Past projects 5
Tech-Enhanced Testing: Empowering Educators with iPads for Smarter Assessments
Funded Aug 24, 2024On behalf of our entire team, I want to express our heartfelt gratitude for your generous support of our DonorsChoose project. Thanks to your donation, we were able to acquire iPads, which have already made a profound difference in the way we assess and support our students.
As you know, our goal was to enhance the accuracy and efficiency of our assessments. The iPads have exceeded our expectations in every way. The testing format on these devices was designed specifically for touchscreen use, which we previously did not have access to. This has significantly improved the accuracy of our assessments and streamlined the process, allowing us to better serve each student's needs.
In addition, the immediate feedback provided by the iPads has been invaluable. Teachers can now identify areas where students are struggling in real-time, which enables us to offer timely support and adjust instruction as needed. This ability to respond quickly to student needs has made a marked difference in their learning outcomes.
The use of educational apps on iPads has further allowed us to eliminate the burden of paper-based assessments and manual grading. Teachers now spend less time on administrative tasks and more time focusing on individualized instruction. The flexibility of digital assessments has also made the testing process more inclusive.
Your generosity has truly transformed our ability to create a more dynamic, efficient, and personalized learning environment. We are now better equipped to provide the one-on-one support that each student deserves, and your contribution is a key part of this success.
Thank you again for making this possible. Your support is helping us make a lasting impact on our students' education, and we are deeply grateful for your kindness and commitment to our mission.
Warm regards,”
With gratitude,
Ms. Edwards
This classroom project was brought to life by The Gates Foundation and 15 other donors.Wonders of Writing
Funded Sep 3, 2023The most important part of this project was the writing journals for 1st graders. We started our year with four new teachers in our school, so supply requests did not include these writing notebooks in time, and they are an essential part of reading and writing success at this age. Drawing a picture is vital to help students organize their thoughts to write about them, develop sentence structure, and add details through elevated vocabulary. Students use these notebooks daily as they respond to the deep knowledge they are gaining about ancient civilizations or make connections to cultures through the varied stories they read from around the world.
Many students in the school received snacks during their snack recess or in the afternoon after school while they waited for their parents to pick them up. Although this may seem small and not a sustainable request, it started a cycle of donations from community members who recognize that snacks are important for students who can't bring them from home.
We are truly grateful for your thoughtful donation.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Edwards
This classroom project was brought to life by Colorado Department of Education.English Language Learners Read for the Sky!
Funded Aug 16, 2022In our coursework for English Language Development, students work to improve their oral language, listening, reading comprehension, and writing skills. Although we have a curriculum, and learners are expanding their knowledge in general education classes, Storyworks has been an exceptional extension of our resources to support students in the classroom and at home.
Through Storyworks, students practice mastery of featured skills such as cause and effect, synthesizing, understanding themes, finding the main idea, analyzing characters, and inferencing. Readers are provided with various texts developed to educate them about culture, science, interesting facts, and creative fiction and as a tool to
In class, we learn new words important to the text we will be reading. Then, students listen while I read the text to them. After that, we discuss the questions provided in the lesson that target the skills we are working to strengthen. Finally, students work independently on worksheets provided to check for their understanding. Once we have read the stories, students take the magazine home to share with their families. We set goals together, and sometimes they ask me to print another worksheet we have already completed so they can work on it with their parents or other family members.
I have settled on the most memorable moments that stand out to me from our work with Storyworks Magazine. Here are the top five:
1. I love hearing the excitement from students when they know we are getting a new Storyworks for the month.
2. I HAVE to give them time to thumb through the magazine and chat with each other, or we won't be able to get anything done. This time allows students to talk and share their thoughts about what they will be reading. Still, it is a joy to watch their curiosity and enthusiasm create these conversations organically.
3. The dialogue we have as a class as we discover new vocabulary and dive into stories students have heard before.
4. Watching new English language learners recall information from the stories we read to the practice worksheets they complete. At the same time, they push their thinking, build their background knowledge, and develop their vocabulary.
5. The elated responses from students because they get to take their magazines home to share with their families.
When I told my students about the Donors Choose and the generous people who donated to help us get Storyworks in the classroom, they were very grateful and a little confused. The confusion came in the form of many questions about who the donors were and whether they would be coming to see us, how the donors knew to get us this magazine, and how the donors got the magazine delivered to our school. Ultimately, they, we, are very appreciative to you all for seeing the purpose and benefit of your gift to us. We can't wait to listen, read, talk, and write more about the stories in this delightful magazine.
Thank you, Gracias, Asante, شكرًا لك, Cảm ơn bạn, Dank je, obrigada...”
With gratitude,
Ms. Edwards
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill Gates and 4 other donors.Teamwork and Collaboration = Many Wonderful Things
Funded Nov 30, 2017Thank you so much for supporting our class! As an IB school, it is important that students have the space to spread out and work together in groups/teams. We have many mismatched desks with height differences, and some can be very wobbly. Our new table has provided one more great space for groups to meet and work together in a more cohesive manner.
The first day we had the table set up was an inside recess day. At one point I looked up and almost my entire class was walking in circles around the table with one hand touching it at all times! I wished I had had my camera at the time because it was a clear vision of how excited students were to have the new addition!
Students have used this table to have math competitions, create posters, to sit and read with their friends and to meet in groups for their final 5th-grade project! It has been a welcome space in our room! I have many requests to sit at "the red table".
The other piece of furniture is called "The Mueble". Mueble is a Spanish word for "furniture". This piece has helped us to clean up cluttered areas around the room and organize our materials! This is so important as students constantly need access to glue, scissors, colored pencils, markers, colored paper and even books! This piece of furniture is another wonderful addition to our classroom and students are very proud to show it off!
Your generosity is a true support for what we do in the classroom every day and I appreciate your gifts with my whole heart!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Edwards
Spring, Sprung, Chrome
Funded Mar 12, 2016Dear Donors,
I have been teaching for almost 17 years now. Education has changed considerably in that time, mostly due to the amount of technology we use in the classroom. As an International Baccalaureate school, we focus on "research" that helps students answer questions on a deeper level, and "action" that encourages students to do something with the information they have discovered. In order to be successful, it is important that students have access to resources. The Internet is the best way for them to find online databases and communicate with the teacher, classmates and experts around the world.
Because the of the nature of our curriculum, students use Chromebooks A LOT! Right now we are working on an end-of-year project that is multifaceted. To start, 86 students are broken into groups of three or four and they choose a topic that is considered a social issue, for example; homelessness. After that, they research the topic go on mini field trips that support their research, interview experts, create an action plan in order to be a help or make a difference within the issue, create an art piece, write an essay, and design a technology piece. Finally, once they have completed all of this, students put together a presentation that they present in front of parents and the school community!
Reading, writing, and math all depends on access to computers, as well. Students have accounts with Mobymax, LearningAlly, and Khan Academy. These sites help students who struggle, receive extra supports for learning. When students use these sites, teachers are able to track learning and assess student needs.
Overall, these new Chromebooks are such a blessing! We use them daily for various reasons and couldn't be more grateful for your kind donation, but more importantly, for your support for the education of the students at Brown!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Edwards
This classroom project was brought to life by #BestSchoolDay and 5 other donors.