Ms. Keenan's Classroom Edit display name

Past projects 71

• Butterflies!

  Funded Apr 24, 2016

  Thank you so much for your generous donations. Watching the life cycle of the caterpillar is an amazing experience. Fourth graders have typically experienced this before in their elementary years, which makes this the perfect opportunity to introduce scientific vocabulary. We learned that caterpillars typically eat the exoskeleton that they shed and that they spin webs to help keep safe from predators. In this project every 4th grader got their own two caterpillars to closely observe. Seeing this process first hand will be an experience they will all remember for years to come. Thank you!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Keenan

• How to Train Your Isopod

  Funded Nov 26, 2015

  Thank you so much for your generous donations. With this project my students were able to observe isopod behavior and design ideal compost piles to attract isopods. It was wonderful to see my students be so engaged as they watched the isopods change their environment. They experimented whether carrots, soil, or gummy worms would be the most attractive to the isopods. Students observed that isopods prefer moist environments that have soil and some decaying materials. Hands-on science is the best way to learn and your support made this happen!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Keenan

• Engineering and Design with Little Bits! Part 2

  Funded Feb 29, 2016

  Thank you so much for your generous donations to my classroom. With these kits my students have been able to build creative contraptions such as, the light beam, which can be dimmed and brightened and the lazy hand waver. Students had a lot of fun looking at the possible projects, making a design plan, and testing to see if that plan worked. This project build on our knowledge of circuits and gave students a new look at problem solving. These kits are expensive and without your generosity we would not have had them in our class! Thank you!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Keenan

• Engineering and Design with Little Bits!

  Funded Jan 10, 2016

  Thank you so much for your generous donations to my classroom. With these kits my students have been able to build creative contraptions such as, the light beam, which can be dimmed and brightened and the lazy hand waver. Students had a lot of fun looking at the possible projects, making a design plan, and testing to see if that plan worked. This project build on our knowledge of circuits and gave students a new look at problem solving. These kits are expensive and without your generosity we would not have had them in our class! Thank you!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Keenan

• Chromebooks Galore!

  Funded Sep 25, 2015

  Thank you SO much for your generous donation to my classroom. The new Chromebooks are incredibly beneficial. More students are able to blog, write, and research at a time. It has been a goal of mine to move to a classroom model where each student has access to technology at the same time. With this gift of Chromebooks that has been possible. Now, during Science experiments and field trips my students rotate and take pictures of the work. The next day they each go on to our blogs and write about what they learned.”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Keenan

• Crazy For Chromebooks, Part 2

  Funded Apr 19, 2015

  Thank you for the incredible gifts you have given to my classroom. Using the chromebooks helps my students to collaborate on presentations, write weekly newspaper articles for our class newspaper, practice their math skills, and more! On a recent project my students surveyed their classmates and then added the statistics into persuasive essays they wrote. As John Dewey said, "If we educate today's students like we did yesterday's, we deprive them of tomorrow." Thank you for helping me create a classroom that is focused on tomorrow and the learning my students need to be successful in the future.”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Keenan

• Crazy For ChromeBooks

  Funded Jan 1, 2015

  Thank you for the incredible gifts you have given to my classroom. Using the chromebooks helps my students to collaborate on presentations, write weekly newspaper articles for our class newspaper, practice their math skills, and more! On a recent project my students surveyed their classmates and then added the statistics into persuasive essays they wrote. As John Dewey said, "If we educate today's students like we did yesterday's, we deprive them of tomorrow." Thank you for helping me create a classroom that is focused on tomorrow and the learning my students need to be successful in the future.”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Keenan

• Continuing Towards 1 to 1!

  Funded Nov 12, 2014

  Thank you for your incredible generosity! My students are able to blog, write, research, and share their work. One recent project we've worked on is persuasive essays. Students used digital surveys to survey their classmates and were able to add the statistics to their essays. While only 6 out of 10 students surveyed may think ice skating is the best sport, all 32 students in my class agree these new chromebooks are fantastic. Students are also able to practice their math in an interactive format and much more. Thank you for your support!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Keenan

• Moving Towards 1 to 1!

  Funded Aug 23, 2014

  Thank you for the incredible donation of 3 chromebooks to my classroom! John Dewey's quote, "If we teach today's students as we taught yesterday's, we rob them of tomorrow" is an inspiration for me as I create my classroom environment. With these chromebooks more students are able to write articles for our classroom newspaper, create podcasts, and blog. When I think back to my own 4th grade experience we simply used computers, we did not create on them. Thanks to your donations my students are able to create, write, and share using technology and will be ready for tomorrow!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Keenan

  This classroom project was brought to life by Gates Foundation Back To School and 12 other donors.

• Books! Books! Books!

  Funded Sep 24, 2014

  Thank you for donating SO many books to my classroom! My students are excited about getting to read stories like The Time Warp Trio and Pedro's Journal. Yesterday each student got to select a book to read first and the room turned silent as everyone wrapped themselves into a new book. As a teacher I feel it is a crucial part of my mission to create readers out of each of my students. One of the best ways to do this is to keep adding new and exciting books to our classroom library. Thank you for your generous support of this mission!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Keenan