Past projects 26
Succeeding on the AP Gov't Exam!
Funded Dec 23, 2011Thank you so much for donating to my project for my Advanced Placement Government class. Students were truly in shock that people like you were kind and cared enough about them to donate to our classroom. We are truly grateful to each of you.
With the grant, we were able to purchase a class set of academic bowl-style buzzers -- something my students went crazy for every time we used! They especially enjoyed using the buzzers for vocabulary review. The AP Government test really focuses on knowing key vocabulary, and using the buzzers to stir up some friendly competition really sparked their engagement levels and interest in studying their key terms.
Thank you so much for giving them the opportunity to use technology to advance their learning. I look forward to using the buzzer system many more times over the years!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Broullire
Succeeding on the AP Gov't Exam!
Funded Jul 1, 2011I cannot thank you enough for your generous donation to my students and our classroom. Your resources have quite literally transformed my classroom into an exciting, more interactive place where learning about government is interesting and enjoyable. The iPods are used every other week when we do station activities. Students are able to listen to NPR and other podcasts talk about topics we are studying and actually apply it to the "real world". This really furthers their understanding of government concepts -- concepts that seemed very abstract and difficult to understand to them at the beginning of the year.
The study guides and Constitutions have also helped them tremendously. It truly makes a world of a difference for my students to receive their own copy of the Constitution that they can mark up and annotate. Much of the AP Government test is about their knowledge of the Constitution, and they love being able to write notes in their own copy. The study books are also used nearly every day during office hours. It is not unusual for students to stay with me two hours after school on a Friday going through the review books to make sure they understand a key concept in government.
Thank you again from the bottom of my heart. You have given my students so many fabulous resources that will be used for many classes after them!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Broullire
Preserving Oral History in Anacostia
Funded May 24, 2011On behalf of all of my students, thank you so much for your generous donations to our classroom. The Flip camcorders have come in handy several times -- particularly for our oral history interviews. However, the students have loved them to much that we have done several mock "newscasts" for different times periods in history. They really seem to love integrating technology into lessons and learning now seems "fun." The amount they are learning has also skyrocketed. The white butcher paper has come in handy for all sorts of activities -- from review games to classroom presentations.
Several students have come up to me asking when we can do more skits and interviews. I hope to keep this momentum building throughout the year. Without your donations, these interactive projects really would not have been possible. Please know how grateful I truly am to every single one of you. ”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Broullire
Help my Students with National History Day!
Funded Dec 5, 2010Thank you so much for your generous donations to our classroom! The presentation boards were an essential part of the students' National History Day projects, and they could not have done it without you!
After choosing a topic that interested each student last fall, conducting extensive college-level research, then finally writing a research paper, the students presented their work in a visual format on the presentation boards you purchased for them! Our third annual National History Day Fair was held last month, and all of the students stayed after school to proudly present their work before the entire faculty and staff at our school. They were so proud of themselves. Most of my students had never spent that long researching any one topic or doing that challenging of work. Many of them wanted to give up, but they all stuck to it and gained the necessary skills that will help them so much in college. After the fair, my students commented on how nervous they were to present their research but they felt confident in their abilities because they truly felt like the experts on their topic. This was a complete success!
Thank you again for giving them this opportunity to learn. My students and I are so thankful to you all”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Broullire
Understanding Our Country's History
Funded Mar 20, 2010I cannot thank you enough for your generous donations to our classroom. My students have absolutely loved these resources. The books have been a blessing. I'm always struggling to find reading material that is on their reading level but challenging and engaging. While we would learn a certain content area, we would read excerpts from "Long Walk to Freedom," for example. These books really sparked their interest in certain topics. I have never had so many kids come to me after school asking to check out a book from our social studies library!
The DVDs have also been an amazing instructional resource. While we could not see the movies in their entirety, history became so much more real to the students when they were able to see a re-enactment of a historical event they studied. It also opened up several great discussions on the value of primary sources and historical bias. I am so proud of all the gains my students have made this year (especially their reading gains), and this is largely because of your resources that made this possible.
Thank you so much for your kindness. These resources were used on a regular basis this year and impacted over one hundred students. More students will be impacted next year thanks to you.
Sincerely,
Ms. O”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Broullire
Learning about the Great Depression
Funded Feb 11, 2010Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your gracious donation to our classroom. I cannot tell you how excited my students were when they heard we were getting new books and camcorders to use to do more engaging projects!
During our unit on the Industrial Revolution, students got to use the camcorders to become newscasters during the Industrial Revolution. They had to research the pressing issues during this time period in American history, then put on a whole production that discussed these events. Although my students were reluctant at first because they had never done anything like this project before, it quickly became their favorite project! The quality of their work was unbelievable! I wish I could send you a copy of them. We were able to watch them as a class and learn from each others' presentations. This all could not have been possible without your gracious donation. The books on the Great Depression were so helpful when we had a classroom debate on whether or not the New Deal was good for America. Both sides got quite heated, and they were able to back up their assertions with research provided from the books. Again, this all is because of your kindness!
Thank you again so much for these resources. They will continue to be used for years and years to come.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Broullire
This classroom project was brought to life by The Pershing Square Foundation and 3 other donors.Boosting Literacy with Engaging Reading
Funded Nov 29, 2009Thank you so much for your gracious donation to my classroom. We use all of the resources (books, globe, and other supplies) nearly every single day thanks to you!
This year, the students used the books to create a National History Day project where they had to research an innovation that impacted society. After 5 months of extensive research in which they dug up primary source documents, the students presented their exhibit boards before the entire faculty/staff of our school. The pictures are of this year's fair we just had at the school. Students that normally do not "shine" in class, really stood out when they presented their board. They were so proud of the knowledge they had gained through this project. This would not have been possible without your donation.
Thank you again for your kindness. These resources will continue to impact children for years to come! ”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Broullire
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and 4 other donors.Help Us Experience Our City
Funded Dec 24, 2009Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart! Your donations have allowed my students to complete one of the most successful projects I have ever assigned--a project on the neighborhoods of DC.
Most of my students have never traveled outside of their neighborhood even though the city is metro accessible. With these resources, I attempted to have the students experience a different part of the city, research the history of the neighborhood, take pictures of historic landmarks and buildings, attend cultural events, eat at unique restaurants (if they had the opportunity), go to museums, and experience anything else of interest. Then, they were to put all of their information into a scrapbook so the class could create a DC History scrapbook of the various neighborhoods. I was nervous before we started that students would just not complete it and not be interested in expanding their horizons. I was completely wrong! They absolutely loved going to the different parts of the city and hearing from people in the area about what made their neighborhood special. I wish I could send you the actual scrapbook they created because it is absolutely amazing. Students told me that they saw parts of the city they didn't know existed or parts of the city that were beautiful and they want to go back to.
Thank you again from the bottom of my heart. This project would not have been successful had it not been for your gracious donation of books, art supplies, and scrapbooks. I will continue to use these resources every semester and create another class scrapbook because of this year's success! ”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Broullire
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and 21 other donors.Celebrating Our City Through Books
Funded Nov 25, 2009Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your gracious donation to our classroom. Since I started teaching DC History three years ago, I have really struggled to find challenging and engaging reading for the course. Their textbook is written on a much higher level, and it is largely text-based, so they easily lose interest.
Your donation has really allowed us to do more innovative projects with these books. We have done a lot of group work using these books, they did a research project in which they had to actually go out to a neighborhood they have never been to and take pictures, and many more. The neighborhoods project was a huge success. They loved learning about different parts of the city. Most of my students have never traveled outside of their own neighborhood, so it really helped broadened their horizons.
I also have been able to do more pull-out sessions and work with students one-on-one with the table and chair donation. This has been wonderful to have a place to work with students who need special attention. Thank you so much for your kindness. We will never forget it.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Broullire
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and 19 other donors.Getting Creative with History
Funded Jun 3, 2009Thank you so much for the camcorder and dry erase boards you have donated to our classroom. My students have NEVER been more excited to do a class project than they were a few weeks ago. This is all because of your organization's caring hearts.
A few weeks ago, students were able to use the camcorder to film "newscasts" on a specific aspect of the Industrial Revolution. At first, they were not happy because they thought the project was going to be hard (of course!), but when they started working and gaining so much knowledge through teaching others about the Industrial Revolution, they realized the benefit. I do as many creative things in the classroom as possible to making learning US History fun and interactive, but this was by far their favorite project. "Ms. O, this was the best thing I've ever done in history class. I never really understood history until now," one student professed to me the other day. This makes teaching all worth it...and this would not have been possible without your organization's help and support. You would not believe the quality of work that was produced from them!
The dry erase boards are also used frequently to check for understanding. What a wonderful staple to break out whenever we have a spare few minutes! They love using those resources, too!
Thank you for giving them this gift of learning. They are truly thankful. I wish you all could see just how much they have enjoyed these resources. I plan to continue using these resources in the classroom for years and years to come! ”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Broullire