Amicus with Dahlia Lithwick Giving Page

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Students always love to recieve their own copy of the Constitution after studying the history, impact, change over time and relevance today. Having their own copy helps them feel empowered to understand current events and see where we need policy changes.

The economics materials we super helpful second semester because that is not a topic I have mastery in. And of course, this school year was interrupted by COVID in MArch so any extra materials and support were especially valued.

Thank you very much!”

With gratitude,

Ms. Tanner

Thank you so much for your generous donation to allow this assembly to come to our school for our 5th graders. It was the second time we have invited this group and it did not disappoint. The students not only were entertained but also learned a lot. All of the students were divided into two groups and were able to visit both. One group was able to learn from Benjamin Franklin himself all about his life and inventions. The other group was able to learn additional information about Ben Franklin, as well as all about a common job during colonial times; a printer and his press.

There were multiple opportunities for students to take part in the interactive portions of the morning. A few students had the chance to generate electricity while others were able to add letters to the press to create a copy of an almanac page. The speakers were entertaining and it was clear the students were engaged.

Our visitors left quite an impact with our students. There was a much greater understanding about the amount of hard work that was required for people living during this era. For example, they learned the amount of hard work, time and effort that was needed to create one page in a book. The students also learned about the evolution of book making; from hand scribes, to the printing press, until now. The students are continuing to talk about our visitors even today while we are learning more about colonial times in the classroom.

We are very appreciative of this opportunity and look forward to including this assembly on an annual basis.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Rosen

Thank you so much for donating much-needed books to help us build our classroom historical library. These books are not available in our school library, and since our school library is new, we don't have a large selection of historical books for the content our students study in the 8th grade about United States history.

The students love having books available on the topics we are studying. The students often borrow them to take home to read in the evenings or on weekends.

Thank you again for supporting our public schools and students!”

With gratitude,

Ms. Boepple

Thank you for providing our school library with biographies about important contemporary women. After receiving them, small groups previewed each book and introduced them to the rest of the class. They practiced scanning timelines for important information, working together in a group, and speaking in a public setting.

The best part is that after the presentations, kids were asking if they could check out the books right away! It is important for both boys and girls to see women in important roles in our world, and for girls to aspire to similarly important roles.

I appreciate your support of our school library as well as libraries and classrooms across the country through Donors Choose. You are making a difference!”

With gratitude,

Ms. Kay

Thank you so much for donating and helping my students have better resources in my classroom. The common idioms in English book is used to help ESL students better understand the English language and culture. The visiual aids (posters) have really helped my students better with US History because of the order of the presidents, the branches of government, the geography (maps) and of course the pledge of allegiance.

The biggest difference maker were the set of Constitution readers that make studying the constitution simple and easy and not cumbersome. Before students had to flip through some old worn out text books and now they're able to quickly look at the entire Constitution including the amendments very quickly. We did a really fun and informative Constitution scavenger hunt and students were all reading the Constitution and learning about the great history of our nation.

Finally, the "tub o' Spanish words" has been awesome in coming up with creative ways to formulate new sentences in my beginning Spanish classes. Students have learned more vocabulary and better sentence structure because of it. All of the materials have helped students have a stronger desire to learn and to improve. Spanish and History have been more fun to teach this school year because of the resources that your donations provided. Most importantly the students are learning and growing more because of them! Thanks so much!”

With gratitude,

Mr. Johnny Walker

Thank you for investing in my classroom! I'm thrilled to share some details on how your generosity has impacted 55 incredible young people in Lowell, Massachusetts.

My students represent a wide cross section of society. Some of our children have been in the United States for just a few months, while others are fifth generation Lowellians. Some come from upper middle class families, while others face significant economic hardships and are currently homeless. We all bring different experiences and realities to school each day and it's important that I provide high quality, engaging learning opportunities for every child.

I am passionate about civic education and I have had my eye on We the People resources for several years. My goal was to connect the inspiring, real-world action civics projects my students engage in with meaningful and authentic study of historical content. This isn't easy to do, and traditional textbooks are not designed for this. As you may recall history textbooks are essentially 800 pages of facts, and because of this students usually do not engage with the content.

The We the People resources are different, and they're everything I had hoped they would be. The material is inquiry-based and discussion driven, and my students are invested. We learned about the ideas behind the Declaration of Independence as they debated what natural rights meant to them. They made connections with immigration, gun rights and gun control, LGBTQ rights, trade, the economy, and climate change. My students explore separation of powers and checks and balances through the Federalist Papers and US Constitution in a student-friendly way as they follow current events. They think about big ideas – the role of government, state v. federal power, and the roles of political parties, as they follow the 2020 campaigns. My students have different perspectives on current events and We the People helps us have informed, civil discourse, as well as connect the past with the present. It provides a solid foundation from which young people can grow into active, engaged, and informed citizens.

Thanks, also, for your belief in me. Your generosity has helped make social studies education relevant and meaningful, and I am deeply grateful for your support.”

With gratitude,

Mr. Neagle

Thank you so much for the generous donation to help supply my classroom with additional resources for the students to take advantage of. The unique history books that you have donated have helped my students see our history from viewpoints not always looked at in textbooks. We've used the books to write point of view letters, created timelines, but most importantly, we are using our reading strategies for non-fiction texts. This is something that most students struggle with. The information given can sometimes be too wordy or use higher vocabulary. These books are forcing students to breakdown the information to their level and understand what it is saying. This not only ties reading into social studies but shows them how reading strategies are a life skill used everywhere.

Our school is a Title I school where the large majority of our students are on free and reduced lunches. I can only put so much money of my own into the classroom and would not ask the parents because I know that they are hardworking people that need the money themselves. You have helped bring in much needed supplies to our school. Not only are the books being used in my room but being passed around for others to use on my campus.

Without donors like you, some schools would be lacking necessary items to teach students well. By helping purchase these books, you have helped students grasp a better understanding about our nation's history. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Keaton