Past projects 15
An ELMO Will Help us Dig Deeper into Texts.
Funded Oct 9, 2012I am so incredibly grateful for the document camera that you donated to our class. It has already transformed our classroom into an even more interactive experience. The students love seeing their work projected on the screen. We can slide their writer's notebook under so the class can read their writing and highlight their writing strengths. After an independent math activity students can share their different strategies to tackle a word problem. But one of my favorite uses is for Read Aloud. The document camera allows for all their eyes to be on a small text. When I want to focus on a tricky vocabulary word, they can all see the context clues in the surrounding sentences to figure out the meaning of the word. When we are having a big class conversation around a big idea in a story, we can point to the text evidence in the book to prove our thinking. This week, we shared an article and wrote an opinion piece on the topic. All of the students could watch as I highlighted and underlined important parts to reference in my own persuasive writing. They see it and get it so much more. THANK YOU!!!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Kelly
"Time For Kids" to Start Learning Current Events
Funded Dec 12, 2011Thank you so much for donating Time For Kids to our class. In the past this was a resource our school was able to provide for our students, but with today's budget cuts, it was quick to go. My students LOVE it. They love when it is on their desks in the morning. The mornings are so quiet when they dive into the interesting articles. They are becoming better readers in so many ways.
We just finished a reading unit focused on nonfiction reading strategies. The magazines were such a wonderful supplement to our nonfiction books. Each edition has many of the features I teach them to utilize to gain information. For example, most of the articles have photographs, diagrams, graphs, and tables with captions. New vocabulary is highlighted and explained in a word box or right in the text. The children have chosen to add many of those words to our "Brainwave Word Wall." They retain their meanings because of their high interest in the words.
One of my favorite articles about an endangered animal referenced two sources. We had a great conversation about where journalists find their information to write an article. Since we are also writing nonfiction books about an expert topic of interest, many of them chose to reference a source in the same way the TFK journalist did. A few interviewed the principal. Two referenced a nonfiction book they read on the topic and two even quoted me in their own book.
Lastly, I want you to know how the Time For Kids magazine subscription has done what every teacher wants. It has struck the curiosity bone in every one of them. As they wrote their thank you notes yesterday, they started pulling their own favorites out of their desks and wanted to share why it was their favorite. They have started sharing their opinions and questioning their ideas on a deeper level. This is exactly what I want students to do as independent readers. Again, I want to thank you so much for your generosity. It means so much to me and my class. We talked long as a class about your generosity. They could not believe that you bought us this subscription without even knowing us. "Kindness is contagious." They want to do something nice for someone else now. I love it. ”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Kelly
Just How "Smart" Can a "Smartboard" Be?
Funded Mar 2, 2011Thank you so very much for the generous donation towards our new class laptop. I wish I could have captured the students' smiles when I opened the box in a class meeting and discussed your generosity. We talk often about being grateful for all the wonderful resources we are provided in our school. So many of our resources are a direct result of donations and grants, both large and small, like this laptop.
My co-teacher and I are hoping to get some more training on how to better utilize the Smartboard now, but it has been a great tool to engage students while preparing them for the state standardized tests. They are so excited about coming to the front of the class to show their work on the Smartboard. It has been so easy for us to pull resources off the Internet to share with them.
Like most schools, and most industries, we are facing serious budget cuts. Without your support we would have gone without such an important learning tool. Thank you again for helping our class.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Kelly
This classroom project was brought to life by HP and 8 other donors.World's Greatest Composers and Artists
Funded Sep 19, 2006WOW! Thank you so much for funding our proposal for our artist and composer books. What a great way to start my day and find out such great news. My students will be exposed to such a wealth of knowledge. My teammates and I are already planning shared writing experiences and art projects to go along with them. I am thrilled that I won't have to buy all of those books from Barnes and Noble out of my own pocket too. Wow, wow, wow. Thank you soooo much”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Kelly
My students want and need to learn CURSIVE handwriting.
Funded Feb 17, 2004Wow! I am thrilled to hear that you funded my proposal for the cursive handwriting materials from Handwriting Without Tears for my class. I can't wait to tell the other third grade teacher and my students. They are going to be so excited. I am confident that they will all be successful using this program. Thank you so much for your generosity.
Smiles,
Michelle ”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Kelly