KAITLIN BARNES
ACCESS
Students and their families have been exposed to people, programs, resources, and connections that can open doors for them, and they are able to navigate and access those opportunities
INTRODUCTION
Although my students live in the fourth-largest city in America, many of my students have a very narrow view of the world. The neighborhood that my school serves is almost entirely Hispanic and low-income, so my students come to school without exposure to different cultures and ways of life, or even basic knowledge about other parts of our diverse city.
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Throughout the school year, I provide my students with increased access to unique learning experiences. Through culturally diverse class novels and the selection of current events articles, I am able to weave an increased knowledge of the world into my daily classroom instruction. However, two experiences in particular helped me provide my students with a more thorough understanding of the challenges that different groups of people face, both now and throughout history. A virtual field trip allowed students to explore primary sources related to our study of the Holocaust, while a project-based summer enrichment course gave my students access to thirteen immigration experts from around the country.
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Please click each image below to see how I provided my students with increased access through these experiences.
CONCLUSION
Through the virtual field trip, students gained a deeper understanding of the Holocaust, which enriched their experience with our class novel that guided this unit. By exploring primary sources and hearing from Holocaust survivors, my students were able to have a hands-on learning experience about this important historical topic. This type of experience would have been impossible if I had not adapted to the temporary closure of the Holocaust Museum Houston and created the virtual field trip to serve in place of a traditional field trip. In addition, through the summer enrichment course, my students were able to gain a deeper understanding of the nuances and challenges that accompany leaving your home country and settling in a new one. By hearing from current immigrants and refugees in person, students were able to ask questions tailored to their personal interests and project ideas. By designing a summer course curriculum that included guest speakers, and using a variety of means to recruit guest speakers, I made the learning more personal for my students. These experiences combined gave them a new level of access to both historical and current topics.