Past projects 9
Guided Math
Funded Dec 18, 2013Thank you so much for your generous donations. My students were thrilled when I showed them all of the new math materials we were going to be using!! As most five and six year olds are, they were very impatient and wanted to use everything at once.
I first introduced the number story books. These books are a wonderful way to practice number stories with addition and subtraction each week. I taught my higher students how to complete them on their own, and worked with the rest of the students in small groups. We read the story, then circle the words that would tell us whether we need to add or subtract. Then we draw a picture and write the number sentence. It is such a great activity!
I have my teaching assistant work on the kindergarten activity cards and box with my students who need extra support. This box filled with manipulative's is the perfect resource to help many of my ELL students and students with IEPs. I love how all of the activity cards are labeled with their topic. It is easy to match up the support with the curriculum I am teaching for the week. I use the first grade activity cards for students to practice specific skills on their own. Some of my students were able to do this independently, and some practice with me in a small group.
My students absolutely love the math games!!! It is a great activity for groups of students to play while I am working with another small group. I have slowly introduced the math games to the class one at a time. Right now they all love to play the fraction game!
This was the first year I taught math in small groups(rather than large group instruction) and I am really seeing results!!! I couldn't have done it without the help of these resources. I have many students who are already working at a first grade math level. Students seem to really thrive when they are given more individualized and small group instruction. I work with two other kindergarten teachers and I love to share my materials with them. They have already used many of these materials to help all of their students as well!! So, your donation has already helped the entire kindergarten at my school! Thanks again!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Goodfriend
Reaching for a Common(Core) Goal!
Funded Sep 24, 2013I want to begin by thanking you again so much for all of the wonderful materials you purchased for our classroom. I wanted to wait a bit before sending the thank you package so I could write to tell you more about how we are using the materials.
The reading comprehension journals are just amazing!! Right now my 4 highest students are doing these with our teacher's aide everyday. They are so excited and usually go over to sit at the table with her before she calls them over. We just finished a formal assessment a couple weeks ago and all 4 tested above grade level! This daily practice helps them so much. In January I am starting another group of students on this extra practice.
The sound buttons have really helped some of my lower students learn their sounds independently. They enjoy listening to the sounds and repeating them out loud. They also love putting the letters together to sound out words. I have used them during my writing lessons as well to help students write words.
The light up phonemic awareness was something that students used to do with the help of an adult. Now, my students can use it on their own.
So many of my students love to use the hot dot pens!! It is amazing to see the enthusiasm of young children when is comes to learning. Sometimes when students are done with their work early they ask to practice sounds or sight words using the hot dots. Of course I say yes! There are so many cards we haven't even used yet and I'm excited to get to those later in the year. They align so well with our standards and the activities we are doing in class.
I think all of the teachers here at Swift love the common core language centers. It is a great boost to help our curriculum which is currently lacking the rigor that it needs. All 3 kindergarten teachers(including me) use these with our students. The special education teacher, 2 ELL teachers and our kindergarten aide have all used these centers. So many teachers are able to benefit from this. So many of my colleagues are so jealous of all my materials, but I am always so happy to share! My higher students are loving to learn about language skills such as plurals and pronouns. My lower students are really engaged and love to use the manipulatives for the foundational skills.
The reading comprehension readers have also been an amazing addition to the materials we have in the classroom. Sometimes we have our 3rd grade reading buddies read them to my students and then ask them the questions in the book. It is such a great tool for both my students and the 3rd graders. Something new I have been doing in guided reading, is having the students start to write their responses to the questions to incorporate writing with our reading.
I just can't thank you enough for funding this project. These materials are used daily not just by my class, but by many classes and everyone is so thankful. My students have learned so much and we are not even half way done with the school year yet. You have really made a huge impact on their education. THANKS!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Goodfriend
Young Authors
Funded Mar 8, 2012My students were thrilled when I showed them all the new materials we got to write our books. They were most excited about the new crayons and all of the colorful paper that we would be using for the front and back cover of the books.
With these materials we started on a special book making project. Student first came up with a story and told it to a partner. Then students came up and recorded their story with me into the computer. I burned their story onto a disk and students then had to listen to their story and write down what they had said. Students tend to have a bigger imagination when they are not worried about spelling each word. By listening back to their story, we kept pausing it so they could have time to write down what they said. Once they were done with the writing portion, they were able to draw pictures to match the words. And finally they picked out special paper for the front and back cover. Students who were struggling with writing their story were able to use the picture dictionary to help them.
When all of the stories were complete, we had a special Young Author's Tea party and invited family and friends so that the students could read their books to everyone.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Goodfriend
Reaching the Next Level
Funded Jan 13, 2012I want to begin by apologizing for this late thank you package. A couple of weeks ago we just put on a 45 minute kindergarten musical called Ocean Commotion. In the weeks leading up, we had been practicing a lot. As director of the 90 students on stage, I did not have time to complete the thank you package. I wanted to make sure whatever we sent to you was full of great thank you cards and work that the students have done.
The materials you bought for my classroom have been amazing. Of my 30 students, 15 are now reading above grade level!!! I even have a few that are reading above a first grade level. The reader's response notebooks you bought for us have been a great resource. When my "high" students are done with their work early, which is often, they go to the library, select a book and grab their notebook. They are independently reading, and then writing a response, or summary to the story. This same group of students has also been working a lot on fluency, with the fluency passages we also received. In first grade they will begin to get assessed on how many words they can read in one minute. A lot of my students have been making wonderful progress of this already. The reading comprehension booklets have really been helping my students to think more about the story. These are used more with my ELL students, and it is really helping them make connections and understand the story better.
The vocabulary stamps have also had a big impact on my students. After first introducing them to my class, students are allowed to use them independently in centers. Instead of using the word opposite, they are using the word antonym. It is amazing to hear! During guided reading, my students have also been working on responding to the story they are reading through the story response cards we received. Students are reading a book, then discussing the character, setting, problem and solution. This is the highest group of students I've had in my 5 years teaching kindergarten, and I think all of these extra materials have been a wonderful push to add rigor in the classroom. I am very excited to be using these materials next year too, with my new batch of students.
Thanks again. These materials really helped my students "reach the next level." My students are also very thankful, because they love being able to use all of these materials. You have made a wonderful impact on my class room.
THANK YOU!!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Goodfriend
Kindergartners are Readers too!
Funded Jan 21, 2012Thank you so much for all of the reading materials you bought for my classroom. My students were thrilled when we got the boxes! I opened it right away and showed my class the new tools for our classroom.
The books we received, I labeled them with the correct reading level and put them in our classroom library. My students have been reading them a lot and LOVE THEM!!!
The story wands have become a very important part of our read aloud time. Before I read them a story, I assign each group a story wand. It is their job to listen carefully to the story and share out at the end what their wand says. After I am done reading the story, I give each group about 2 minutes to discuss the book and what they will share with the class. Then we go around and each group shares a part of the story. My students love it. Sometimes when we are pressed for time, we can't use the story wands. My students are always asking "why can't we do story wands?" "When are we going to use the story wands again?"
The tag reader system we received is amazing! I have some students who are not quite reading independently yet, but love to use the tag readers. These students are still focusing on tracking print, and pointing to each word. During independent reading time, I often let my struggling readers use the tag readers. They do a wonderful job on their own. Of course, everyone in my classroom wants to use the tag readers. So, during choice time on Friday many of my "good" readers like to use the tag readers too.
I am so thankful for these wonderful materials you have provided my class. My students thank you so much, and I'm sure my future students thank you too!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Goodfriend
"Just Right" Books
Funded Jan 27, 2010Thank you so much for providing my classroom with books, bags and pointers. My students love using the pointers! During centers everyday they use the pointers to read poems in a pocket chart. The students are also able to take the pointers home once a week with a book big and practice reading and tracking print. Something as simple as a pointing device can really motivate students!
You have also provided my class with sturdy book bags and books for them to take home daily. Since we began using the bags last month, they have all stayed in tact and the students are taking good care of them. The students also love bringing home books every day to read to their family. Many have told me how they are reading to their younger siblings as well.
My goal every year is to foster a love of reading in my classroom. Your generous donations have helped me to achieve this. There are still 10 weeks left of school, but every child in my class loves to read and is so excited about books! On behalf of myself and all of my students, thanks again for your generous donation!!!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Goodfriend
Young Investigators
Funded Jan 16, 2009Thank you so much for funding my project! My students and I are so excited! After taking a neighborhood walk we have decided to do a thorough investigation on garbage trucks. I told my students that we would be getting some new supplies to help us and they got so excited! They were cheering and clapping. I look forward to really getting our investigation into high gear. Thank you again, you have truly made a difference”
With gratitude,
Ms. Goodfriend
Hopping Up The Number Line
Funded Feb 5, 2008Thank you so much! I checked my email during my prep today and told the children when they got back from music. They are really excited and I am too! Our math program is a little lacking, and this is just what I need to spice it up and challenge my students. We all look forward to getting the materials. Thanks again. Ms. ”
With gratitude,
Ms. Goodfriend
2, 4, 6, 8.....Calculators Are Really Great!!!!
Funded Sep 8, 2007Thank you so much for funding my project. This is my first DonorsChoose grant I have written and am so excited to use the calculators. My students are always in awe of any type of technology and they will be thrilled to be able to have access to calculators every day. Thank you so much. I can't wait to show you the pictures of my students using them!
Sincerely,
Gina ”
With gratitude,
Ms. Goodfriend