Past projects 30
Read Around the World
Funded Nov 25, 2015Thank you so much for your generous donation to our classroom. You have provided my students with the amazing opportunity to travel around the world through reading. In particular, I chose books from regions that my students are fairly unfamiliar with that will provide them with an insight and perspective they may not have been exposed to had it not been for your donation.
These books are part of our Choice Reading Library. In my class, students are expected to choose a book each quarter that they read on their own, outside of class (although they often convince me to give them more reading time during class!) This is always their favorite part of the class. Because they are in World Literature, I ask them to read a book written by an author from outside the United States. Until we received your donation, students were frustrated with not having enough interesting titles to read. Now, every one of the books that you donated has been checked to a student, and in many cases, passed on to more and more students!
The day I presented the new books to the students, I had a line outside my office (I am a traveling teacher without my own classroom) of students eager to check out titles they wanted to get to before anyone else.
You are truly opening new worlds of reading for my students. Thank you so much!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Will
Beyond the Hunger Games: Material Girls in a Dystopian World
Funded Sep 18, 2012Thank you so, so, so, so much for your generous donation! My classroom has been the talk of the town ever since these books came in. The day we opened the box and I did book talks on each of the books, my students became so excited they could hardly contain themselves. Here are some of the student behaviors I witnessed around the arrival of these books:
1. Three students running toward my classroom after school to check out the same book, all trying to get there first and causing quite a ruckus in the hallway.
2. One book that has already made it through three students because the first student enjoyed it SO MUCH that he just had to pass it on to his friends.
3. The older sister of one of my students coming into my room and exclaiming "You got my brother to read a book!?!"
4. A student who typically does not read OR do classwork turning in his thank you letter before the rest of the class had even begun theirs so he could check the book he wanted out early.
5. Students begging to be put on a "wait list" for the books they are interested in that have already been checked out.
It is amazing to see this kind of excitement and energy around reading at our school! The school library does not have a budget this year, so this donation is giving my students the chance to read books they would not otherwise have access to here at school. They are talking to each other about reading, flying through books at record speed, and becoming lifelong readers because of your generosity. Thank you so much for this donation! I cannot even begin to fully express my gratitude.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Will
This classroom project was brought to life by Kia Motors America and 3 other donors.Picturing Shakespeare
Funded Mar 26, 2012Thank you so much for your generous donation to my classroom! These graphic novels have truly made Romeo and Juliet come alive for my students. The unabridged text combined with the action-packed graphics are helping my students understand this play better than ever before.
No longer are students forced to lug around heavy textbooks with the text to this impressive play tucked away in one chapter. They are able to read, analyze, and understand Shakespeare because of your donation!
I cannot thank you enough. You are truly making a difference in the lives of my students.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Will
Researching the Gods and Goddesses Behind "The Odyssey"
Funded Feb 9, 2012Thank you so much for this amazingly generous donation. As soon as these books began arriving, my students noticed and became interested. Mythology is something that can be quite challenging for teenagers, but once they start learning about it they are usually hooked. The books you have provided for us are full of glossy graphics and beautiful descriptions that grab their interest right away.
Because of your donation, I am seeing students interested in learning who have previously refused to pick up a book. They are sharing what they learn with each other and their enthusiasm is infectious.
I hope that you can see the interest and engagement your donation has created in my classroom through the photos. It is impossible for me to say enough "Thank You's" for the difference this has made in my classroom!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Will
Shakespeare Research Makes Romeo and Juliet Make Sense!
Funded Dec 16, 2010Thank you so much for your generous donation. You are making Elizabethan England come alive in my classroom! The Shakespeare Research Project is typically the most challenging unit of the year for my 9th graders, but the materials you have donated are going to make it much more meaningful and give them the support they need.
Many of my students do not have the resources to get to a library on their own to check out books, and our school librarian position was recently cut. This put a major deficit in the materials and support my students need to successfully research aspects of Elizabethan life. Without a school librarian to pull interesting and relevant books, do presentations on library research, and help my students with inter-library loans, my students who cannot get to a library on their own would be seriously behind the rest of the class. Your donation makes it possible for us to have a research library on Shakespeare right in our classroom which provides all students with some additional support!
Not only are the materials helping my students become successful researchers, they have also become interested in all aspects of Shakespearean/Elizabethan life! These are some of the most checked out books during Self Selected Reading time. They provide valuable non-fiction reading material to students who crave knowledge and aren't interested in fiction.
Your donation is making Shakespeare come alive in my classroom AND making a difference in the education of my students. Thank you so much!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Will
Remembering "Mockingbird"
Funded Feb 12, 2010Thank you so much for your generous donation. My students are thrilled to have the opportunity to read more books related to the themes in To Kill a Mockingbird. This classic text can be difficult for teens to access, so these literature circle books provide my struggling readers with a chance to engage in a conversation about an important time in history. I wish I had another way to show my gratitude for your generosity.
My school is currently facing budget cuts, so new books are hard to come by. I often have trouble finding enough copies of literature circle titles for all of my students. If it weren't for your donation, my students would never have the chance to experience these books!
Thank you so much. You are truly impacting the learning of students everywhere!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Will
This classroom project was brought to life by The Pershing Square Foundation and one other donor.Teens Around the World
Funded Apr 17, 2009There is no way I can possibly show you how excited my students were to receive the "Teens Around the World" books that you sent, but maybe I can describe some of their enthusiasm to you. My students have been devouring these books like crazy. During SSR time, they often choose to read these and are frequently whispering to eachother statements like "Look at this! Look how their weddings are in Nepal!" and "Hey! Did you know that they have McDonald's in Japan!"
Moreover, we recently did research projects on a variety of worldwide human rights issues and these books were incredibly helpful. My students were able to learn about Female Circumcision, Child Labor, and Human Trafficking from the books you sent. They truly are learning about people all over the world and becoming more knowledgable citizens for it. More importantly, they are enjoying it and are thirsting for even more knowledge. This collection of books has definitely contributed to my students developing a global view of the world, one of the goals of our World Literature curriculum.
All I can say is that your donation is making a huge difference in the lives of teenagers across the country. Thank you so much.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Will
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and 6 other donors.Addicted to Non-Fiction!
Funded Mar 30, 2009I wish I had a way to show you how much my students absolutely LOVE the books you sent! I knew my students needed more experience reading non-fiction, but I had no idea how thrilled they would be with the opportunity to read it! The minute I had a "book fair" with the new books they were calling dibs on who would get to read which book when.
I have even caught a few students putting their favorite book in a secret hiding place so that they can find it before any of the other students do. They love the vibrant pictures and accurate factual descriptions of all the topics I chose for them.
Your generosity is truly making a difference in the lives of high schoolers across the country! Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Will
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and 2 other donors.College-Minded
Funded Mar 3, 2009Thank you so much for your generous donation! The books you donated to my classroom have helped my students view themselves as "college-bound." My students are excited to learn that people like them - people with special learning circumstances, students from disadvantaged backgrounds, students who haven't always had the best grades - can be successful in the worldd of post-secondary education.
Not only are my students excited, but word about this collection of books I have has gotten around the school and students I don't even teach are asking to look at the books. Your generosity is truly making a difference in the lives of high schoolers everywhere!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Will
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and 3 other donors.Read Around the World
Funded Dec 19, 2008I cannot thank you enough for your kindness. My students have been devouring everything in my classroom library and are running out of books! It's a happy problem to have, and you have helped me solve it. Not only are you fueling the interest my students have in reading, you are also boosting their reading levels and confidence. Because of donors like you, my students are telling me that for the first time, they "read a whole book on my own!" Thank you, thank you, thank you. Your donation is truly making a difference in my classroom”
With gratitude,
Ms. Will
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and one other donor.