Past projects 10
Graphic Novels for Refugee and Immigrant Students
Funded Jan 19, 2025Thank you so much for supporting my students' love for reading! They will enjoy these books so much because of their high appeal and easy to understand formats. My English Language Learners in my class will have a wonderful time enjoying these stories with the support of pictures to help them comprehend the text. You are helping 90 kids fall in love with reading, and I'm grateful!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Lesli
This classroom project was brought to life by SONIC Foundation and 5 other donors.Notebooks for Newly Arrived Immigrants and Refugees
Funded Oct 15, 2024Or notebooks have been a great help to both my students and my own planning and records! We start our daily group time by doing phonemic awareness on the rug, then we get out our personalized notebooks and learn to read and write.
Students are growing in their ability to decode and encode words. They are improving their letter formation and legibility, and they feel proud of their progress. Their participation is high, and they are accountable for their effort because they know that their teacher is checking over their notebooks between classes and monitoring their participation.
Thank you so much for your generosity and your support. These simple tools have been an effective strategy for supporting their literacy development!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Lesli
This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Supporter and 2 other donors.Building Words and Number Sense
Funded Feb 12, 2019My students used these resources to engage in word building and number sense in meaningful ways. They used the letter building tools to master letter shapes, and uses the stamps, magnets, and beads to make words from their word lists. It was their favorite time of the day!
Students became better at working independently and were consistently able to sustain focus on their learning tasks. They were able to do their word building and math activities with greater independence as a result, and used this time to remain focused and engaged on their work plans. Thank you for your support!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Lesli
We've Got the Wiggle Worms!
Funded Dec 27, 2018My students used these resources to actively engage in learning in many successful ways! They used the resources to move throughout learning stations and keep all their materials neatly organized and accessible. They were able to monitor their learning with the clipboards, checking off their learning tasks and bringing their work plan home to their families.
Thank you for supporting this project! It was a memorable year, and the kids grew in their ability to work well with others, read at grade level, and work independently.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Lesli
Engaging Graphic Novels for Immigrants and Multilingual Learners
Funded Sep 18, 2024These books have become so popular that students sometimes get in trouble for running to the classroom library to try and get the book they want before anyone else! We literally had to put the graphic novels in "time out" while we problem solved how to problem solve and properly share books. I have to sternly remind kids to close their books when I'm teaching a lesson. I've never had these great problems before, but I love it!
The kids are devouring these stories at a rate that I never anticipated. Although they aren't allowed to remove them from the classroom, kids are reading them with such fervor that they are soaring past their daily reading requirements. They LOVE these books so much, and remain so focused and engaged, that it's hard to make them stop reading! Woah is me! 😅
Thank you for helping my students fall in love with reading! I see their engagement increasing, and I can't wait to see how their feelings towards reading
improve over the course of the year.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Lesli
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community & an Anonymous Partner and 2 other donors.Seeing Ourselves in Historical Fiction
Funded Jun 19, 2023We have been so busy this semester learning about the history of our country. We've traveled through one hundred years so far with bite-sized history lessons, which has ignited my 5th graders' interest in exploring each era. The "Girls Survive" series has been extremely popular in particular, because students can choose from a wide variety of historical contexts.
We've used these fictional stories to discuss periods of exclusion and discrimination. We've built a strong understanding of communities, identities, and shifting boundaries of to whom our country has afforded rights and dignity. Our classroom community has learned about the importance of fighting against hatred in all of its stages, and why we must work together to build and more inclusive future.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Lesli
Curling Up With Good Books
Funded Sep 18, 2022The books that you provided for my students engaged them in reading in a way that was truly magical. They absolutely loved the "Dragon Masters" series, and have devoured the graphic novels and video game themed texts. They have been especially attached to these books because I had to leave the school after two months, taking most of my own contributions with me. Having a strong collection of books remaining in the classroom was very helpful for them.
Thank you so much for providing my students with more books. They do not have access to a school library, and their school-provided classroom library was lacking before your generous donations. I wish that I could have continued the school year with them to see their excitement as they continued to read and grow.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Lesli
All in a Day's Work!
Funded Aug 30, 2018Thank you so much for supporting my classroom! We have been putting our book bags and clipboards through a lot of hard work. The kids' "Work Time" with their clipboards is easily their favorite part of the day because they get to be self-directed in their work. They are rising to the challenge of managing their time and recording their work, and parents are really excited to see what their children are doing every day.
Without the clipboards our class wouldn't have been able to document and record their daily tasks, and Work Time would have been next to impossible. The book bags enable the kids to take books home every night, allowing everyone the opportunity to grow as a reader even if they don't have books at home. These supplies have had a big payoff, and I have already noticed significant learning gains. Thank you!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Lesli
Dramatic Play Our Way!
Funded Mar 27, 2018Thank you so much for supporting my classroom with this generous gift! We use the dramatic play toys every single day. They have been used to teach social skills, as well as spark the kids' imagination and encourage open-ended play. We play with the toys every morning to start they day off with a positive social environment that encourages collaboration and sharing. These have even improved attendance, since the kids are eager to get to school on time to play with their friends for 10 minutes!
During a recent classroom meeting when we were discussing bullying at our school, the kids shared that we should share our toys with other classrooms so that kids can learn to be friends. They have attributed their success and positive relationships to their play time, which goes way beyond what I was expecting from this project! Thank you so much!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Lesli
This classroom project was brought to life by Ripple.Characters Like Me! Help Us Build a Diverse Classroom Library
Funded Sep 5, 2016Slowly the boxes of books trickled into our classroom during the first weeks of school, and 20 eager and new faces greeted each arrival like the best birthday gift on the planet! We applauded when we opened up a huge box of Elephant and Piggy books, and said "oooh!" when we saw all of the interesting and familiar characters on the covers of our new books. Beyond the excitement of opening boxes of beautiful stories, we have perused titles and shared ideas during interactive read alouds, then by ourselves when we finished a story all together.
So far, our favorite books include characters that remind us of ourselves, or teach us things based on our preexisting assets. For example, we read "Leila's Lunchbox" and had great success with making inferences using key details, because we were able to directly relate to Leila's experience during Ramadan. The Somali-English picture dictionary has seen a lot of love lately, as students enjoy looking at words that they know in their home language, and sharing that knowledge with other students. Upon learning of the election results that made the vast majority of us feel unsafe and worried for the future, we read Faith Ringgold's "We Came to America" and we were able to access a challenging discussion about belonging and community through a debate about what kind of person a president should be.
Books this year have provided an escape, an opportunity for challenging discourse, and a chance for students to feel like experts that are valued. I am proud to say that this year, every single book we've read together features characters that look like and have experiences that are similar to those of my students. As a result, I can honestly say that every child in our classroom (and myself included!) feel excited every time we crack open a new book to learn about a new character, whether they are immigrants to the US, freedom fighters, or a child overcoming a relatable problem. We have grown in our ability to have deep conversations because my students are more easily able to connect to and comprehend a story.
Thank you for your support! My students have enjoyed learning and reading, for which I am eternally grateful!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Lesli
This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 8 other donors.