Past projects 6
Saving Our Oceans One Author's Visit at a Time!
Funded Sep 19, 2016Dear Donor's
Although Mark Kurlansky won't be visiting us until later in the year due to a change in his busy schedule, I wanted to write in advance and thank you for your generous donation. I have shared with you photos from another author's visit we just completed so that you can get a sense of what the experience will be like when Mark does come in the spring.
Author's visits always impact our students in a positive way. Students leave eager to read sequels to the book they read or read other books the author has written. They leave excited to write their own book and many tell the author that visits that this is the first book that they have read that they actually enjoy. It is a life changing experience for these kids.
What also is so wonderful about author's visits are watching the kids begin to realize that there are so many things that the author considers when writing an amazing book aside from just coming up with an exciting plot. In our most recent author visit students were blown away to discover how much thought and effort was put into each character's name and why. They were also intrigued by why the author killed of certain characters and not others. The realization that we empathize with characters that change over the course of the story was new to many of them. In short, the discussion provided a fabulous model for how to truly analyze a text and hold a Socratic Seminar. It showed them that reading and talking about a good book is just plain fun!
So thank you for generous donation to sponsor Mark Kurlansky coming to speak to our students. They will get to spend a wonderful day with him analyzing his process, why he wrote the book, and learn more about environmental activism. Each student will also receive a signed copy of his book to take home and cherish forever. Without your financial help we would not have been able to make this happen. So thank you for caring about our kids and helping turn them on to the love of reading. We appreciate it more than you will ever know.
We hope you have a wonderful holiday season! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Grate
This classroom project was brought to life by Tom's of Maine and 14 other donors.Food Justice: No More Growling Stomachs or Minds Project
Funded Dec 14, 2015Thank you so much for your generous donation. Since your donation in late December, my class 603 went from collectively having read 279 books to collectively having read 679 books to date. My other class, 604, had read 280 books by late December and has more than doubled that by currently having read 607 books. On average both classes were reading in the upper 600 Lexile range (approximately a 4th grade reading level) and they are now reading, on average, in the mid 700 Lexile range (approximately 5th grade reading level). This is only the beginning. With 5 months remaining in the school year, we hope to get all students on or above grade level in terms of reading and we hope to have every child meet their goal of reading 50 or more books this school year. We will get there thanks to you!
Since reading the novel, Hungry, my students are more and more curious about food justice in America and throughout the world. They ask poignant questions as to why some neighborhoods have a wider variety of healthier food options than their own. They have discussed tentative plans on how they can address the issue of living in a food desert and have expressed interest in learning more about how the government creates laws to protect citizens (a great discussion that we will continuously revisit as we prepare to take our students to Washington D.C. at the end of the school year). Most importantly though, I see my students thinking about their own diets in a more critical manner and becoming more of aware of the choices they are making when putting food into their own bodies. Seeing them making an effort to eat healthier, despite the lack of options in our neighborhood, is super inspiring!
So again, I thank you. None of this would be possible without the books you generously and selflessly donated. My kids have asked me to thank you on their behalf for your donation because they know how lucky they are to have people out there who care about them and their futures.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Grate
This classroom project was brought to life by Disney and 6 other donors.Juicy Reading Seminar Books!
Funded Dec 3, 2015Thank you so much for your generous donation. Early on in my career I found it extremely difficult to articulate the direct impact of how having access to books impacts my students' learning. As I grow older, it has become easier because I have learned a lot from amazing colleagues on how to better track data.
Since your donation in late December, my class 603 went from collectively having read 279 books to collectively having read 679 books to date. My other class, 604, had read 280 books by late December and has more than doubled that by currently having read 607 books. On average both classes were reading in the upper 600 Lexile range (approximately a 4th grade reading level) and they are now reading, on average, in the mid 700 Lexile range (approximately 5th grade reading level). This is only the beginning. With 5 months remaining in the school year, we hope to get all students on or above grade level in terms of reading and we hope to have every child meet their goal of reading 50 or more books this school year. We will get there thanks to your support!
Having access to books matters. Having access to INTERESTING books sparks life-long readers. I wish I could record all the times that my students have come to me in the past month excited about a book they just finished or asking for a book their friend is reading because they thought it sounded interesting. Their ability to discuss their books critically has increased dramatically and sparked fierce intellectual debates. Their ability to write about the books they are reading and connect the themes and characters in them to their lives has also improved dramatically. It is exciting to have a front row seat in witnessing these kids become life-long passionate readers.
So again, I thank you. None of this would be possible without the books you generously and selflessly donated. My kids have asked me to thank you graciously for your donation as well because they know how lucky they are to have people out there who care about them and their futures.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Grate
Engaging Classroom Library and Meeting Area
Funded Oct 8, 2014Thank you so much for donating to our classroom. It is always challenging keeping books stocked in a middle school classroom, especially at a school like ours where most students don't have access to good books at home and our school's funding is low. At the beginning of the year we received a new principal (again) and that further impacted our ability to get books. Please know that your donation has kept learning going in my classroom. Without these books it would have been unfair to assign "independent reading" to students with out the literature to support them in that work.
I cannot tell you how many students you have impacted because to be honest, I don't fully know. Aside from my 6th graders having interesting independent reading books, 7th and 8th graders that I have taught previously still swing by my room to borrow books on a regular basis. They read them, write reviews on Goodreads and even recommend books to me. In a community where most of my students come to me reading 3-4 levels below grade level, it is exciting to see them seeking out new books to read, talking about them, and sharing recommendations with their friends. Most students think I have the best library in school (which is terrifying because I don't have many books) so I feel it is important to share books with any student regardless of whether they are in my class or not. So thank you again for making it possible for me to continue to build independent readers.
From the bottom of my heart and on behalf of all my students, thank you so much for your generous donation. It means more to us than you will ever know!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Grate
More Books For Book Clubs!
Funded Oct 31, 2013Season's Greetings from MS 126! Thank you so much for your generous donations. You will never know how much it meant to our students to walk into our book club session and see all the new books in our classroom library. Many of them gravitated towards the books that relate to our school's magnet theme of Environmental Engineering. They had been asking me for these for a very long time.
Each student has set a minimum goal to read 30 books at their reading level or more this year. Three months in, we have some students who are already half way towards their goal! Hesitant readers are turning into avid readers and they are tracking each book they read. They are motivated by how much they are improving in terms of their reading levels.
Seeing the students pair up to read the same novel and then leading their own book discussions centered around these stories is truly inspiring. Please know that your generous donation has directly impacted all 90 of my students. They all have read one or more of the books from the collection and they will continue to read through them throughout the course of the year. The excitement and love of reading is being cultivated with each page they turn.
From the bottom of my heart I thank you for your gracious donation and I hope you know that you made the holiday season for my students and I even brighter. Thank you again!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Grate
This classroom project was brought to life by NEA Foundation and 6 other donors.Book Club and Bloggin'
Funded Dec 13, 2011Sorry this letter is a bit late. I wanted to write you and let you know that both my students and I greatly appreciate your generous donations. They have been working feverishly to complete their goal of reading 50 books by the end of the year. Your donation has really helped push their reading levels because the books you purchased are much more challenging and engaging than the ones I previously had in my classroom library. I have found not only are my students reading more each night, they are much more willing to recommend books to each other and have deeper discussions around their independent reading books.
I have included letters and photographs from my students directly. Please know that your kind donations have made a huge impact and that with your help I am able to get more and more students to truly love reading. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Grate