame this by asking the teacher for clarification. Lastly, a challenge I faced was helping the kids log into their iPads to access the dictionary, but it was glitching. I overcame this by informing the teacher and telling the students to try a different device.
Next, I plan on going back to that school in the following week to help out in the same class because I have just started to make a bond with the students. I also plan on playing basketball with the students in their next gym class to teach them some basic skills.
Resource:
(1) Visual Learning: Effective Strategies and Best Practices | Instructure. Jamiar Williams. (2023, December 7) https://www.instructure.com/resources/blog/visual-learning-effective-strategies-and-best-practices
Hey,
I really enjoyed reading your blog post #3! I think what you are doing is a great idea. I love that you provided multiple examples and described all of them well. I also love how explained and gave the reasons to why you were volunteering at that school, and with that specific teacher. Next time I think it would be fun if you told us more of the things that you did with the kids, but other than that, I think your post is great!
A site that could be useful if you haven’t seen it already:
https://orlandomom.com/volunteering-at-school-tips-considerations/
Hi Mahdiya,
I think your action project is off to a great start. Volunteering in a grade 3 class seems like an excellent way to gain experience and build connections with younger peers. It is inspiring to see that you are working with younger students in a new environment that may be a little bit out of your comfort zone. I also like your approach to introducing yourself through “21 Questions” because it is a great way to break the ice with children and earn their trust. Additionally, your recent idea of playing and teaching basketball to the students is a fun way to strengthen your connection with them, and I highly recommend that you do it.
Looking forward to what you have coming up!
Best regards,
Isabella
Hello Mahdiya,
I think helping at an elementary school is a great activity for your project. I’m glad you were able to connect with the children. It’s great that the children are receiving extra help with their vocabulary, and that you were able to find alternative ways to provide help when they didn’t understand it at first. Pulling up a visual for the kids to help them understand is such a creative way to help them. I look forward to seeing your plan to build this experience is future sessions!
-Maisie