Past projects 45
Podium Power Project
Funded Dec 18, 2014our new Learning Support podium is exactly what our classroom needed to prepare for February's Black History Month program! When the podium arrived in the post, (packed flat, of course), I thought, "This us going to be a large bit of clunky-chunky furniture." As it turns out, I was completely wrong: this podium puts the "fun" in "furniture"!
Firstly, this podium is not intimidating to my students (not even the shy ones). Rather, all of my 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders took to the notion of it right from the start. Not a class goes by where a student (usually someone timorous) pretends to give a mayoral stump speech, complete with dramatic pauses, eye contact, and jazzy hand gestures. There is more: I notice lately that most of these "mayors" sound and act like me! Ah, well, the child is teacher of the man, again!
We are thrilled to have the many features of this podium (smooth wheels, tilted reading surface, pull-out side drawer) at our leisure as we prepare our Black History speeches. Blessing to you all for the spark and encouragement!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Petuskey
Human Anatomy Models Mania
Funded Aug 22, 2014according to my Learning Support students, "These are some of the grossest things we've seen in the classroom (so far) this year." I suppose they are right: nothing else shows the fine details of these human organ models. Yet, there is a positive side to all of this.
One of my older students, a girl, was doing some light, online research on President Abraham Lincoln's fatal head injuries. Using the brain model, she and I were able to exactly pinpoint the areas of Lincoln's brain that were damaged by John Wilkes Booth's bullet. Another student, a boy, was recently prescribed eyeglasses to correct his nearsightedness. With the help of the eye model, he and I could explore precisely why his eyes needed corrective lenses to focus images on his retinas.
These human organ models may indeed be gross, but they are surely a fabulous investment for my students to increase their science understanding. Bless your hearts!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Petuskey
This classroom project was brought to life by Gates Foundation Back To School and 8 other donors.Hand, Eye, and Brain: Transitional Activities
Funded Aug 12, 2014on behalf of our Learning Resource Room 202, Merci, graze, danke sehr, thank you so much! This Transitional Activities Project is a colossal success, thanks to far-sighted and maverick donors like you. Every student, visitor, and guest at our school who enters our classroom has the same response, "Wow!".
Of the original four items in this project, only the ping-pong table was unavailable for purchase, so my students and I chose four smaller substitute items for solo and cooperative exercise: a pair of adjustable stilts, an eggbeater jump rope, a set of spoon and egg toys (to practice balance), and an exercise ball. Each of these substitute items employ the principle of the original ping pong table: small and gross motor skills should be flexed regularly within academic lessons.
The other three original items of this project were the basketball court, giant chess set, and hammock. Our gorgeous hammock is the only item used strictly for a solo student, and is the most subtle tool of this project, by far. When a student comes to our classroom frustrated, anxious, or tense, we turn to the hammock for a calming rhythm. The size of our giant chess set is just right for 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders: all of the pieces can be moved without students needing to stand up. One of my new 5th grade students and I enjoy an ongoing chess game (one move per person, per day) to soothe the transition between lunchtime and afternoon writing lessons. Within this project, the stellar performance item is the basketball court, for sure! This tool teaches every student boundaries and progress: a student must first ask permission to play, every successful basket earns a bonus attempt, and each shot that escapes the side nets stops play altogether. Two over-arching lessons benefit each student: each student only competes with his- or herself; physical sports and reading both require patience and focus.
Our Resource Room is truly blessed by your energies and resources. Please know, always, that you all make a positive donation to our learning, every day.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Petuskey
Catalyst Mouse Trap Science Inquiry
Funded Jul 18, 2014this is definitely one of the most interesting science inquiry projects our Learning Support class has ever attempted! This experience hearkens to the wise words of John Lennon: "Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans." Our Catalyst Mousetrap Program certainly adheres to this saying.
Our Learning Support classroom attempted this experiment no fewer than three times. The first two times, the mousetraps self-released halfway through setup, causing the whole experiment to fall apart. At this point, I asked my students for suggestions on how to make this project work. "Maybe the answer is with the mousetraps themselves," offered a sage 4th-grade girl. It turns out she was exactly right. Not all of these mousetraps are made the same: some have a little more "play" in the spring and trigger mechanism. When we setup this experiment for the third time, we eliminated any mousetraps that seemed "soft" or "wobbly". This way, these inferior mousetraps would probably not go-off prematurely from the weight of the ping pong balls.
Finally, we completed the third setup with no hitches; all of the mousetraps were armed and in place. All of the ping pong balls rested calmly on the mousetraps. For safety, my students stood 15 feet away, just in case anything went flying through the air. Each student was asked to throw a single ping pong ball at the armed experiment. For the first twelve thrown ping pong balls, nothing happened. One young lady became nervous from the suspense and hurled her ball right into the heart of the mousetraps. What resulted was, in a word, bedlam. All of the potential energy locked within the mousetraps was released at once. Mousetraps and ping pong balls flew ten feet in every direction. My once tidy room was now an utter disaster, and this is for the best, because now I introduced the science word of the day: "catalyst". I explained that what the students witnessed was a catalytic reaction, and that the young lady's ball was the one thing that needed to be introduced into the experiment for a dramatic change to occur. Even if I had set off fireworks in my room, I could not have demonstrated this idea more energetically!
My class and I are deeply grateful to all of you exemplary donors for bringing this experiment to us. From this experiment, we now understand the importance of perseverance, brainstorming, and the notions of "three times is a charm." Bless you all.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Petuskey
Pencil Points Program
Funded Jul 29, 2014this Pencil Points Program is the wisest move I have ever made as a teacher! No other strategy has come close to reducing frustration, tension, and anxiety in my Learning Support students. How is this possible, you ask? Well, it all comes down to the following learned student behaviors.
My students now understand civil conventions of "please" and "thank you". Instead of running into my room, grabbing a fistful of pencils, and galloping away, my students now knock at the door, ask to enter my room, ask to "please take a pencil", and always say "thank you". Thanks to generous donors like yourselves, our classroom has enough spare pencils to allow each student to take two pencils at a time. I find myself telling students, "Take two pencils, and share with a friend." Believe me when I say, this lesson has made a dynamic improvement in the peer relationships of my students!
Also, my students now have a rock-solid resource for school supplies. This may not sound like much, but in our school district, most students experience profound traumas at home, and my students are not exempt. Imagine, if you will, what it must be like for a young student to know, without a doubt, that tools for their own self-expression are always available, and plentiful, today, tomorrow, and every day.
Our Pencil Points Program is all about self-confidence and student pride: pride in natural gifts, pride in effort, pride in ourselves, and pride in our environment. Not one jot of this pride is false, and I heartily look forward to renewing this project for the 2015-2016 school year. Bless your hearts!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Petuskey