Past projects 6
Learning History With an Equity Perspective
Funded Sep 16, 2020The book "Heart and Soul, the story of America and African Americans" is a great resource for my class. In this challenging year of distance learning and civil unrest, reading this book together helped bring history to life.
We read this book as a shared experience, and then the students worked in smaller collaborative groups to create "artifacts" representing their understanding of an chapter of the book. For example, to show the migration of African Americans to the American North, one group used shoes that were worn and well trod as part of their display.
We all loved sharing this experience and learning together.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Beck
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose 20th Anniversary Fund and 5 other donors.Art and Literature Enrich Our Learning
Funded Jan 29, 2019Due to your generous donations we were able to refurbish our art closet with much needed new supplies. The oil pastels will allow the children to express themselves in this unique and colorful medium. We were also able to purchase the materials for a Shibori dying project, which is a new and exciting medium for the class.
The class sets of the books that we purchased are replacing the worn and tattered sets that we have. These are tried and true titles that children have loved throughout the years, and the copies that we have are missing covers and pages! We will use these books during a shared reading in which we read one title as a class in order to discuss and analyze the language and themes.
The items purchased through this project will enrich the lives of this year's class and the many classes in the years to come.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Beck
This classroom project was brought to life by Carol Kupers Whalen Memorial Fund and 8 other donors.Wonderful Magical Realism to Engage All Readers
Funded Oct 22, 2017I am so excited to have a class set of "The Van Gogh Cafe" by Cynthia Rylant. We will use this text to practice visualizing and make inferences. Using textual clues, the students will be asked to make inferences about the setting.
Reading in our class usually begins with a shared reading of one text. Then the students re-read the text with partners focusing on one strategy or concept. They discuss the reading with their partner and then share their understanding with the class. Finally, they work independently to write about what they read.
The students love "The Van Gogh Cafe." The writing is rich imagery, and the stories contain just enough magic to foster their sense of wonder. It is wonderful that they all have a copy work with due to your donation.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Beck
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose.org Community and 4 other donors.Engaged Bodies Encourage Engaged Minds
Funded Dec 2, 2016The class was thrilled to learn that our new stools had arrived. As a class we brainstormed a way in which each student could have a turn using the stools, deciding that a table group could use the stools for a day. This helped the students decide if the wobble stool suited their learning style. After this experience, the stools are located at a table the students use for working independently or in groups. Because we move around our class over the course of the day, the wobble stools will get a lot of use. (And, after the students go home, I use a stool at my desk. It really helps my posture as well.:-D )”
With gratitude,
Ms. Beck
Engaged Bodies Encourage Engaged Minds
Funded Nov 20, 2016The class was thrilled to learn that our new stools had arrived. As a class we brainstormed a way in which each student could have a turn using the stools, deciding that a table group could use the stools for a day. This helped the students decide if the wobble stool suited their learning style. After this experience, the stools are located at a table the students use for working independently or in groups. Because we move around our class over the course of the day, the wobble stools will get a lot of use. (And, after the students go home, I use a stool at my desk. It really helps my posture as well.:-D )”
With gratitude,
Ms. Beck
Engaged Bodies Encourage Engaged Minds
Funded Nov 11, 2016The class was thrilled to learn that our new stools had arrived. As a class we brainstormed a way in which each student could have a turn using the stools, deciding that a table group could use the stools for a day. This helped the students decide if the wobble stool suited their learning style. After this experience, the stools are located at a table the students use for working independently or in groups. Because we move around our class over the course of the day, the wobble stools will get a lot of use. (And, after the students go home, I use a stool at my desk. It really helps my posture as well.:-D )”
With gratitude,
Ms. Beck