Past projects 9
We Think We Can! Improving Reading at the Middle Level
Funded Feb 7, 2022Your generous donation allowed me to stock my shelves with materials that align to the Take Flight program. Take Flight is a comprehensive multisensory intervention for students with dyslexia. The items that I requested, including picture books, phonics phones, and practice exercises aligned to Orton-Gillingham methods, all compliment the therapy lessons offered in my small group sessions.
My Take Flight students attend my class five days a week. Being an intensive intervention, my groups are no larger than five students at a time. This gives students opportunities to try new skills under direct supervision with immediate feedback. We work through lessons on phonics, coding and reading words and sentences, spelling, and writing. The more hands-on I can make these lessons, the better. Take Flight lessons also have a comprehension component. Your donation allowed me to buy a class set of each title that is recommended for comprehension work. Now, each student in my small group can have his or her own copy to follow along in as we use our new reading skills.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Bright-Wiggins
This classroom project was brought to life by Oklahoma State Department of Education.Reading Globally
Funded Oct 2, 2019Thank you so much for providing the books that allowed my students to participate in Global Read Aloud activities! We have completed the project, and many students stated they enjoyed the book.
From Eric, "It's the best book I've ever read!"
From Gabe, "I can't wait for the sequel!"
Dozens of students expressed the same thoughts, and these are students who traditionally do not enjoy reading. I think they enjoyed this one so much because they had their own copies to view as we read together. We also connected to other classrooms through shared Kahoot quizzes for each week of reading, and we reflected on the Six Signposts - a reading strategy that helps students learn to look for common elements of fiction. One example of this is Again and Again, a signpost that asks students to stop and notice when a word, phrase, or symbol keeps appearing. When we noticed something like this, we stopped to discuss why it might be important to the overall story, thereby practicing discussion skills and deeper comprehension of the text.
None of this would have been possible without your donations! Thank you for your contributions to my students!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Bright-Wiggins
The Better to Hear You With, Part II
Funded Aug 14, 2019My earlier project, "The Better to Hear You With, My Dear" successfully provided my classroom with 13 sets of high quality over the ear headphones. I was very excited to receive these for my students, but I could not allow them to leave my classroom. This presented a bit of a dilemma - students needed access to audio listening devices for other classrooms and at home. What should I do?
In creating a Part II addendum, you have graciously provided my students with options. Students can now choose to use over the ear headphones, which provide better sound blocking, or they can use in ear earbuds, which are more comfortable for some students and are portable. It is always nice to have options!
My students were very appreciative of the new items. They especially enjoyed choosing their favorite colors from the earbud selection. Please know you are very appreciated!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Bright-Wiggins
This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 6 other donors.The Better to Hear You With, My Dear
Funded Apr 8, 2019At the end of the last school year, you graciously funded a project giving me 13 sets of quality headphones for use in my classroom. Previously, my students used the mixed set of headphones I had scrounged up - various sizes and quality, some barely holding on to get me through the school year. Students would rush to get the "good" pairs and fuss when they didn't get the pair they deemed "the best." It was an added distraction we didn't need as we prepared to read.
When our new headphones arrived, students helped me unbox them and display them in an easy-access pocket chart on our wall. The next day, students calmly went to the wall, selected any available pair of headphones and went right to work. I was amazed! No arguing over which pair to use, no hiding the "good" pair so others couldn't find them. Since they all had equal access to the same listening tool, they were able to get right to the listening!
I am truly appreciative of the donation you provided, and I am excited to use the new headphones with my incoming students. Thank you!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Bright-Wiggins
Books That Stand Out From the Crowd
Funded Dec 28, 2018I am so excited to have the book truck in my classroom! Whenever I do a book talk about a new or exciting book, or when I pull out a set of books that all correspond to the same theme or topic, my students usually BEG to check those books out. The book truck makes it so easy for students to find the books I have used in specific lessons.
At the start of the new semester, I hosted a Book Tasting so my new students could become familiar with the books on my shelves. I stacked numerous books on eight tables, and students rotated to each table for a set amount of time to preview the titles in each stack. They recorded the titles that seemed most interesting to them on a personal menu. Once the book truck arrived, I was able to move all of the titles used at the Book Tasting to two dedicated shelves. Now, students can consult their "menus" and find the titles they desire quickly and easily.
One of our favorite activities is First Chapter Friday. On Fridays, I will choose one or two titles and read just one chapter aloud to the students. This strategy is a way to get students into a book, yet leave them wanting a bit more. Students ALWAYS ask to check out the First Chapter Friday books! I decided to dedicate one shelf on the book truck for our First Chapter Friday books. Now, students can find those featured books very quickly and easily.
This piece of equipment has become a focal point in our classroom library. Thank you for contributing to its purchase. It is accomplishing exactly what I hoped it would - helping students find featured titles quickly and painlessly.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Bright-Wiggins
New Year, New School, New Grade Level, New Books!
Funded Aug 22, 2018I am pleased to report that students were very excited to see the boxes of new books and materials as they arrived in our classroom. We made a big deal of opening the boxes in each class period, and students throughout the day kept calling "dibs" on titles as they would dig through the new selections. For students who do not traditionally like reading, the excitement was a great sound to hear!
After opening our boxes and before making the books available for student checkout, I hosted a "Book Tasting" event. Students rotated from table to table, previewing a small stack of books for a set amount of time, to get a "taste" of the stories. They recorded titles of their favorites on a Wish List to be kept in their reading folders. This was so they can remind themselves of books they are interested in reading the next time they tell me they don't have a book to read. Since we read independently at the beginning of each class period for at least 15 minutes, these Wish Lists have been referred to often.
Students have been especially excited to try the Bone graphic novel series as well as the Bluford High series. I have also appreciated having the Nonfiction reading card set and Fluency card set for small group instruction. Thank you again for supporting my classroom and my striving readers.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Bright-Wiggins
This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 6 other donors.Bringing the Outside In - Connecting to Other Worlds
Funded Apr 20, 2011I would like to take this opportunity to thank each of you again for your generous donations to my classroom. The netbook that was purchased went with me during my summer professional development trip to Germany and France, and it was used to store photos and videos along the way. Many of those photos and videos have been shared with different student groups in our first 13 weeks of school, and they love looking at them.
The netbook with the webcam also allowed me an opportunity to learn how to use the webcam and to learn how to use Skype video chat. One of my student groups has since used Skype to converse with one of my tour guides. The students asked her all kinds of questions about her upbringing in what was then East Germany, and how life in Germany was different from life in the United States. They thoroughly enjoyed having a "face-to-face" conversation with someone in another country and learned a lot about another culture. We hope to Skype with Stephanie again in the future and may find ways to meet other classrooms around the world.
Technology has opened up a world to my students that many never thought they'd get to experience. I may not be able to take them all to the four corners of the world, but because of your generous donations, I can bring the world into the classroom for them. Thank you again so much for your support! ”
With gratitude,
Ms. Bright-Wiggins
From Reluctant to Ravenous: Creating Life-Long Readers!
Funded May 6, 2010I want to take this opportunity to thank you all for your generous donations to my classroom! My requested books arrived shortly after school began in August, and many of my students have now had time to read at least one book from the selections. I hear them recommending titles to one another, too!
When the box arrived, one boy commented that he couldn't believe people would just give us these books. My students, for the most part, don't have things just given to them, so I wanted you to know that they were very excited to receive the book shipment, and they are very grateful to all of you for your donations.
Thanks again!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Bright-Wiggins
"I Wanna SEE That Book!"
Funded Feb 9, 2010After using my document camera for the last month, I have to say I don't know how I ever survived without it! I had an overhead projector for many years, but it usually went unused because of the hassle (and expense) of making transparencies. With the document camera, I can project many objects by simply placing them under the lens – no extra work required! We've used the camera to project book pages during read aloud, as proposed, but we've also used it to project team timers, student responses to activities, and so much more. It has become an invaluable tool! My students are more attentive during lessons, and I can see progress in their reading assessments. I am so very grateful to everyone who donated to this cause. ”
With gratitude,
Ms. Bright-Wiggins