Mrs. Cogan's Classroom Edit display name

Past projects 27

• Get Ready to Rumble...with Battle-Worthy Books

  Funded Oct 8, 2019

  We are so excited to be getting these award winning books that your generous donations have provided😀I can’t wait to share this news and get a special section of our class library ready for these beauties! I’m looking forward to them flying off the shelves into their hands and having lunch bunch discussions about them.❤️”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Cogan

  This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 2 other donors.

• Run Girls Run!

  Funded Jun 9, 2019

  Thank you all so much for your donations to make this project come to life. These materials will greatly enhance our group's conditioning and running skills. I can't wait to get back to school and share with them the news of the deliveries we will be getting all thanks to your generosity!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Cogan

  This classroom project was brought to life by DICK'S Sporting Goods Foundation - Sports Matter and 4 other donors.

• Let it GROW! Let it GROW!

  Funded Sep 30, 2014

  Thank you so much for your generous donations to complete our "Let it Grow!" proposal. When they first saw the hydroponic garden parts, they were a bit confused as to how that was going to become a garden. The students read the directions and did the whole setup themselves. They are responsible for checking the Ph level of the water and adjusting it if necessary. The hydroponic garden grew enough lettuce to make salads for all 40 of my 5th graders. We grew a variety of types, some new to the students. They also saw how efficient that type of gardening was compared to the traditional gardening we were also doing. The concluded that because the hydroponic was on a timed watering, possibly that led it to growing faster.

  The interest in traditional gardening was also wonderful. There is an assigned student every week that is in charge of watering it. We were able to grow lots of sweet potatoes, radishes and a few carrots. We added those into our salads as well. Other classes are always looking and asking about what is going on in our garden. My hope it to be able to expand responsibility to other grades to assist in the maintenance. Currently we are growing our second crop of vegetables, so fingers crossed that we are successful again.

  I think that gardening has increased the students level of responsibility, in that they are the ones who are in charge of how successful it ultimately becomes. We also brought it into class discussion when we talked about interdependence.

  Once again, thank you so much for your suppport!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Cogan

  This classroom project was brought to life by Paul G. Allen Family Foundation and 6 other donors.

• Let the Battle Begin!

  Funded Aug 25, 2014

  Thank you so much for your generous donations to our "Let the Battle Begin!" project. The students were so excited to get the new additions to our library. The books have been flying off the shelves. Not only have my homeroom students been checking out the books, but I have given some to another 4th grade class to help them prepare for the "battle."

  I am most appreciative of the Super Science subscription that we received. I incorporate the articles during my MTSS (multi-tiered support system) time for additional reading practice. The students are more engaged in discussion of the stories because of the graphics and kid-friendly topics that are published in them. I like that the featured stories promote discussion among the students. I often will find another story to compare/contrast the ones in the magazine to further stretch their thinking.

  I am seeing an increase in their reading scores and 60% of my students made their AR goal this quarter. I am hoping to see that % increase in the quarters to come!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Cogan

  This classroom project was brought to life by Gates Foundation Back To School and 6 other donors.

• It's Owl Puke not Owl Poop!

  Funded Oct 14, 2013

  Dear Donors,

  I do apologize for the delay in posting pictures for this project. Our teaching timeframe shifted as some units lasted longer than others. The "mystery box" containing the pellets has been highly anticipated for a while now. Prior to this lab, the students studied the behavior of earthworm. By their reactions, one might have thought that they were touching something gigantic. After that experience, I knew that the owl pellets were going to be another challenge for their fears. At first they were apprehensive but with some coaxing, they all ventured into finding out the meal history of the owls. This was, by far, the most memorable lab of the year. The students learned so much about the owl behavior and food chains. This is evident in their test scores. They were the highest of the year! Students eagerly took home the remnants to share with their parents what they had learned in class. The waiting for the "mystery box" was well worth it, as the students wanted to find out how they could get more samples to see if all types of owl pellets had the same contents. I look forward to providing these kinds of experiences for my students in the future.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Cogan

  This classroom project was brought to life by Rich Stallcup Memorial Fund and 10 other donors.

• The Supply Monster Has Struck Again!

  Funded Dec 13, 2013

  I can't begin to tell you how grateful we are to have these resources to use in our class. It is on a daily basis that I am reminded of how fortunate we are to be able to have things like the dry erase markers, glue sticks, eraser caps and printer ink. The students absolutely love to use their whiteboards to solve math problems. It has been wonderful to not have to have students say that their marker is all used up and have to go searching the room for one that "works better." I have been able to incorporate the boards more into our lessons which has been great because I can more quickly analyze who is and who isn't understanding the concepts.

  We are thankful for simple things like the eraser caps. After we received them, they were such a hot commodity in our room that I started charging "Pride Bucks" for them so that they would not mistreat them (and so we wouldn't run out before the end of the year). I don't know how we would have lasted these last couple months without the glue sticks that your donations helped to provide. Every table is now stocked with enough glue sticks to put foldable notes in notebooks and create posters for various science topics.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Cogan

• Battle Worthy Books Part 2

  Funded Sep 30, 2013

  Thank you so much for all the donations to make funding of this project possible. The day the books arrived my students were so thrilled that they would have access to the "almighty" Battle Books. You can see on one the pictures posted that there are always very few books in the bin. The check out cards are always full and students often look at them to see when the next book will be checked back in.

  To have students that excited about reading is a teacher's dream come true. Just seeing other kids eager to read or hearing them talk about what's going on in their story is motivation enough for some of my reluctant readers.

  Since having received these resources more students are taking comprehension tests and meeting their quarterly goals more quickly.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Cogan

• Let's Get To The Point...

  Funded Sep 26, 2012

  Thank you soo much for your contributions to make having working, reliable pencil sharpeners in my class a reality! It has been wonderful to not have to send my students next door to sharpen their pencils or deal with those horrible hand held sharpeners. There is no more "clink..clink.." from them falling and shaving getting all over the floor.

  I was able to loan a sharpener out the media center whose electric one had broke. With all of the great research projects that our students do, it has been a blessing to make sure they have sharpened pencils to continue working while down there.

  With all of the standardized testing that we are going through, it has been nice to have a working pencil sharpener to prepare for any extra pencils needed while they are working.

  I continue to be amazed at the generosity given to Donor's Choose grant proposals. Once again, my students and I thank you!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Cogan

  This classroom project was brought to life by Kia Motors America and 3 other donors.

• Battle Worthy Books

  Funded Oct 11, 2012

  Thank you soo much for your generous contributions to make having these Battle Books a reality! The kids were so excited to hear that we would be getting many of the books to use for our classroom. Our media specialist does a wonderful job of getting these titles for our library, but with over 160 students in our grade level, it is a challenge to get the title you may be looking for. Once a check out was in place, these books have been flying off our shelves.

  With the Battle Book competition right around the corner, my students are even more eager to get their hands on them. I have also been able to read aloud some of the books to the students which they have enjoyed.

  I look forward to a wonderful competition and love the excitement of reading that these books have brought to my students! Go Tuesdays at Cogan's Castle team!!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Cogan

• Newsworthy Nonfiction

  Funded Sep 21, 2012

  My students and I would like to thank you for your donations to make our request for nonfiction magazines a reality. With Common Core becoming a reality around the corner, these magazines fit right in with complex text and interesting articles. There is always a magazine story that seems to fit with our curriculum. I integrate the magazines in science, math and our intensive instruction block. We have used the articles to compare/contrast, for author's purpose, main idea and many other reading benchmarks.

  The articles always generate a lot of discussion among the students and that leads to lots of accountable talk. Other teachers have benefited from this grant, as I share them out so they can be utilized beyond my classroom walls.

  Once again, thank you so much for not only providing my students this year but for many years to come with such a valuable resource!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Cogan

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