Ms. Frate's Classroom Edit display name

Past projects 4

• Books That Broaden Our Horizons

  Funded Oct 19, 2017

  Thank you so much for your generous contribution to our Donors Choose campaign! We used the support you provided to buy a series of young adult texts that are helping us address social justice issues related to the LGBTQ+ community. In this unit, students are participating in literature circles; in other words, they have each chosen the text they read, and in small groups, they are following their own reading schedules and pursuing their own questions. We are asking them to analyze the texts as works of literature, but also to explore them as representations of various experiences along the LGBTQ+ spectrum.

  The students have been enthusiastic about the chance to discuss these issues in the classroom. They often already have questions and thoughts about LGBTQ+ identities, but many of them don't have a safe space where they can find answers or learn new ideas without the risk of hurting or offending. In our class, we are explicitly learning how to have these kinds of difficult conversations. The texts you have helped provide are a lens through which students can discuss these issues and feel confident about the respectful and thoughtful response they will receive from their peers.

  Two days each week, our students meet in their literature circles and discuss the questions they have posed about the text that have chosen. We have seen students deeply engage with complex ideas that affect the LGBTQ+ community; more than that, they are beginning to draw connections between the experiences described in the texts and the experiences of people in their lives. None of this would have been possible without your kindness. Our students are learning to be more empathetic and more engaged citizens through the texts that you have helped provide. Thank you!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Frate

  This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose.org Community and 24 other donors.

• Soccer Goals

  Funded Jul 31, 2016

  Thank you so much for your generous contribution to our soccer team. Sharing equipment with the boys' teams, who play in the Fall, means that by the times Spring comes around for girls soccer, we are left with damaged equipment, or no equipment at all. This year, however, through your donations, we were able to get our own equipment! This meant enough soccer balls for every player to have to one during practice, which vastly improved the quality of our practices and play. It also meant nets for shooting drills, cones for agility drills, and ball bags for away games. Our athletes were able to really develop with the help of this equipment, and it made life so much easier for Maria and I. Happy coaches = less yelling = fewer laps. Everyone's a winner!

  Thanks again for supporting our student athletes!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Frate

  This classroom project was brought to life by DICK'S Sporting Goods Foundation - Sports Matter and 7 other donors.

• Let Them Read Books!

  Funded Sep 22, 2016

  Thank you SO MUCH for your help in getting the books we need for our classroom. So far this year, your support has helped my AP Literature students analyze the authorial purpose in the frame narrative of Wuthering Heights, discussed the role of irony in Oedipus Rex, and draw connections between the British gothic and the Southern gothic movement through their reading of A Streetcar Named Desire. Your donation has also given my English III students a wide variety of independent reading texts, giving them the opportunity to practice their newly-discovered reading strategies and making them actually excited to read in class and even in their free time. As an English teacher who loves reading, I cannot tell you how happy this makes me.

  Thank you again for how much you have helped me provide quality reading materials for my students and encouraging both their love of and proficiency with reading!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Frate

• Building Literacy Through a Classroom Library

  Funded Nov 14, 2015

  Greetings from Room 321!

  This letter is just to say THANK YOU for donating to my project. Building an effective, organized, and comfortable classroom environment is really important to me, and your donation really enabled me to do that.

  To be totally honest, my students didn't really react when they first saw the materials - shockingly enough, filing cabinets and bookshelves aren't super high on a teenager's list of cool things. They kind of looked around and were like "oh, something is different in the room" and then patiently listened to me go into raptures about the new organizational system. That being said, the students have truly felt the effect of having a way to find the work they need quickly, efficiently, and independently. The filing cabinets allow them to be responsible for getting the work they've missed and keeping track of their assignments, while the bookshelves help them to find books that they will actually enjoy.

  My students' executive functioning skills are rarely where they need to be in order for them to be successful in college and in their future careers, so modeling ways to help them get and stay organized is not only helpful to them now, but will be helpful to them in the future as well.”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Frate