Past projects 2
NewsWorthy Readers
Funded May 10, 2023Thank you so very much for igniting my students interest in informational text! The quality of the paper, the vibrant, colorful graphics and relevant content have been a game- changer in helping my ELL students improve their reading comprehension while making cross- curricular connections .
Our favorite edition so far was the September Apple Issue. The vocabulary (ripe) and mathematics extensions inspired us to incorporate making applesauce into our how-to writing unit in Language Arts and Reading. We can't wait to keep the learning going during October with an investigation into lollipops as a mathematics / sequence writing activity!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Smith’s KinderCrew
Community Carpet
Funded Nov 4, 2022Our Community Carpet has been a transformational game changer in the daily ebb and flow of our instructional days. After a long COVID period of instructional isolation between 2020 and 2022, my students are developing a renewed loved of read alouds, fostering peer relationships, and making vital phonics and literacy connections necessary for reading success beyond their Kindergarten year.
Students were so excited when they entered the room and saw the vibrant lively colors of this carpet. "I like your beautiful carpet Ms. Smith", and "I see the alphabet" are among the many comments that were made that first day. ELL students were excited when they could identify many objects in their primary language, such as C is for cama (bed) or F is for flor (flower). Some gifted students noticed the article el and la that precedes all of the nouns. This sparked an inquisitive discussion as to why this is so in Spanish and a noted difference in English.
As you can see from the photos, we frequently gather now to enjoy the love of reading aloud. All eyes are riveted on the reader. During the two years prior, reading aloud was delivered through means of videocast on You Tube. The lack of student engagement, and little interaction with text has resulted in a severe loss of fundamental skills needed to foster reading success. The teacher as a reading coach and model of prosody is back and students' desire to imitate those teacher reader behaviors is on the rise! Our students were able to gather on the carpet and enjoy multiple guest readers from the United Way this semester. Since the return of live read alouds my students have gone from 29% (BOY) to 63% (MOY) increase in reading scores, and we look forward to even greater gains during our end of year measure in April. Students also enjoy using the carpet as an alternate flexible workspace as a needed break from distractions.
In order to further enhance our reading community, we seek to post a new project for the acquisition of many bilingual fiction and non-fiction titles. Our group enjoyed Read Across America Week 2023 listening to several parallel readings of well-loved Dr. Seuss titles. Having increased access to more bilingual parallel reading experiences in a close-knit community will no doubt increase student engagement, elevate literacy skills, and honor the multiple Latino cultures present in our classroom.
Muchas gracias for the immense impact your contributions have made to our learning community. We look forward to establishing new projects that can instill an inspiration and love of learning, strengthen classroom community ties, and positively impact student achievement.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Smith’s KinderCrew