Past projects 2
Snap-Making Connections With Circuits
Funded Oct 16, 2018This project has been amazing for so many of my students. The students had a small exposure to circuits some time ago. When the new circuits arrived, the kids were so excited. They wanted to stay in at recess and experiment with them. In fact I have someone everyday ask to stay in and play with the circuits. I have found it especially appealing to one of my autistic kids.
The kids have demonstrated and shared with others over 50 different circuits they have built with different parts. They are always so excited to show me what they have created.
The other day one of my very quiet students asked for a cup of water while he was working on the circuits. I inquired as to why. He said he wanted to make the windmill turn. He proceeded to show me how. It was amazing, I couldn't believe it. He was so excited and all of the other kids wanted to know how he did it.
I find the kids are the best teachers. It has been an awesome collaborative tool. The kids learn from each other. They work together to learn how each other has made something or ideas to help their circuit project. They have also been teaching the younger kids about circuits.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. VanGorder
A Picture is Worth a 1,000 Words
Funded Nov 27, 2016This project has helped my students become better writers. At the beginning of the year my students struggled to write a complete sentence. They were writing fragments and phrases and counting those as sentences. The students really struggled with how to stretch a sentence and use adjectives and figurative language. Many of them said they were not good writers and they didn't like writing.
When the boxes started coming in, my kids were so excited. I had been sharing some picturing writing books from my old school and they couldn't wait to get started on their books. The kids were assigned their very own special watercolors and paintbrushes. We experimented with crayon resist and watercolors on wet and dry paper. They loved the effect of the crayons and watercolors. All they could say was "look at my picture, isn't it beautiful?" One student said I never thought that I was good at art, but I love my picture. They especially loved the little desk top easels for displaying their art.
We have used the new resources to learn about how to paint skies during the different times of day. Our focus was on setting, sequence, descriptive language, and mood. We started out painting and writing about sunset. Then they did twilight and nighttime. After the kids painted their pictures, they read their descriptions to the class. The class felt like the pictures came alive and things actually moved as they were watching the paintings, while the artist read what they wrote. They were so proud. I had one student who really struggled with writing, type his description. I laminated his page and when I showed him how nice it all looked ,he did a double take and took it back to his desk to show others. He was really proud of himself.
My next steps are to incorporate the painting and writing with other subject areas. We will be studying about the American Revolution. The kids will be responsible for painting and writing about one specific piece of the American Revolution. I will then compile all of the kid's writings and bind them so we have a book that the students wrote about the American Revolution.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. VanGorder