Past projects 9
Zen Garden
Funded Dec 20, 2022Thank you again for contributing to our Zen Garden project. The rain we had in Southern California this winter set-back the timing of working on our garden, but we finally have enough dry weather to start! Our outside counseling organization will be the first one to officially use the garden next week, and they will hold a special ceremony to recognize the students in their program.
Students have been very excited to start working the garden and look forward to trying to grow a few fruits and vegetables. High on their list is watermelon and strawberries!
It means so much to have this little corner in the middle of urban East Los Angeles. Your donation is giving students so many positive experiences already.
Regards,
Karin”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kroener-Valdivia
Helping Students See Themselves in the Books They Read
Funded Feb 21, 2020Thank you one more time for helping fund this project. The students will be very excited to have two choices for literature circles that are more current titles, titles that have interesting cultural elements to discuss. It is difficult to motivate students to read these days, and even more so to read the outdated titles we have available in the book room. We are excited to get these books so we can start reading!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kroener-Valdivia
Replace the Books That Have Walked Away
Funded Mar 17, 2017Thank you so much for funding this project. It will help me replace some of the books that have gone missing this school year. The books in the classroom library are available for students to check out and take home. Your donation is directly putting a book in a student's hand!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kroener-Valdivia
Classroom Library Refresh
Funded Feb 7, 2017Thank you so much for funding this project! These books will go into our classroom library, where 150 students will have access to checking them out. The "free choice reading" portion of our class is a vital component to helping students raise their reading levels. Currently my students are 5-6 years behind grade level in reading, which is a tragedy. Your donation puts a book directly in a student's hand!!!!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kroener-Valdivia
Books Bring Brighter Futures.
Funded Dec 27, 2015The books that were purchased with this Donor's Choose grant are for what I call "free choice reading." This is when students choose at a book at their reading level to read. This is in addition to class novel-sets that we all read together, which is many times a book that is above their independent reading level. It is the FCR book reading that is so vital, it is the only way to help students raise their reading levels, which are on average 6 years behind their grade level. So yes, I have seniors reading at a 6th grade level.
We use a program call Accelerated Reader, which sets a monthly reading goal for each student based upon their reading level (which is also tested and monitored through the program). When a student finishes reading a book, they take a book quiz on-line and earn points of they pass the quiz with a "C" or higher. I currently have 25 students (25% of the total number of students I teach) that have read well over a million words, which is amazing work.
I work very hard to match books to readers, which means I need a very large classroom library. I need a wide range of levels and wide range of book topics, to be able to get as many students reading as possible. Every year I do a teacher report card of my classes, and the resounding comments are things like "this is the first time I ever really finished a book on my own," "I actually started to enjoy reading," "I love the books you have in your library...."
The research shows that wide reading of books like this is necessary element when helping students become grade level readers. My goal is not only to move them up at least one full grade level, but also to create a life-long enjoyment of literature. This grant helped to make that possible.
We thank you. Read on.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kroener-Valdivia
Students Will Read if They Have the Right Books!
Funded Mar 20, 2013I would like to thank you again for your contribution to my Donor's Choose project. This money was used to purchase books for our classroom library. Students are required in my class to read a book a month, and they can either check out a book from the classroom library or go to the school library. Only a handful of students opt to check out books from the school library, for several reasons. The school library doesn't have copy depth for the most in-demand titles, and some students quite simply don't know how to find a book they might like reading when faced with the large bookshelves that line the walls. When they checkout a book in the room, we sit quietly on the side, I know their reading level so I can match them with a book they can actually comprehend. They also know I have read most of the books in the room, and after a while they begin to trust my recommendations.
Most students (90% or so) are well-below their grade level in reading ability. The only way for them to improve is by reading widely. Your donation is directly putting books into the hands of students. Students are able to take these books home, and all books are available for check-out all the time.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kroener-Valdivia
Show Them A Mirror, Then A Window: Reading Is Transformative
Funded Nov 7, 2011Thank you so much for your donation to our project. I work at a large, urban high school teaching 11th and 12th grade English. Many students are very behind in their independent reading levels, and I feel a sense of urgency in trying to help them make the most progress they can in the time I have them. In order to do that, to raise reading levels as quickly as possible, students need to do a wide variety of reading in class and outside of it. The state standards suggest that it's necessary for students to read 2 million words a year independently.
While we read and analyze stories together in class, a key component to my class is having a book in every student's hand. This book is matched to the reader based on interest and reading level. Students use the book for their homework reading and related entries. In order to do this, I need a large number of books in my classroom library. I buy books twice a month, out of my own pocket, in order to make this work. Students will recommend books to me or books start falling apart and have to be replaced. New titles become popular, like Hunger Games right now. The library breathes with the changes.
The result? Not only can I prove that my students' reading levels are increasing, we become a community of readers over the months. That means the most to me, that they leave my class considering themselves "readers." I couldn't make all this happen without the donations you provide!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kroener-Valdivia
High School Books Needed - Reading is Fundamental!
Funded Jan 1, 2011I would l like to take this chance to thank you one more time for your donations to our project. Your donations allowed us to expand our classroom library with chapter book titles that the high school students are interested in. Often times the reading that is mandatory for the classes does not grab their attention, and the supplemental reading from the chapter books are the only reading they'll do that has a chance of turning them into life long readers.
Titles purchased through this grant include All Quiet on the Western Front and A Long Way Home, two books that have proven very successful with the 10th and 11th graders. Both describe the grim aspects of war and have made students reflect on whether war is human necessity and why wars even begin. Another popular title is Annie's Baby. This is a diary about a young teenage mom, something my students can relate to. Several of my high school students are parents themselves, struggling to manage school, parenting and in some cases part-time work.
Nothing can replace the impact that reading a good book has. These donations are vital to the futures of my students.
Gracias!!!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kroener-Valdivia
This classroom project was brought to life by American Express Members Project and 6 other donors.Lit Circles: Book Talks Make A Story Come Alive!
Funded Sep 2, 2009Thank you again for your contributions to my literature circle project. I have been using the new books in both my E.S.L. classes and a new after-school class for struggling readers. In my classes there is a range of reading levels - everything from a 2nd grade reading level up to a 6th (majority of students are in 7th grade). If the whole class had to read the same text, it would be too hard for the struggling readers and too easy for the advanced readers. The books you helped purchase allow for the students to get into groups of six, choose a book together (from choices at their level) and then read the book with their group. I rotate from group to group while they are reading to help facilitate a book discussion. The discussions have been wonderful this year, and the combination of reading and talking about the stories greatly helps the students' comprehension.
On average the students I teach are three years behind their grade level in reading. These books help me in trying to get their reading levels up as quickly as possible. These books will be in the hands of over 100 students by then end of this school year alone - that's amazing!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kroener-Valdivia