Mrs. Marlow's Classroom Edit display name

Past projects 26

• OSDE Grant Project

  Funded Feb 7, 2022

  We are nearing the end of the school year and have been making good use of many of the wonderful resources that were funded through this project. Here is a peek at what we have been up to:

  My students have been fascinated by the new worlds they have discovered when using the microscopes. We have examined feathers, reindeer fur, and lava, among other items.

  Students have also enjoyed using the finger paints and, of course, the beautiful new drying racks have been very useful when we paint. We used to lay artwork on the floor to dry—This is soooo much better!

  In other news, we currently have chicken and guinea fowl eggs in our brand new incubator. We candled them last week and several danced for us. So, hopefully we will have baby chicks soon.

  Once again, thank you for your generous support. We appreciate it!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Marlow

  This classroom project was brought to life by Panda Cares and 2 other donors.

• Lions and Tigers and Bears—Oh My!

  Funded Dec 14, 2021

  Thank you for funding the animal atlases in my classroom. I truly appreciate it, and so do my students. We have used them for everything from learning about how to read a map and use its key to researching facts about animals. We have also used it as a reference to learn about the locations and attributes of different habitats across the globe.

  They have been so popular with some of my little friends that they have garnered a resting place near the entrance of our room, instead of on a bookshelf as I originally planned since I have several students who grab an animal atlas on an almost daily basis simply to discover new information. Thank you for making this resource possible.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Marlow

  This classroom project was brought to life by SONIC Drive-In and one other donor.

• Help Us Love Reading—Magazines Students Can Hold, Read... and Keep!

  Funded Aug 22, 2021

  Thank you for funding all of these wonderful weekly reader magazines for my classroom this year. When school began, none of my students could read the magazines independently yet. So, we read them aloud together, and they loved them!

  My students this year are behind, but they are really motivated to become proficient readers. These magazines have contributed to keeping that excitement for learning alive in them. Allow me to share one instance with you: In one of the Science Spin issues we read, it talked about praying mantises. The next thing I knew, classmates were bringing bugs from home and the playground for us to observe in our classroom (praying mantises, leaf cutters, caterpillars, ladybugs, and frogs)! I had to pull out every butterfly house and terrarium I own in order to house them all (hahaha), but it was worth it. What a fabulous thing it is for little ones to be excited and inquisitive about the world around them!

  Once again, thank you for making it possible to put all of these wonderful reading materials in my students' hands. I look forward to continuing to use them throughout the year.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Marlow

  This classroom project was brought to life by Dollar General Literacy Foundation and 3 other donors.

• Help Us Create A Classroom Carpet Oasis

  Funded Oct 4, 2021

  Thank you for sponsoring this project.

  My students are really enjoying our nice, new carpet. We use it every day. In fact, it is even a little larger than I anticipated, which has turned out to be a wonderful happenstance, allowing the children to spread out and utilize the carpeted area for a large number of activities that would previously have had to be completed at their desks. In short, it has added a lot of comfort (and options) to our room. Additionally, the coloring of the carpet is truly peaceful and calming. It has contributed greatly to helping our "home away from home" feel pleasant and welcoming.

  Thank you for making it possible for us to have this beautiful, soft, practical floor covering in our room. A simple carpet may not seem like something that would matter much, but it truly does. My students and I love it! Thank you, again.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Marlow

  This classroom project was brought to life by #TeachHealthy with Nature Made and one other donor.

• Adventures Abound...New Books for a New School Year

  Funded Oct 4, 2021

  Thank you for sponsoring this classroom project. It has been wonderful to have access to these vocabulary-rich, quality read alouds. My students have been enjoying them immensely...and learning so much.

  One of the beautiful things about these well-written books is that they have also made it possible to craft meaningful cross-curricular lessons that extend my students' experiences and understanding of the text to other school subjects as well, not just reading. This helps makes learning more fun and exciting for them. For example, after we read "Jingle Dancer," we went back to the text and constructed maps based on Jenna's neighborhood travels (making and reading maps is both a social studies and science standard this year).

  Besides benefiting my students scholastically, many of the books have also helped broaden their understanding of the world outside of our locale. For instance, in "The Sandwich Swap," one of the little girls loves pita and hummus sandwiches, and it was brought to my attention that the students in my room had never seen nor tried either of those foods. So, we took some time one afternoon to try pita and hummus sandwiches, describe them, and talk about how they compared to other foods that they eat at home. In some ways, it felt like an "at school field trip," which was especially nice since that may be as close as we get to a field trip this year, given the circumstances.

  Once again, thank you for supporting this classroom project. I appreciate it, and look forward to using more of these fabulous resources as the year progresses.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Marlow

  This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 3 other donors.

• Extra! Extra! Read All About It in TIME for Kids!

  Funded Sep 18, 2019

  At the beginning of the school year, I was excited to hear that this project was funded because I really wanted my students to be able to have access to these wonderful magazines. However, as the year draws to a close, I am incredibly thankful that these reading materials were on hand so I could take them to my students' homes during this unprecedented time of distance learning. I never could have predicted that we would not be returning to our physical classroom after Spring Break. But, having physical, full-color magazines to hold and interact with that are full of 'fun to read' articles and activities has been really nice for my first graders.

  While Time for Kids gave us some fabulous learning opportunities throughout the year, it has also given my students and their families an enjoyable way to spend some quality family time together during this Coronavirus "Safer at Home" mandate. Because of your generosity, while some children were stuck in their homes with very little to do and unable to even go outside in the yard to play with neighbors for fear of becoming seriously sick, the students in my class (along with their families) were able to explore caves, learn about archeologists, meet an author, learn about traditional dances in other countries, and marvel at an up-close look into a beetle's world, among numerous other learning adventures. Thank you for helping to provide a bit of much-needed relief as the state and nation has attempted to "flatten the curve." Children need to be able to play and imagine, even in the midst of a pandemic. Your support of this classroom project has provided a way for them to do that AND practice reading at the same time (sneaky, I know-hahaha!).

  Once again, thank you for sponsoring these weekly readers for my first graders. I truly appreciate it.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Marlow

• Fluttering into First Grade—Ladybugs and Butterflies Take Flight!

  Funded Jul 31, 2019

  Thank you so much for your support of my classroom. My students are very excited that they are getting to experience the ladybug and butterfly life cycles up close this year. So far, we have looked at the models (and supplies provided), talked about what we expect to witness, and searched outside for evidence of these life cycle stages in nature. As it happened, last week they did, indeed, find a ladybug crawling on the Rainbow Swiss Chard in our garden bed!

  I want my students to be able to view all of the stages of metamorphosis and not miss seeing something so special due to a school break, so that part of our project has not taken place yet. If all goes well, we will have ladybugs by Christmas and butterflies in the spring!

  Thank you so much for thinking of my students and being willing to help us with resources. I know full well there are many other ways you could spend your hard-earned money. Truly, thank you for your generosity.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Marlow

• Mission Command: Interactive Book Club Launching in 3-2-1...

  Funded Aug 10, 2019

  Our Interactive Book Club is up and running! There is a dedicated core group of first through fourth graders that have been faithfully meeting after school on Mondays and Thursdays. I have been impressed by how eager they have been to read, discuss, and summarize each chapter. Right before Fall Break, we finished reading"The Chocolate Touch." So, when we return they are going to get to make chocolates using the molds that were funded through this Donor's Choose project. To say they are looking forward to it would be an understatement—hahaha! I have taken some pictures, but I would like to share some of our upcoming chocolate-making experience with you as well, so I am holding off on posting pictures until after that event.

  Truthfully, this little book club is making ripples beyond our after school meetings. Some of the older students are children I have known for four and five years. A couple of them, for the first time ever, seem genuinely excited about reading—so much so that they are reading ahead at home! I could not have predicted that...at all. Also, about half of the club members asked if they could keep their copy of the book so they could read it again (to which I said, "Yes!"). I wanted to share this with you because, to me, things like that are monumental. I love seeing an inner desire to want to read and learn and do blossom within a person.

  As I mentioned before, I intend to wait a little bit to upload photos. But, I wanted to take a few minutes to let you know how our first book selection fared. Thank you again for your financial support. Without it, this would not have been possible. I appreciate it.

  Oh, and in case you are curious, the club voted to read about "The Cricket in Times Square" next...”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Marlow

  This classroom project was brought to life by The Foundation for OKCPS & Kirkpatrick Foundation and one other donor.

• Merlin the Chinchilla Returns!

  Funded Jul 24, 2019

  Whew! It has been a busy first quarter at our school. With so many new changes, it has been wonderful to have Merlin the chinchilla in our classroom again. Thank you for funding all of his supplies. My students absolutely love holding him and taking care of him. He has also greatly increased their awareness of endangered species, animal adaptations (i.e., large ears to hear predators), different sleep patterns of species, and the importance of caring for and being considerate of others.

  Once again, thank you so much for your generosity in supporting my classroom. I plan to upload some pictures of my students with Merlin soon. As you will see, he is quite popular with the first grade crowd. He is very likely the most "well-read" chinchilla you will ever meet. My students adore him and he loves them as well!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Marlow

• First Graders Need Weekly Readers—Please Help

  Funded Sep 1, 2019

  Thank you for funding the Scholastic News and Science Spin magazine subscriptions for my classroom this year. We have finally started receiving them and have been able to use and enjoy them for a few weeks now.

  Our first Science Spin issue was about the kinkajou. My little ones thought that was soooo exciting! They immediately started asking questions about the similarities and differences between a kinkajou and a chinchilla (our class pet is a chinchilla). The wonderful photography and well-chosen topic prompted a lot of thinking and productive discussion. It opened their eyes to the existence of a world outside of anything most of them have ever seen—priceless! I am very much looking forward to our upcoming spider and pumpkin issues as well.

  Some of you are repeat contributors to my classroom. I want you to know that I really do appreciate what you are doing for my students. It does make a difference. The six pictures that we are allowed to upload are simply not able to convey the full impact that these projects make. Sometimes I wish there was a way to send a quick message or picture of what happened "six months later," but there isn't. Thank you for your continued support and trust that these projects are worthwhile.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Marlow