Past projects 14
Listen Up!
Funded Mar 27, 2018Your donations helped to fund our headphones. We use our headphones during reading for our computer based differentiated instruction and for small reading groups. Some students use the audio book option as an accommodation so the headphones help facilitate them and their learning goals.
Right now my students are using the headphones to create a PSA for having a healthy relationship with your cellphone. They are able to search for music and edit the production without disrupting other groups. All of the above would not be possible without you and your donation.
On a personal level my students are always surprised to hear that people they don't know donated money to buy resources for our classroom. It is a "Pay it Forward" moment in the classroom because it encourages them to want to do something good for someone else. They do not have the resources to make financial donations so we brainstorm other ways to help people in need.
The headphones are wonderful but the lesson you teach them through your generosity”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Dopkin
This classroom project was brought to life by Ripple and 2 other donors.Snacks and Sanitizer
Funded Mar 15, 2018So many of my students come to school hungry and your donations helped to provide them with a snack to fill them up and focus on their school work. We cannot thank you enough for the funding for this project. My classroom is known to have extra snacks so many students come and ask for a granola bar or a pack of crackers so your reached many students beyond my classroom but school wide.
When the snacks arrived my students were so excited, they helped me pack them into plastic containers and put them in the closet for safe keeping. Many of my students remarked to me "why did they donate this to us?" because they could not believe that people they never met could be so generous to them (strangers.) Donations like this open my students' minds and help them to think about ways they can help others.
Being able to offer a snack to my students who are hungry is a small gesture but make a world of difference. It enables them to work in class and have the energy they need to get through the day. Thank you so much for your donation, you have fed many children and taught them to be benevolent to others.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Dopkin
Back to Basics! Essential School Supplies Needed!
Funded Sep 5, 2017The students in my class are using their portfolios to track their writing progress and to hold their writing works that may be published. They are excited to show their folders to other students, staff members, and parents to show how they grow with each revision and feedback. It is so exciting to see each one take pride in their work.
Our lap boards are used during small group instruction and whole group lessons. The lap boards provide priceless formative assessment data for me on the spot. The students love using the lap boards and are engaged in the lesson so they can respond quickly. We even use them to play games in class.
Our favorite part of this project are the clip boards. Students can work anywhere in the classroom with the use of the clip board. Some students sit or lay on the floor while others sit on yoga mats or yoga balls. When it is time to read or write the students can find a comfortable spot and get to work. We also use them to do gallery walk activities. The students walk around to different stations and answer different questions. In 5th grade we need to keep moving to stay engaged and the clip boards make this so easy.
Thank you for supporting us. My kids deserve the best and you make that possible.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Dopkin
Literature Circles Need Novels
Funded Feb 10, 2017We are currently reading the book Wonder. This book is amazing because it presents the same story from multiple perspectives. The students relate to the different characters and defend their characters motives and feelings. The conversations, observations, and writing that comes from this novel are priceless. This would not be possible without access to the novels provided in this project.
My students are excited everyday when they enter the classroom and pick up their books. As an educator, having students want to read is exactly what you work so hard for. I can never thank you enough for this gift because it is more than a donation or a few novels.
It may be the end of the school year but we are motivated to read at least two more novels. The students are determined to read as much as they can before summer break. This gift and your donation has turned a group of reluctant readers into bookworms. For this we are so grateful.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Dopkin
Just The Basics For Learning.
Funded Dec 30, 2016Thanks to your generous donation we are able to create Interactive Reading Notebooks that will become our "go to" book for reading strategies, analyzing literature, reading response, and word study. We are filling them up with each lesson and referring back to them during literature circles. We are able to respond to novels and non-fiction text using post its and take polls daily and post our results on charts around the room so we can see what our peers are thinking.
Thanks to you we are set with the tools necessary to write, create, and learn. My students are really learning how to think about what they are reading through the "say what you mean" strategy, We use post its to keep track of our thoughts and when we come together they can draw on those thoughts to respond orally or through writing.
This project has made it easier for us to do the things we need to do on a daily basis because we have the basic tools to implement our lessons.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Dopkin
Tune Into a Good Book
Funded Dec 26, 2016The Listening Center, Novels, and CD's are an incredible resource for my class. The students love this center and often ask or beg for more time. We are working on listening comprehension with the audio books but we also use them for struggling readers so they can be exposed to rich text that may be above their reading level. Following along in the text with the audio has proved to increase comprehension and vocabulary.
We are starting a new novel and the student are required to read a certain number of pages a week. The listening center will help to keep everyone reading at the same pace without losing comprehension.
Students will also ask to come at lunch or during prep periods to listen to the next chapter or go back and listen to something that we read the day before. Small groups have utilized all of the titles in the project and now other groups are interested in reading/listening to them so they are trading books and talking about them together. The excitement that one group has when another group starts the books they just finished. They say "What page are you on?" "I can't wait till you get to the next part so we can talk about what you think?" Deep discussions about literature and they don't even realize what they are doing. Thank you so very much.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Dopkin
This classroom project was brought to life by the estate of Dorothea Lutz and 3 other donors.Technology Will Keep Us Connected!
Funded Oct 21, 2016The technology that you gave to us has changed the way our students utilize our I-Ready intervention program. The students struggled to get the required 45 minutes a week in Reading and Math because they had to rotate in and out of a 4 computer station. Now students are able to work on this program during Small Group Instruction. The utilization of the program is up to 92% and we are able to see the rewards in student work.
We are also learning to use google classroom during literature circles which provides such a wonderful tool for analyzing literature and informational text. The students have the Internet at their fingertips and can access the story or article via the computer as well as the activities.
Your donations have changed the way we teach and learn in the classroom. Thank you so much for your generosity.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Dopkin
Balance Balls to Keep us Fit and Focused
Funded Oct 4, 2016My students love the balance ball chairs. We cycle them through the tables so that everyone gets a turn during the week. We also use them during morning meeting to practice some yoga moves. If a student is struggling to stay focused or having a bad day we will give them a turn on the balance ball to relax and gain his/her composure.
A classroom climate is very important to learning and the balance balls are contributing to a positive environment. Kids are learning about their core and how to stay focused through breathing. There impact is greater than I could of imagined.
Thanks to your donation my students have an outlet for frustration, extra energy, and the ability to exercise their core.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Dopkin
This classroom project was brought to life by the estate of Dorothea Lutz and 4 other donors.We Need The Write Stuff!
Funded Mar 8, 2016When the supplies arrived my students were very excited to open the boxes and see what was inside. They loved the colored paper and colored card stock, the pencils and sharpener got a standing ovation. The class was amazed that people they don't even know donated to our project.
My students are working so hard to prepare for the PSSA and 7th grade using the CLOSE reading strategy, highlighting and marking the text, thanks to our paper supply. We have been able to copy many stories from the Internet and excerpts from TeachersPayTeachers. Without your donations this would be impossible now we are all set through the end of the year.
April is Poetry month so we are studying many different poets and have a folder full of activities for analyzing the meaning as well as the literary devices. We are publishing a poetry book for our two classes. Each student will be able to submit two to three poems and we will bind the book so every student has a copy. At the end of the month we will have a poetry reading and invite our parents. We are using the card stock to create invitations for our parents and the front and back of the poetry book, and the copy paper to make all of the copies of the poems. This would not be possible without your donations.
All of the supplies are being put to good use. Thank you so much for your support and generosity.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Dopkin
Reading Makes Us Stronger
Funded Sep 15, 2015Without SCOPE and ACTION magazines we would not have any reading materials to support the Common Core Standards that we are being tested on during Benchmarks and PSSA. Thanks to you we have high interest stories that keep us engaged and challenge us to think critically about social issues, courage in the face of adversity, and pop culture.
The first article we read was titled "Why Are Your Clothes So Cheap?" about a teenage girl who was forced to go to work in the garment industry after her father suffered a stroke. The working conditions from the hours, dangerous building, volume expected, no breaks, and low wages made us sick. My students could not imagine enduring such circumstances for a large amount of money let alone a few dollars a week. As a result my students started researching their favorite clothing manufacturers and sent letters to the ones that were doing a good job at regulating their garment factories congratulating them. They also sent letters to the ones that were being cited for poor labor conditions and unsafe garment factories in other countries asking them to do better and pledging not to purchase their clothing any more. They are motivated to continue to check out different companies when they come across a new label or something they like in a magazine to see if they are doing the right thing.
We continued our journey by taking on the topic of Trophy Hunting and the tragedy of Cecil in Africa. They were divided on this topic because Trophy hunting brings jobs and revenue to the citizens of near by villages in Africa. On the other side the students felt that it was unfair to go to a ranch and hunt for animals just to have a head to hang on your wall.
Currently we are reading about Vivien Thomas a man who was responsible for developing a heart surgery to help "blue babies" in the 1940's. It is a great story about how inside the laboratory he was an innovator but outside he was subject to great racism because it was before the civil rights movement.
All of this would not be possible without your donations. We examine issues and debate topics in the classroom on a daily basis. We are driven to research and look beyond the magazines to explore things further. We question and problem solve as a group.
Each month is like Christmas when we open a new package and discover what is inside. Thank you so very much for making this happen for us.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Dopkin