Mr. Linley's Classroom Edit display name

Past projects 105

• 33 Great Books All Kids Should Know

  Funded Dec 24, 2009

  Thank you for your donation!

  This is an outstanding collection of books and will be used to great advantage in my classroom. As you know, books are the foundation for life-long learning and many children simply do not have adequate access. It is my duty as a teacher to make sure that the children in my care will leave my classroom in love with learning. These books will go a long way towards reaching that goal.

  There are some amazing titles in the collection. I await their delivery with great expectation.”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Linley

  This classroom project was brought to life by In a Perfect World Foundation and 5 other donors.

• The Global Village: Stories From Around the World

  Funded Dec 21, 2009

  This is an outstanding collection of books. Thank you for your donation!

  I believe that it is critically important that children be given access to high quality books. Sadly, many children do not have adequate access. This is particularly true for children who belong to cultural groups with histories of oppression. The children in my classroom will benefit greatly from your generosity. In fact, they already have. I have read several books from the collection to them already, one of which I read to them last week with great success - a book on the life and achievement of Gandhi.

  We live in a world where our youth are simply not provided enough quality resources to shine; the books that you have generously donated are making the dream of a bright future come true. These children will live in a more socially just world. I am sure of it.”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Linley

  This classroom project was brought to life by In a Perfect World Foundation and 5 other donors.

• Mexican American Heritage: Pride in First Grade

  Funded Dec 16, 2009

  Thank you again for supporting our classroom. Obviously, our beliefs about the current state of the world coincide: Culturally relevant teaching is an important and indeed essential cornerstone of effective education. I know this, the wider educational community knows it, and you also understand its importance.

  The collection of books that you sent to our class focuses primarily on themes of Mexican American heritage. All of them are excellent books and we are all thrilled to have them. Thus far I have read several of the books to my students, all to good advantage. The book "Going Home", about a family that has to drive a long distance to get back to their ancestral home in Mexico, was especially meaningful. Without these books my class would not have had the opportunity to experience compassion in the way that it has.

  Thank you for choosing our project for funding.”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Linley

  This classroom project was brought to life by In a Perfect World Foundation and 9 other donors.

• 25 Great Books All Kids Should Know

  Funded Dec 14, 2009

  Thank you for your donation.

  Recently I read the book Every Friday, by Dan Yaccarino, about a special event that the narrator enjoys with his father every week (going out to breakfast). We discussed it and wrote about it and the kids had many questions and comments and stories from their own lives to tell.

  I have read several of the other books you sent and I wait with anticipation to present the others. All of the books are always available for the kids to read on their own.

  Thanks to all of you. Some of the donors for this project have donated to projects of mine in the past. Thank you again.”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Linley

  This classroom project was brought to life by In a Perfect World Foundation and 8 other donors.

• ART for the Underprivileged: A Social Justice

  Funded Dec 19, 2009

  Thank you for all that you have done for us here at our school. The collection of art materials that you sent to our class will help give these kids some parity with their peers in more affluent schools. These children simply do not have access to quality art materials and their excitement is justified: these materials are new and unusual and the children are thrilled to have them.  I am particularly excited about the scissors and cropping tools.  The Japanese papers will make fine additions to our collages.  Thank you.”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Linley

  This classroom project was brought to life by In a Perfect World Foundation and 9 other donors.

• Science Books For First Graders

  Funded Dec 15, 2009

  Thank you again for your donation.

  As mentioned in the project proposal, we have a small garden at our school that the students care for. The books arrived this week and thanks to your generosity we have had two lessons so far using them in conjunction with our gardening experiences. The kids have already seen one animal depicted in one of the books (the earwig) in the garden. Having learned about the earwig's behaviors before the observations has prompted many questions. Further, the kids have learned about black widow spiders - which, unfortunately, can be found in our garden. Not only will your donation improve learning, it may even save a life...!This is an outstanding collection of books and will be used to great advantage in my classroom. As you know, scientific thinking is one of the cornerstones of educated minds. It is our duty as citizens to ensure that our children are given opportunities to develop scientific ways of thinking. These books will go a long way towards meeting that need.

  There are some amazing titles in the collection. I await their delivery with great expectation. Thanks again!”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Linley

  This classroom project was brought to life by In a Perfect World Foundation and 5 other donors.

• Beginner Books for New Readers

  Funded Dec 15, 2009

  Thank you for your generous donation. I am currently teaching reading intervention to the students at our grade level. All of the struggling students in the three First Grade classes at our school come to me for an hour each day to receive intensive instruction in phonics.

  It is important that emergent readers have actual books to practice their reading skills. The reading program in current use at out school does not provide enough varied practice (yes, there are books, but struggling readers get bored reading and re-reading the same titles over and over again). Your donation will add greatly to the phonics program I run. Thank you so much.”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Linley

  This classroom project was brought to life by In a Perfect World Foundation and one other donor.

• Social Justice in First Grade: Feminism, Discrimination, and Poverty

  Funded Nov 23, 2009

  Thank you again for all that you are doing for us here at our school. The collection of books that you sent to our class focuses primarily on issues of social justice; in particular, themes of discrimination and poverty. There are also included a nice selection of books relating to feminist issues. All of them are excellent books and we are all thrilled to have them.

  Thus far I have been able to read several of the books to my students, all to good advantage. The stories relate to the theme of poverty; the children have shown their true colors through the extraordinary amount of empathy they have shown in response. The book "Orange Shoes" by Trinka Hakes Noble, about a girl whose family does not have enough money to buy shoes, was especially riveting. Truly, without these books the class would not have had the opportunity to experience compassion in the way that it has.”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Linley

  This classroom project was brought to life by In a Perfect World Foundation and one other donor.

• 21 Great Books All Kids Should Know

  Funded Nov 12, 2009

  Thank you for your generous donation. This is an exciting selection of books and I wait with great anticipation to read them. Yesterday I read to the children one of the books, "Three Days on a River in a Red Canoe" by Vera Williams. It's a wonderful book for teaching fluency in writing.

  Sometimes children feel stilted in their writing, as we all do at times. They can't think of anything to say, or once something has already been said, they don't know where to take it. This book gives excellent modeling on how to write just for the fun of it, with detail and without fear. The children were clearly inspired, and their subsequent writing reflected it.

  Thank You!”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Linley

• 12 Great Books All Kids Should Know

  Funded Oct 29, 2009

  Thank you for your generous donation. Thanks again I should say! Please understand that you have helped improve the education of the children in my class tremendously as a result of your recent donations.

  I read the book about Rosa Parks and the children were enthralled. We discussed it and wrote about it and the kids had many questions. It's a great addition to our first grade curriculum on social justice. The other books in the selection are also great and I wait with anticipation to use them.

  Have a great day!”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Linley

  This classroom project was brought to life by Sarah and one other donor.