Past projects 26
Kindling the Flames
Funded Jan 3, 2016I have a class of very low performing, high poverty level students. They have little or no access to technology at home. We use these Kindle Readers daily in small groups of 2 students. They have books downloaded at different reading levels and different interest levels. The children are assigned to this center every 15 days. That way all students get to use the Kindles. They are learning to read as well as employ technology to find books that interest them.
The most exciting thing about these Kindles is the variety of books available to the class. I can use sample readers or more complex texts. the children can read at their own pace and chose their own books. The spark of reading is burning brightly on the faces of these children as they read a book a new way. The world of reading is in their hands.
The lowest children are doing the best with these Kindles. They can hear the words and see them at the same time. They can also find a book that suits their interest and ability without having anyone else see what they are reading. My boys in particular like the books about sports and football especially.
Thank you for reaching out and lighting our sparks. We are Kindling the flames each day as we READ, READ, and READ some more. You are the lights in my students lives.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Schwartz
Antiquated But Hoping
Funded Jan 3, 2012Now that we have used our new computer, hard drive and wireless router, we can express our thanks for the generous donation you have made to our classroom. Before you helped us we had a dinosaur of a computer that worked occasionally but mostly didn't even boot up. We are so excited about all the new things we are able to do with our new computer. We have accessed the Internet to find information on a wide variety of topics for reading, science and math. We are able to access Promethean Planet and use our Interactive white board. We are printing activities and making projects with our new system. We can go anywhere in the classroom and still use the computer. We also now can save our work on the hard drive so we don't overload our computer memory. Thank you so much for impacting our future in such a positive way.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Schwartz
Wandering and Lost Without a Hub
Funded Sep 2, 2011I can't thank you enough for your help with our hub system. We are now up and running. The children love using the wand because it has a greater reach for their littler hands. They can find and move things much more easily. They love to use the Activotes and I can monitor their progress so much quicker. It also keeps a good record of progress for meetings and assessments. The hub connects us to the votes and let's us access more flipcharts.
The children beam now when we have to use the Promethean board because they know they will have a chance to use the little voting machines. Thank you again for caring and sharing with my students.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Schwartz
For My Ears Only
Funded May 26, 2011Your generous donation has opened the world of reading to my students. Most of them do not even know the alphabet or the sounds of letters. They are not able to listen to stories on CD or Tape because of your kindness. They can choose the book they want and sit in a quiet spot with a headphone on and enjoy the story. They no longer have to share a limited space at a listening post. These students have independence to choose their own book, find a quiet spot and listen to it. Many of them are trying harder to learn to read so they can explore more books. I am so proud of their efforts and enthusiasm. Thank you again for caring.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Schwartz
Lost in a Good Book But Found Reading!
Funded Apr 15, 2011Thank you for making my grant possible. We are trying out all the different books first. The children loved the Curious George books and the Smithsonian books as well. It is great to have someone else model good reading habits. They love to sit and listen to the stories over and over again.
The children are using the books as a center in reading group time. They take a book and listen to it and then must draw a picture of their favorite part of the story and write about it.
The books are a great variety and a wonderful addition to our limited collection of books and CDs. Thank you again for helping us meet our goal and gain reading pleasure.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Schwartz
This classroom project was brought to life by Townsend Press and 4 other donors.The Printed Word Has HP Written All Over It
Funded Feb 1, 2011My students have started writing and printing out their stories and projects. We made Valentines for our pen pals in another state and sent them off. Now we are working on writing and printing our Gingerbread stories. The children love the fact that they can now create books with their own ideas in them.
The children have found different uses for the printer and are focusing on all their ideas to print messages to friends, pen pals, parents and me. I have gotten letters they wrote to tell me how happy they are to be able to type on the computer and publish it on the printer.
Thank you all for making this positive impact on my class.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Schwartz
This classroom project was brought to life by HP and 8 other donors.To Chart or Not to Chart
Funded Dec 1, 2010I waited until my students had a chance to really use the charts to see the glow on their faces. They love the fact they can keep what they make and use them again and again at their homes. We have used them in a variety of areas and use can see on our photos. We start off with blending words from our reading stories and then went to spelling words. The child with the most difficulty in these areas get to take those charts home to study them.
Then we use them for charting reading skills and processes and anyone can have those charts when we finish with them. Next we use them to write our stories for language that we can either display in the hall or take home for our moms and dads.
Finally we use them for math practice. I set up problems based on each child's needs and they can take them home to work on. They just love the huge paper and want it to take home and cover their walls.
Thank you for turning the glow on on each of these marvelous faces.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Schwartz
Keeping Up With The World
Funded Oct 19, 2010On behalf of my class, I would like to thank you for adding a spark of life into current events. My students are so excited about reading stories about things that are happening in the world. We have read several issues and the children have learned so much. We were studying text features in reading and these magazines helped them understand the value of text features as well as gave them the chance to locate and use different text features.
We used the story of the miners who were rescued to develop main idea and details. We also used an article on a new dinosaur to locate answers to the 5 Ws. They have enjoyed them so much that they are eagerly awaiting the next set of magazines. Thank you very much for caring about children and donating to our project. We are wiser, happier, and more aware of the world. ”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Schwartz
This classroom project was brought to life by TIME Magazine and 4 other donors.Write or Wrong! I've Got the Answer
Funded Apr 9, 2010Thank you all so much for donating to our class. My students were so excited when we got the box yesterday. In the box were all the things that we ran out of in class. The markers will be used for chart work. We make new charts every day. The children also used the charts to write their own poetry and stories.
We will be using the expo markers and wipes with our white boards and our individual paddles. They get excited about being able to use them again and get them clean. The markers will be used on our big board for math, reading and science. We use are little white board paddles for monitoring individual responses and practice.
Thank you for helping us get back in business.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Schwartz
This classroom project was brought to life by Quill.com and 3 other donors.Talk to Me
Funded Feb 27, 2010I can't begin to tell you the impact these puppets have had on my students. We are working on a unit on folk lore and tales and they are so excited about being able to make puppet shows to share with other classes. They have started making up tales to share. The puppets gave them a wide assortment of characters to work with in their plays. They recently got a grant funded for a puppet theater and are now ready to attack the theater.
They are now practicing using the puppets and have become very good at making them move and talk. They enjoy the new outlet for their creativity. Thank you for helping me give them another way to express themselves and a new learning experience.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Schwartz