Past projects 58
Origami Builds Better Brains
Funded Apr 25, 2019This year my class really got into origami. The idea came from our read aloud book, Sadako and a Thousand Paper Cranes, that tells the story of a Japanese girl who gets leukemia from the atom bomb. The class set a goal to learn how to fold paper cranes, despite cranes being very complex for beginners.
To learn how to make cranes we started with a small group of volunteers who learned it first who would then help other students at their tables. They called themselves "Sadako's Wish Givers." With their guidance soon the whole class was folding cranes.
Our first 1000 cranes were given to the family of a fifth grader whose father died unexpectedly around Thanksgiving to show our love and wishes for their own healing from grief. This class didn't stop there.
Next was a set for a student with a terminal illness. Then the last month of school, one of our very own Wish Givers was diagnosed with an auto immune disease and she ask the class to fold cranes for her. But we didn't stop there. Four days before the last day of class, the father of a student in our class had serious brain injury. In four days we folded and presented 1000 cranes to him to encourage him with his healing.
We could not have done this without the timely and crucial help from you, our generous donors. These students acted out of empathy and kindness: all inspired by a true story!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Dewey
The Exploration Of Electricity!
Funded Feb 28, 2019Electricity and Magnets Exploration kits are exactly what our class needed! Our first step was to study electricity and write essays using the terms and concepts. Upon getting these electricity kits, we set out a battery, a wire, and a light bulb and asked students to find a way to make a complete circuit--in other words, make the bulb light up. A few minutes later light bulbs go on and then the "lights go on" again when they realize that what they had studied was real. Have you seen the photos of our experiments? Not only are these students happy to smile for the camera, but they are full of confidence and pleasure for being able to put their science information into practice. Mastery is a huge intrinsic motivator!
From this simple circuit, students will add switches, add loads, rework the lay out to make series and parallel circuits. These kits allow students to alter the loads including bells, fans, lights, and resistors. Students can't wait to try the next challenge and are busy sharing their successes with other partners. After their work on paper learning the basics, these hands-on projects really bring electricity into sharp focus.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Dewey
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose.org Community and one other donor."Puzzling" American History!
Funded Dec 23, 2018Last month we had a field trip to the local art museum to see the propaganda posters from WWI. This month we are piecing together a 1000 piece puzzle of WWII slogans. I love the questions that come up from the images and messages in the puzzles. They lead to great conversations about a wide range of concepts and all of it helps them expand their world view and their understanding of the war and its consequences.
Too often history and social studies seems like long forgotten dates and irrelevant details of the past. Our history integration (reading and writing about key moments in our nation's history) does much to introduce ideas. These puzzles serve to enhance a student's knowledge about a specific event, but it also manages to keep their attention and reviews the topics taught in class. The questions and thoughts that come up in "playing," show the insight children get when given content in a relaxed setting. My class loves to do puzzles during recess and now they have more events in history with which to wrestle. Sparking curiosity is one of the fun parts of learning!
Thank you for your generosity in providing valuable and engaging resources!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Dewey
Big Boards=Great Math Solutions!
Funded Dec 13, 2018All year my students have been solving math problems on small white boards. They place two side by side and when they run out of space, they use the other board. Answers get smudged off and numbers get squished. Sometimes there aren't enough for everyone to have a second board.
When we opened the BIG boards, the class was thrilled! Many of them even asked if we could start math immediately (a request that is impossible to deny!). Today we worked on adding mixed numbers with unlike denominators. Not a single student got mixed up because he/she could not read the calculations made on a small space. They listed common multiples, converted denominators, added, and simplified fractions all on one convenient board. Their enthusiasm for using the boards was real, but the confidence of having the tools to make each solution their best work was powerful.
My students used the boards with great care, and suggested that we only use them for the most appropriate work. They feel great pride in having gleaming, white, pristine equipment and are eager to take the best care of it. As a donor, you must experience great satisfaction in providing materials that allow for much needed learning. My students and I feel tremendously fortunate!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Dewey
This classroom project was brought to life by Wells Fargo and 3 other donors.We Love Book Clubs!
Funded Oct 24, 2018The ability to read is the life blood of living an independent life. For many children the skills of reading does not come easily. They struggle with decoding, they grapple with long words, and comprehension alludes them. Research has shown adults how to break down the phonemes and teach phonics, but it is good stories that teach a child to love reading.
Every Friday my students get to meet with peers to discuss a book club selection. This is a fabulous opportunity for book lovers to talk about what makes the book wonderful, and it allows the struggling readers to learn from their peers. As they learn about mood, word choice, and story structure it makes their own reading easier. Every five weeks they get to pick from wonderful book club titles. My students hear from other students about their book clubs and their interest grows.
This set of books is a mix of historical fiction, supporting the 5th grade core, and new and classic novels. Fresh, new books send a message to children that reading is valuable. It also tells them that they are important. I love launching a brand new book club set. The excitement is palpable!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Dewey
This classroom project was brought to life by Chevron Fuel Your School.Teaching Tech Skills With Sphero Robots
Funded Aug 20, 2018We are teaching students skills for jobs of the future that do not yet exist. These robots teach computer coding skills. Current technology changes fast, but the young children adapt quickly when they have a good foundation. We look at existing code and make modifications helping us learn things we don't know and we write programs from scratch to practice the skills we have learned already.
Using robots in the class room is so much more that teaching and using programing knowledge. Because these robots are limited in number, students are grouped together to work on projects. There are a lot of social skills that come from taking turns, listening, compromising, and including everyone. While growing tech skills is an important goal, the social maturity and interpersonal interactions are an immediate benefit to our class.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Dewey
This classroom project was brought to life by Craig Newmark Philanthropies and one other donor.For the Love of Reading!
Funded May 29, 2018Our students need to learn to love the stories in books. Our 5th grade books clubs is one way to encourage them to read. Each student gets to select their club books based on his/her own interests. Having autonomy to select a book increases student interest.
Over the years the school library of book club books become tattered and old. Many of the spines are broken and pages go missing. Although these books are valuable, having a brand-new, hard back set of books for book club does many things for students. First, it shows them that books are valuable! It also communicates to them that the adults at the school support them by getting them quality resources. Therefore, not only are books important but that students are important as well. These are also recently published works. We love the timeless classics but want students to know that great books are being written all the time.
These fresh new titles create TONS of excitement in the class room. Students watch neighbors and friends read a new title and clamor for their own chance to read it. I love having these in the classroom and seeing students develop a love for reading.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Dewey
It's the Little Things!
Funded Jun 26, 2018The night before school began, we had Back to School night. Students were able to come into our room and discover all the supplies on the desks. Many parents thanked me for not sending a giant list of school supplies (over half of our families get school lunch assistance due to low income). The students sensed the careful planning and organization I put into our year, when they saw the supplies ready to go.
Now that school has started, I am so desperately grateful for these pencils. This is my first year using mechanical pencils for the whole class and it is hard to communicate strongly enough the huge distraction that is eliminated now that we don't have to sharpen pencils every two sentences! I will always try to get mechanical pencils for my students simply because they get to work now that the pencil is ready to go every time!
These supplies have started us out with excellent organization. Now that we are using them, we know where to find the materials we need to get to work on learning and creating projects that show what we know!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Dewey
Tantalizing Technology for Future Engineers
Funded Oct 3, 2017Words are insufficient to thank you for the great gift you have given my class. My students are very excited to get to have hands-on time with learning to get the robots to operate. I knew they would be intrigued and even anxious to get started, but I didn't anticipate what a motivation these would be for finishing our daily academic work. They know that first we work hard, and then we play hard (which is actually learning!).
Few of these students have high tech gadgets at home. These are toys, but thanks to Sphero Education website, these are programming tutors. Students drag-and-drop programming commands easily and can quickly progress from basic programs to more complicated steps through trial and error. The lessons they learn by trying, and then retrying are powerful. They never tire of making mistakes and trying again. The importance of failure is gaining attention in education and my students thrive on finally getting the program to work as they desire.
While in the early stages of our learning about programming, already I have seen students report home about what they have learned. They are starting to notice the opportunities in the community for programming lessons and other academic courses. This gives them a tangible example of what engineers do in creating new technology. It is giving them a peek into technology careers that require more than a high school education.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Dewey