Cornhusker Motor Club Foundation

Nebraska Education Grants

GOAL OF PROGRAM
a. Please explain your program idea.
High frequency words, or words that occur frequently in written material, are introduced
weekly in my first-grade classroom. They are introduced five or six words weekly, and once the
week is over, five or six more are introduced the next week. My idea is to have a set of magnetic
letters for each student. When learning the words for the first time, instead of just writing the
word, my idea is to have students build the word with their magnets, mix it up and respell it a
few times, and then try writing the word without looking.

b. How will this enhance classroom instruction?

I believe this will enhance classroom instruction by getting more students engaged in the
learning, and reaching all levels of learners. A lot of times, lower level learners aren’t ready to
write the words, but they could participate in the magnet building.

c. How will students benefit?

Students will benefit by getting more exposure to the words when they are introduced to
them for the first time. They will use multiple learning styles while practicing the word. The
tactile piece with the magnets before writing the word can add great benefits from just having
students write the words. Teaching that engages a student’s sensory modalities (e.g., visual,
auditory, and tactile), along with their linguistic system, may enhance learning (Schlesinger &
Gray, 2017).

d. Is there a student demand for this activity?

Many students struggle to learn their high frequency words. In the past when we have
been able to get outside help from additional teacher support, the extra high frequency word
practice with magnetic letters was found very helpful. The demand for student support when it
comes to learning high frequency words is high and without access to magnetic letters, will not
be possible to do as a whole class intervention.

How many students will be impacted by this program? (required)

18 Students

PROJECT/PROGRAM SPECIFICS
a. Who will be involved in this program?
The classroom teacher and the first-grade students in the classroom will be involved in
this program.

b. How long will the program last?

The high frequency word classroom instruction would last the entire school year.

c. Can the program be reproduced with little or no cost in the future?

 After purchasing materials once, they can be used for future use to run the program at
little to no additional cost.
d. What adjectives would best describe the program or its effects?
Adjectives to best describe the program or its effects would be: instruction, enhancing,
engaging, tactile, and literacy.

RESULTS AND EVALUATION

a. What results do you anticipate?
I anticipate that with the addition of magnetic letters during high frequency word
instruction, students will increase the number of high frequency words they can write on their
own.

b. How are the outcomes measurable?

Quarterly high frequency word assessments

c. Are there any foreseeable problems with this plan?

In the beginning of this new method of learning, a foreseeable problem could be the
classroom management of 18 students with magnetic letters.

d. How could they be prevented, or how could the plan be changed for the future?
This problem can be prevented with teacher modeling and pre-teaching/practicing of
routines. The plan could also be changed so this is being done in smaller groups if an additional
teacher was available.
PROGRAM BUDGET
Itemized Project Cost: (don’t include commas in dollar amounts)

Magnetic letters (3 $150

boxes)
Magnetic boards (18) $90
$
$
$

TOTAL GRANT AMOUNT REQUESTED

(May not exceed $2,000)
from the Cornhusker Motor Club Foundation:
$240