Past projects 13
We Love Books!
Funded Apr 6, 2015Thank you so much for supporting our reading! Our class has greatly enjoyed this text and students have grown hugely academically as well as socially. With this text, students have learned the skill of opinion, point of view, and research. Since this book is written from the point of view of a child, the students were compelled to conduct research on Holocaust history in order to understand what was being discussed in the fiction book. The students were very interested in learning about the experience of children of the Holocaust as well as survivors and many initiated additional independent research. Reading and discussing this book has inspired the class to take a field trip to the Museum of Tolerance here in Los Angeles and participate in the Steps to Tolerance program which gives the students an interactive experience as an age-appropriate introduction to Holocaust history and discussion of current issues, including bullying.
Reading in my classroom has several modes and this book was no exception. We read as a whole class and had academic discussion about the text practicing the skills of summarizing, asking questions, inferring, predicting, visualizing, and making connections. Students also read in small leveled groups where they were able to interact with the text at their own pace with other students with similar needs. Finally, the students shared their thoughts about the text verbally as well as orally in small groups, whole class, or in one-on-one rotations.
The interest in the subject matter of this book was very high. Students felt the need to learn more and understand. As they researched and shared their thoughts, it was clear to me that they were interacting with the book in a manner that went beyond just completing it for school because their teacher told them to do so.
In short, this book has provided a great reading experience as well as an excellent introduction onto Holocaust history. It awakened an intrinsic motivation for research and historical knowledge beyond the pages of the book. Room 15 thanks you for your generous donation without which our journey could not have been possible.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Soto
Support our Community of Readers
Funded Dec 14, 2014The students loved the book! They would beg to read one more chapter at the end of each session dying to know what would happen next. The expressed that the book was funny, exciting, educational, and had a positive theme. The characters' dialogue often made them laugh. The class was charmed by the voice of the region and era with words like "shucks", idioms such as "kiss my wrist", and recurring onomatopoeia like "woop, zoop, sloop". They learned about jazz music and visualized the characters, particularly Ms. Thomas, singing as we listened to 1930's jazz. They also learned about segregation connecting the book to an earlier lesson on the Freedom Riders. In addition, they learned about the ways that The Great Depression affected everyday people. They also felt that the author was teaching the reader to be optimistic and to persevere despite great obstacles, just like the main character overcame being an abandoned orphan. They were also very impressed by the fact that Christopher Paul Curtis, the author, never experiences writer's block and never uses a graphic organizer. This blew their mind!
This book was a great way for the students to learn not only literature but also history, music, economics, and positive character qualities. The book increased the students' love for reading as exemplified in their letters to the author as well as their independent reading choices. Many asked the author to write a sequel and a few purchased Elijah of Buxton, another book by the same author, at the school book fair.
We appreciate your support in helping the class to learn with joy and excitement.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Soto
This classroom project was brought to life by Disney and 5 other donors.Support and Challenge Diverse Bilingual Learners
Funded Sep 15, 2014Room 15 would like to extend a huge thank you for your generous donation. The students love their "awesome" Chromebooks! They love using them individually and collaboratively to learn and explore. The work area is joyful and productive as they pore over ancient maps, mathematical models, and on-line thesauri. They have taken meticulous care of the Chromebooks taking great pride and ownership of their new learning tools that they enjoy every day.
The students are using the Chromebooks in all content areas throughout the day. A typical day may have students typing, formatting, and illustrating an essay to be placed on the writing wall. Other students who have finished their math lesson early may enter Khan Academy to continue their work. Others may look up the longitude and latitude coordinates of their school to explore the mapping of the Earth's surface. Still more may research the social classes of ancient Egypt to make their classroom skit historically accurate. In short, students have on-going access to the Chromebooks throughout the entire day!
This project has boosted my teaching in valuable ways. First, it has allowed me to differentiate learning for varied styles. Students that understand math quickly do not have to wait for others and stop learning. They can continue to be challenged by going on Khan Academy and doing more math. Students who learn visually may look at diagrams or charts to better understand a concept. Students who want to track their reading stamina may enter Accelerated Reader to track their word count. All of this allows my students extra support or enrichment opportunities as needed on an everyday basis.
In short, your support has provided our classroom with a wonderful resource that has greatly enriched our classroom learning and has fostered a curiosity and a love for learning.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Soto