Past projects 2
Professionalizing the Paw Print!
Funded Jan 4, 2018Thank you so much for your support. My students are thrilled to hear the good news! This was a fantastic way to start off the new year, and we can't wait to start publishing in style. Depending on the delivery time, our new-and-improved look should be done in time for us to get a brand new issue out by early February, just in time for mid-winter break. Please let us know if you would like to see a copy of our new work!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Petrillo
Lost Without a Library
Funded Mar 29, 2017What a long time it has been! As we gear up for the next school year, here are some of the highlights from our Lost Without A Library results!
1. Students began building recommendation lists! This is fantastic for two major reasons: kids love to be experts, and kids are really more likely to listen to one another than they are to a grown up. With such strong recommendations popping up around the classroom for books from Kazu Kibuishi's Amulet to The Enemy series by Charlie Higson, we actually had to make a few waitlists!
2. Students talked about their books inside of class-- and in the hallways! You know it's a good book when you want to talk to your friends about it. The goal of this project was to establish a community of readers, and the texts you all contributed to allowed us to provide students with books they actually wanted to talk about.
3. Reluctant readers found their way to beloved series! This is a product of all the discussion and recommendations going on in and outside of the classroom, but it deserves a mention of its own. When students who usually ask to go to the bathroom every day that there are 30 minutes of independent reading begin to commit to a series, it's a beautiful sight to behold. Some of our class' most reluctant readers, picking up a book requested by one of their friends, found their ways to books they adored.
4. Reading was revived with excitement! For days, we received packages of books, and kids took turns opening up the boxes and envelopes and the beginning of independent reading sessions. Even just the knowledge that these books had been picked out especially for them, from their own recommendations to the top lists, added to the excitement around these books, some of which the kids had never heard of but built their reputation quickly.
We truly could not have done it without you! Seventh graders of 2017, as well as the many cohorts to come, thank you so much.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Petrillo
This classroom project was brought to life by Aspect Ventures and 3 other donors.