I walked into my classroom this year:  my fifth year teaching, but my first year in first grade.  I was anxious, excited, but mostly clueless about what to expect.  One hour into my first day, I was hit by a realization:  I have, by far, the WIDEST range of abilities in the class than I have ever had before.

I already have felt that small group is necessary in the younger grades.  We need to meet students at their levels, of course.  One tricky thing in doing that, though, is keeping track of what you have done with each student.  I have tried multiple things in the past, from writing on mailing labels that are then affixed to a page for each student, all the way to bringing in my personal laptop and devising an excel spreadsheet to organize everything.  Now that I have so many students in so many different places, I need something that I can grab and go between different small groups.  I need to have a device that allows me to type extensive notes as I work at my small group table, but that I can also take around the classroom and confer with students one on one or in small groups.  

With these funds, I will purchase a Microsoft Surface Pro 3 Tablet and a compatible keyboard.  I envision this to be an amazing teacher tool that I will be able to use to document all interactions with students so I can then analyze their knowledge and plan my instruction to best meet their needs.  

This is a lot of money, but I do feel that this will enhance my teaching and informal assessment immensely.  I have researched into it to ensure all the programs I need are compatible.  I have read articles about the Microsoft Surface Pro in the classroom.  I truly believe that this device will enable me to keep close track of each students' ability so I can use that data to best meet their needs through instruction, no matter what level those needs may be.

Back Up Plan