Past projects 9
Help Diversify Our Class Library!
Funded Apr 9, 2025I am so grateful for you! My project has been fully funded. I can't wait to see the look on my students' faces when they see all the new books in our class library. Thanks to your support, my middle school students will start the year with some great new diverse books.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Hicks
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 7 other donors.Professional Development for the Reading Expert
Funded Dec 20, 2023Thank you for giving me the support materials I needed to serve my students this year. The variety of books and engaging content allowed for meaningful reading sessions during my planning time and at home on weekend mornings. These books all contain both theory/best practices, and lessons for student application. I have no doubt that I will continue to make use of these texts for years to come.
I am currently working on a school-wide slideshow to help prepare students for state test-taking in math. The book on Math Vocabulary for middle school students has been instrumental in the creation of this lesson for teacher use with all students.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Hicks
Tools for Success in Reading
Funded Oct 11, 2023Thank you so much for donating to our learning rotations in language arts. These middle school students were so very pleased to see that materials had been purchased to support their learning.
The vocabulary game file is filled with different types of games that both review and make connections with new learning. Students use the gel pens and notecards to practice structured literacy review of roots and affixes, spelling rules, and word morphology.
Keeping the learning engaging for students is challenging in middle school, but thanks to your support, students look forward to learning with me in my reading groups.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Hicks
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community & an Anonymous Partner and one other donor.Reading Tools for Success in Middle School!
Funded Sep 20, 2023Students have been enjoying using the vocabulary and comprehension games on Fridays. They work hard during the week, knowing that they will have their choice of playing Outlast, Quest for Jewels, Hazard Mountain, or Giant Dice to celebrate their hard work in reading Monday to Thursday. Additionally, students have used Calm Strips by attaching them to journals and water bottles so that they remember they have a strategy when they are feeling overwhelmed. Students simply move their finger over the strip.
Students loved learning that our project was funded and seeing the games. Although they are middle-school aged, their excitement was palpable.
Students just set reading goals and took a diagnostic reading assessment this week. I will be using the data to target certain comprehension skills for each student in my small groups. The games you paid for will support students' learning by reinforcing specific skills, as each game has a different comprehension focus.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Hicks
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and one other donor.Help Us Replace Our Dollar Store Headphones!
Funded Nov 15, 2022Students are so pleased with their new headphones! The pairs of earbuds that the district gave us were earbuds that were flimsy and uncomfortable. Some students said they were so painful that it was impossible for them to use. Now that we have high-quality headphones, students are using technology as it is intended to help them succeed, in comfort. It is all thanks to your generosity!
Some of the students were not making progress on our literacy program that is intended to be used daily, because they were self-conscious about the sound coming from the computer. Now that everyone has a well-fitting set of headphones, all students are using this program with regularity and making measurable progress!
Thanks again for your support of student success in our school. at the end of the year, the headphones will be sanitized and used again in years to come.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Hicks
Collaboration and Creativity: The Reading and Writing Workshop Process
Funded Sep 22, 2022Thanks to your decision to fund our classroom rainbow rug, students' school day is brighter, more engaging and allows for flexible seating. Students were thrilled when we unrolled the rainbow rug and gave it a home front and center in the room. They look forward to Reader's and Writer's Workshop, when we all meet with notebooks for a mini-lesson. They work with partners to try a new writing or comprehension strategy and they they are slowly released to work at their seats, while a few remain on the rug with me for more support.
Here are a few things that students had to say about the rug:
Student A: "When I see it, it makes my day shine."
Student B: "It's very soft to sit on. I like the circles so that we have our own spot."
Student C: "I love it. When we sit on the rug we have a chance to talk to new people in the class which makes learning fun."”
With gratitude,
Ms. Hicks
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 4 other donors.Chromebooks For Our School
Funded Mar 31, 20155th graders at Live Oak Elementary School were thrilled to learn that an ENTIRE Chromebook Cart full of Chromebooks had been donated to our class. One student said: "It's like winning the lottery!" As the teacher, I feel the same way. With only one Chromebook cart on our campus to be shared among 500 students, time spent on Chromebooks was limited and time slots were competitive. 5th graders were in great need of having access to more Chromebooks since we type all our written assignments, use computer based programs regularly, and need to do copious amounts of Internet research.
All of that has changed. With our new Chromebook cart, we are able to use it when we need it, without the time constraints. It's given us the flexibility to explore computer programs that we love in more depth. We are now proficient users of AR 360 and Khan Academy. We have been using Chromebooks most recently to do research for an argument essay on whether the sale of bottled water should be banned on school campuses.
Students are noticeably more engaged now that they have easy access to a personal Chromebook. My teaching has become seamless in many ways, now that I can model on the Promethean board how to navigate a website or program, while students follow along on their Chromebooks. This gift is one that will keep on giving. Hundreds of students will benefit from this generous donation over the years!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Hicks
Super Scientists' Lab Station!
Funded Aug 22, 2014Thanks so much for your thoughtful contribution to our classroom. Students acted with pride and gratitude when our carts arrived. Teams of four students each worked together to build each of the two structures, since they arrived in parts. Students also worked together to decide where to place the science lab. The end result was a sense of ownership and pride in the donated materials.
We use our Super Scientists' Lab Station almost daily. Student-made terrariums reside on the top of the station so that they receive light. The shelves and drawers in the station are used to house science instruments and notebook pages for our daily science journaling. Students stock, organize, and retrieve materials from the lab station.
The Super Scientists' Lab Station has helped to spotlight the work we do, as our curriculum is centered around science.
Thanks for caring about students by providing them access to quality resources.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Hicks
This classroom project was brought to life by Gates Foundation Back To School and 2 other donors.Help Us Shoot for the Stars
Funded Oct 26, 2010We are so grateful for your generous donation. My students are taking reading comprehension quizzes every day on the laptops. They are reading with fervor and are being rewarded for their efforts by the school every Friday. My students have a higher comprehension success rate this year than in years past, which I believe is due to their increased access to the motivating computer-based comprehension program that we use. Thanks to your donation, students do not have to wait for hours (or even days) to use a computer. We are also using the laptops to practice English, phonemic awareness, and phonics.
The magazine subscription to Time for Kids has made our leveled group reading more interesting. Students are always asking what we will read about in the next issue.
Thanks to your generosity and interest in seeing students succeed in literacy, our learning environment has become more interesting, exciting, and students are more engaged!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Hicks