Mr. North's Classroom Edit display name

Past projects 26

• Just Hold the Wire In!

  Funded Dec 2, 2015

  These headphones came at exactly the right time for our classroom. Our district continues to add useful programs for us to use online but it is a real challenge to keep up with the hardware needed to use them. The headphones have become an integral part of our daily routine.

  During our Literacy and Math rotations, students have become completely independent in terms of getting their headphones from their cubby, signing in to various programs, and their scores in both reading and math have increased as a result. Equally important is the fact that they are no longer as easily frustrated with the technology which has encouraged them to work harder to understand what to do if a problem arises. It's truly been a godsend and we can't thank you all enough!”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. North

• Read on a Rug!

  Funded Sep 28, 2015

  Read on a Rug has been a huge success thanks to your generous donations. My students love getting into our library nook, pulling out their book bins, and getting right to it. It is exactly what I hoped for - a comfortable, book-filled hideaway (where I can still see them!) in our classroom. You'll also see a few Ipads in the picture. There is a reading program on there called Lexia. It's one of the best programs around and the kids love using it in the nook!

  That rug will be the focal point of reading in my classroom for years to come. Our next step will be a reorganization of books back there...if you've ever worked with children, books, and putting books away (wink!) you know that it doesn't always go exactly as planned. Thank you again and we hope you have a wonderful winter season!”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. North

• Science Materials!

  Funded Sep 12, 2015

  Thank you so much for your generous donations to our Science Materials request. We have already used them several times and the kids definitely enjoy the chance to get their hands on science! The photos are of our "Sink or Float" experiment where we dropped a number of objects into the water after predicting whether or not they would sink. That was a wonderful learning experience for my students...we're still not sure if the button sank or floated, it seemed to depend on how we put it in the water!

  This week we're going to talk about physical and chemical changes which, naturally, leads to an exploration using modeling clay. I'm already prepping for our next unit - the Winter Break comes up so fast! - which is about the Earth and there are plenty of resources in that kit to help out with that unit.

  So, again, thank you. Your donations bought a big, bright, box of science that the kids get excited about every time I walk back there because they know I'm pulling something out that they can get their hands on. Have a wonderful winter season! (I included a picture of our class in a 'Solid' position.)”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. North

• Learn With Our Hands

  Funded Oct 24, 2013

  My students have been absolutely thrilled with the stix so far. We started out using them for a quick Halloween project so that we could all get our hands on them to get used to using them. We made cats and pumpkins and decorated them with colors. Once they'd done that, I told them they could get creative and showed them how you could use the stix to make letters, numbers, words, etc. They loved the fact that these stix can stick to anything without glue. (One boy even remembered a joke - How do you fix a broken tomato? With tomato paste!)

  I explained to them that in the future we'd be using them during our stations - spelling words for some and making letters, numbers, and shapes for others. I can tell already that these will be a lasting favorite in this classroom! Thank you so much!”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. North

• No You Can't Have That Book, Give It Back

  Funded Feb 15, 2013

  Thank you all for your donations to our classroom library. The leveled readers have been invaluable for my students who needed to feel success at their level before they could begin to grow as readers and learners. We read them everyday (and are currently using several of them for book reports!)

  Not only are they useful this year, but the fact that these lower level books are now in my classroom library means that next year I can start off a few of my struggling students with books I know they can enjoy in August. I've talked to the first grade teachers and they assure me that there will be a few.

  Several of my readers have made tremendous gains, in no small part to your generous addition to our classroom library.”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. North

• More Organization = More Choice

  Funded Dec 22, 2012

  Thank you each for your generous donation to this project. We have been using the bins each day for our math lessons and math stations. One set of the bins contain a manipulative that could be used for a certain skill: clocks, two-color counters, base-ten blocks, etc. Another set of the bins contain math stations that we get to use for fluency practice for about 20-30 minutes each day: flashcards, place-value disks, two-color counter activities, etc.

  The kids enjoy the stations. Everything is nice and packaged for them and they feel confident that they can run that portion of our day by themselves. I enjoy the stations, too, and the fact that the students can prepare and clean up so independently means I can spend most of that time sitting in with a group! The manipulative bins have made life much easier in our classroom, too, because it means I no longer have to scramble to display the materials needed for that day's lesson.

  Thank you so much, from the bottom of my heart!”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. North

• First in Math, Last in Headphones

  Funded Nov 17, 2012

  Thank you so much for your donation to our classroom. The headphones have already become a huge hit. We use them everyday when we access our school's math program on-line. The headphones allow students to focus on the math activities on the computer and drown out the learning noise from their classmates behind them.

  There is a big push in our district for students to become more fluent with their basic facts in math. We want students to be able to gain a deeper understanding of the math concepts we're learning but in order to do that they need to know the basics cold. The computer program we're using is definitely showing some results and the headphones make a big difference.

  I have plans to use the headphones for a listening center as well and I'll put up those pictures as soon as I can. Thank you again!”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. North