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DKG International Educators Foundation

DKGIEF Projects: Members

Making a Difference

A few weeks ago, I was visiting a preservice teacher in her Grade 1
classroom to observe her lesson. Focused on a short activity, as Grade 1
activities often are, her goal was for students to be able to identify emotions
from the story. The lesson went well; the children enjoyed the story,
answered questions, asked questions, went on tangents, wiggled, giggled,
and participated fully, as Grade 1 students often do. When we debriefed the
lesson, I asked, “Did the students learn what you set out for them to learn?”
She wasn’t sure… “What would have happened,” I asked, “if you had shared
the reading intention with the students at the beginning of the story?”
As a writer, I invite you now to engage in two specific, intentional ways
with this article. In the first instance, I hope you will appreciate, as I came
to do in reading and preparing to write about the projects described below,
the members who give of their time and energy to promote excellence in
education through DKGIEF-funded projects. In the second instance, I hope
that the vignettes presented here will inspire you to think about a project
you, your chapter, a mentor, or a mentee might pursue and how you might
connect with the project funding of the DKGIEF to further the project’s
goals, making a difference and promoting excellence in education.
Transport yourself to Lubbock,
Texas, in the United States. If, like
the author of this article, you’ve
never been to Lubbock, that’s OK.
Just know that in Lubbock, there
is a chapter of DKG undertaking a
DKGIEF project, spearheaded by
member Karen Avey, supporting
literacy in a local charter school. In
this school that emphasizes literacy
for students experiencing learning
difficulties, Karen and her chapter set
out to build a “nest”—a collection of
hands-on materials to support literacy
development. Through chapter work
and funding from the DKGIEF,
they achieved the first phase of their
Nature Walk © goal and, not resting on laurels, are
Textiles by Dana setting their sights on mathematics manipulatives next!
Murphy, OR; Fall Next, picture yourself during the pandemic—think of struggles you’ve
2021 Art Gallery experienced or witnessed. Now, consider that through their own COVID-19
challenges, for members in Nuevo Leon in Mexico, with project leadership from
Donna Ann Greene Martinez, action was a way forward. Through their initiative

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