Mrs. Holt's Classroom Edit display name

Past projects 3

• Rooted in Reading

  Funded Aug 15, 2017

  I can not begin to express my sincere thanks to you for making it possible for me to get new books for my classroom. The texts that were purchased were all apart of a new reading program called Rooted in Reading. Rooted in Reading is a fun and engaging method of teaching reading skills to students through engaging texts that coordinate with interactive notebooks, hands on activities, partner and group discussions, directed drawings, and weekly crafts.

  These books have changed the dynamics of my classroom. In the past, students lacked the motivation to read texts as well as stay focused in class because the books we had were boring. Now, students are constantly asking what time are we doing reading because they can't wait to see what fun activity we'll be doing next or what exciting thing will happen in the book. This makes my teacher heart so happy!

  The best part of all of this however is the fact that my lowest students, many of which have learning disabilities, are showing great gains in their reading scores and I know this is all in part to these books and the wonderful activities that coordinate with them. Without these mentor texts, I have no doubt that those students would still be struggling far more than they are at this point in the school year. Thank YOU for helping them grow and become more successful in second grade. Without your donation, it wouldn't have been possible!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Holt

• A World Beyond Our Doors

  Funded Aug 10, 2015

  Thank you so much for providing my classroom with Scholastic News magazine. Since receiving our first issue back at the beginning of September, we have been able to incorporate current events into our classroom weekly through the use of these magazines.

  Each Friday students are anxious for our reading block to begin so that they can see what this week's article will be about. And let me tell you, that is very rare! The students love reading each article, completing the activities, and watching the videos that coordinate with each article via the online website.

  It's amazing to hear my students comparing and contrasting articles we read about six plus weeks ago as half of the time they can barely remember what we did the day before. This proves to me how beneficial these texts are to have in their hands. With that said, thank you again for your donations! Without your help, my students would have not the opportunity to explore things happening outside of the world as they know it!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Holt

• We Need a Little "Mercy"!... Mercy Watson That Is!

  Funded Oct 16, 2013

  I can not begin to thank you enough for your donations towards my Donors Choose project. Your donations provided seven sets of the Mercy Watson chapter book series for the lowest reading group in my class. I can't begin to describe how excited my students were to receive these books. Kate DiCamillo is most definitely one of their favorite authors! Your donations came in just weeks after our class finished reading her novel "Because of Winn Dixie".

  Third grade is the first year students are introduced to chapter books. Unfortunately, the majority of chapter books are not written on a third grade level. Needless to say, I was struggling to find books that worked for my students as most of them are still on a second grade reading level despite being in third grade. Thanks to your donations, my lowest students now have the ability to hold a chapter book in their hands each and every single day.

  Due to the fact that these books are rather lengthy, we've been able to delve deeper into these texts. By delving deeper, my students have been exposed to a variety of vocabulary, higher order thinking questions, and they've been able to participate in book talks. All things that they were not able to experience with the small daily readers we had to use before. With the help of your donations, my students have grown two to three levels in just a matter of months. Without your help, this would not have been possible. So thank you again for your donations and for your help in making my kids successful this school year!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Holt