Past projects 2
Writers Need Their Space
Funded Mar 27, 2018I can't thank you enough for your generosity! I am extremely grateful, and my students are going to be very excited about this new tool. The desks we have are small and while the students type their documents there are sometimes many objects on them: chromebook, papers, books. The "Page Up" document holders will help my third graders be organized and more focused. I can't wait to have the students begin using them - They are going to be in awe on how such a little thing can make such an impact!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Barnett
This classroom project was brought to life by Ripple and 8 other donors.A New Spin on Social Studies and Science
Funded Jan 20, 2015My second graders were super excited to receive their first Scholastic News pamphlets. They were surprised to find out that something so interesting was a gift from people they have never met. As they opened their gift and examined the contents I heard: "This is for us?" "Wow!" "How Cool!" "Look at this!" "Why would someone give these to us?". Not only did the pictures and articles captivate them, they were in awe with the videos and games provided through the website. They even enjoyed filling out the worksheets that accompanied the pamphlets.
Scholastic News is a way to bring updated "informational text" into the classroom. With the new common core standards and expectations my second graders were able to apply strategies and skills they have learned throughout the year. We practiced answering text-dependent questions, vocabulary, cause and effect, and finding the main idea with the details, all while learning about real-life events and concerns. Before the article is read, students have a chance to watch short videos that introduce the topic, see images that support vocabulary, and play a trivia game quizzing them on the new knowledge. The website also offers an audio of the article so that students can follow along (they love hearing someone else's voice besides mine :). After the article is read we worked on activities that build on grade-level standards. These included math word problems and summarizing (it was nice to have activities that connected across subject areas). I also made extension activities to correspond with the existing ones.
Being able to bring the outside world into the classroom definitely boosts my teaching and the students' learning. This addition to my everyday lesson plans brought a new type of excitement to my planning. It is fun to add something new to the curriculum and find ways to make it even better. After the first introduction, my students would ask when we would be doing it again. Their requests were so frequent that I needed to add Scholastic News to our weekly schedule. Even students of a young age enjoy learning about things that are relevant to the world around them. They were so proud of their new gift that they insisted on building a bulletin board for all to see (especially for Open House).”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Barnett
This classroom project was brought to life by Perry and Donna Golkin Family Foundation and 7 other donors.