Past projects 4
Stay Gold, Ponyboy! We Need New Copies of The Outsiders!
Funded Dec 31, 2024I am truly floored! I was so surprised to open my email today and find that our project got funded so quickly! May students and I are so grateful. The Outsiders is one of my favorite novels to share with my students, and I’m thrilled they’ll be able to have a brand new copy to read this year. Your generosity is appreciated more than you know. Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. McFarland
This classroom project was brought to life by Allison and Austin McChord.Let's Go on a Remarkable Journey!
Funded Dec 31, 2022I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for your generous donation for our classroom. My students are enjoying the novel, The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise, and we have you to thank.
I have been teaching for many years, and the collection of classroom novels I have has not been updated in a very long time. While I enjoy teaching those books, many of characters and topics aren't relatable to my students. I had the opportunity to read this book with my son earlier this year, and we both enjoyed it immensely. I knew it would be something my students would enjoy, and I knew I would have fun teaching something new. The kids are really taking the Coyote's narrative style; they like how the book reads like she's talking to them. They can also relate to many of her emotions and experiences: loss and grief, an interesting family dynamic, meeting new people, and friends who become family,
All of the reading is done in class, often in partners or small groups and then we come together for a whole group discussion. Students are tracking character development, identifying literary devices such as figurative language and symbolism, and analyzing quotes from the text. At the end of the novel study, students will be completing a Curriculum Embedded Performance Assessment Project (CEPAP) that depicts a theme and shows how the author's choices communicate that theme.
Again, we cannot thank you enough for your generosity.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. McFarland
Help Us Read The Outsiders!
Funded Nov 30, 2013I cannot put into words how grateful I am for your generous donation. My students were thrilled to receive new copies of The Outsiders and could hardly wait to get started.
I wanted to share this novel with my students because they can relate to the characters and themes woven throughout the novel. I could see many of my students making connections and identifying with the characters. Without needing me to point out the theme, my students understood that families aren't always related by blood; your friends can be your family. Many of them have such close-knit groups of friends, that they would go to extremes to protect each other.
My students used these novels for several different activities. The novel lent itself to several creative writing activities. Students were able to retell a pivotal scene from the eyes of another character. They also created character diaries and wrote first-person accounts based on events from the plot. Students wrote poems through the eyes of Ponyboy. But their favorite novel-based activity was the diorama. The selected a scene and recreated it in a diorama. Students submitted burning church scenes, scenes depicting fights between Socs and Greasers, as well as a few spectacular sunsets.
It's been a while since I've seen some of my students absolutely captivated by a text. They were actually sad to see it end. I cannot wait to share it with next year's seventh graders. We wholeheartedly thank you for your kindness.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. McFarland
Our Well-Read Novels Are Falling Apart!
Funded Dec 18, 2012I cannot express how grateful I am for your generous donations. I was pleasantly surprised to see that my project was funded! I was beginning to think that I couldn't do the unit I had planned because our materials were in such bad shape. Fortunately, the books came in time and I was able to read them with my students!
Where the Red Fern Grows is one of my all-time favorite novels. The book I teach with is my own copy that I purchased from a book fair when I was in the seventh grade. It has been read a dozen times. I am thrilled to be able to use this story with my seventh graders.
Your generosity has allowed me to share my love of this story with my students. We analyzed the story, created new dialogue between characters, illustrated story boards, and discussed and defended the sad ending of the novel. Upon viewing the film version of Where the Red Fern Grows, my students emphatically agreed the novel was considerably better.
I cannot thank you enough for supplying my class with this novel that undoubtedly will be remembered for years to come.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. McFarland