Past projects 8
Stop Motion Animation for the Win
Funded Nov 28, 2023I wanted to thank you again for your generous contribution of cameras for students to create stop motion animation projects. My first group of students has now completed amazing stop motion videos about the original 13 colonies. They showed what they learned in amazing ways to complete these videos. My favorite video showed the U.S. colonies "breaking up" with England.
The students really enjoyed getting to show their learning in a new and exciting way. They loved learning how to create a stop motion animation video, and worked very well in each of their groups to create their videos. This was definitely on opportunity for the children to be creative in a new and exciting way.
Thank you so much for helping this happen!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Wilkins
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 3 other donors.Building Brains With Brain Flakes
Funded Jan 15, 2022My students were so excited when I told them what a grant was and how the brain flakes they were going to use were funded. Thank you so much for your contribution to our classroom and school. We will continue using the brain flakes for many STEM projects in the future.
Today, the students were very creative in creating a gadget to "sell". They added and multiplied decimals to determine how much money each gadget would cost to make. Each group is trying to make the most amount of money from their gadget in a future simulation. As a teacher, you always love seeing your students communicate and teach each other. Today I saw a Spanish speaking student explaining to another student in Spanish how to add the decimals and line up the decimal points with no prompt from me.
Thank you for making this learning opportunity an option for my students, it was a pleasure watching them learn and work together.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Wilkins
This classroom project was brought to life by Panda Cares and 2 other donors.Breakout the 4 Cs!
Funded Oct 16, 2019Thank you again for your generous donations that have allowed me to use digital breakouts in my classrooms. Watching my students work together to try and solve the puzzles is such a wonderful experience. They are learning how to communicate with each other better. They also talk about the curriculum in ways that a simple class discussion or paper-based activity don't always encourage.
Many of the problem solving skills involved in the breakouts require a higher level of persistence and perseverance than other tasks. I've especially enjoyed watching my students who rarely have to struggle learn how to grapple with difficult problems and not give up. Thank you once again for giving my students this wonderful resource.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Wilkins
This classroom project was brought to life by Verizon and 3 other donors.Help Make Our Robots Rock!
Funded Oct 17, 2018Thank you so much for helping our students learn how to problem solve and use technology with the new motor, sensor and iPod. The students built a very sturdy robot and the motor has worked great at driving. We are still working on learning how to use the light sensor and hope to use it to follow lines and detect color soon.
Our group has chosen a photographer who used the iPod to take pictures of activities, take pictures of notes we put on the board in our shared room, and he created a movie to illustrate how we solved a problem. We have also been using it as a timer for activities. All of this is student-centered and they are loving it.
In the spring we will begin a new club using the same technology, and this will allow even more students to utilize your gift to our school. Thank you so much for your donation.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Wilkins
This classroom project was brought to life by Chevron Fuel Your School.Microbit Experiments
Funded Dec 12, 2017My classroom got to use our Microbits for the first time today! The students were very excited and eager to learn.
First, they learned about how to care for the Microbit and what the parts do. There is a processor, accelerometer, a compass, pins, 25 LED lights, two buttons, a microUSB port, a battery port, and a reset button.
Next, they learned how to use Microbit.org code to program their Microbit to play a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. In order to program this, they learned about variables, random numbers, and if/then/else statements.
Then, they downloaded their program to their Microbits, connected them to the battery pack and tried their programs. Some students had to do some debugging, but most got their program to work on the first try.
Finally, we wanted to thank you, so each team programmed their microbit to display a letter or an icon and took a picture of them.
Many students were so excited they wanted to buy their own Microbit to work with at home. Thank you so much for giving us this learning opportunity. This was just the first of many fun lessons to come.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Wilkins
This classroom project was brought to life by Wells Fargo and 3 other donors.Robots for Coding
Funded Oct 17, 2016Thank you again for purchasing EV3 robots and accessories for our school. So far this year, we have used them to build new versions of robots using color sensor technology and learned how to make our medium motor work better for us when lifting objects and putting them down.
Having the additional robots for our Lego League team has made it so more students can program and test their programs at the same time. This has more than doubled the on-task time for students and allowed the kids to get their hands on the robots much more often. The result of this was the students were able to spend more time writing and testing their coding.
In mid-March or April we will start an afternoon Robotics and Problem Solving Club. Having the extra robots will come in very handy for that, and they will impact more students. We will continue using this technology for years to come, building on the foundation of what we have already learned. I'm hoping to inspire my students to pursue computer science and engineering in their future endeavors.
Thanks seems like such a small thing to say for such a great donation. The students and I appreciate you very much.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Wilkins
Interactive Learning
Funded Oct 10, 2012I wanted to thank you for your donation to our classroom. The 8 ipods we have received have gotten much use! My students are using the ipods during small group time to practice reading and math skills. One of their favorite apps is Letter School, which is helping their handwriting and letter formation improve greatly.
We have been working on a creative project also. The students were each given a letter and had to find an object with that letter in it. Then they made a video of themselves with the letter and the object they found. The excitement in the room as they made videos of each other was what learning should always be like.
Thanks again for this wonderful resource. We're very grateful for the learning opportunities you've given us.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Wilkins
Vivid Vocabulary
Funded Nov 2, 2011I want to thank you so much for your generous donation to my classroom. We have received six digital cameras and students have had a great time learning to use them, as well as improving their photography techniques.
Currently, the students are in the midst of writing three books about nouns. One for people, one for places, and once for things. We almost have enough photographs to complete our book about people. This book will help the students learn the names of those who work in our school. Students will also interview some of the staff, such as the custodian, and write about what they do to help our school.
This is helping them develop vocabulary and writing skills in a very engaging way, and a side benefit is I'm discovering I have some talented photographers in my class. The pictures we'll be putting up will include a thank you card where we used our bodies to shape the letters, some pictures of us using the cameras, some of us writing our book, and one of us reading the book.
I only wish you could personally see the students' excitement each time the cameras come out, or they get to review their pictures. Your donation is very much appreciated.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Wilkins