Past projects 3
Reading Redux
Funded Dec 3, 2024I am deeply grateful for your generosity in fully funding our project, "Reading Redux." Your support has already transformed our classroom, giving my students the tools they need to express themselves creatively and engage more fully with their learning.
The new markers have quickly become a favorite among my students during group projects. They've been using them to create vibrant visuals that help explain complex ideas and concepts, from crafting story maps for novels to designing posters that showcase their interpretations of historical events. For many of my students, being able to pair their thoughts with visuals has unlocked a new level of expression, helping them communicate their ideas more effectively and confidently.
The iPad Mini has also been a game-changer for my small group pullouts. It's allowed me to collaborate more seamlessly with my co-teachers by instantly sharing notes and progress updates, ensuring every student gets the support they need. Beyond that, the iPad has become an integral part of our interactive whiteboard sessions, where I use it to annotate texts live, model effective note-taking strategies, and encourage student participation. These tools are helping my 7th and 8th graders develop essential organizational and analytical skills that they'll carry with them far beyond our classroom.
Your generosity is making a tangible difference in the way my students learn, engage, and grow. Thank you for believing in our project and in the potential of every child in my classroom.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Walk-Faust
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and one other donor.POD Save Our Students
Funded Jul 28, 2020My students and I wanted to share our thankfulness and appreciation for the generous donations you have all made towards our classroom. With your generosity, you have helped to ensure the success and excitement within these young minds. COVID-19 has made teaching more difficult and students are often distracted by obligations at home and inconsistency in their day. With your gifts though, I have been able to create some enriching Podcasts for the students and have excited them by encouraging them to create and share their own. This is exponentially helpful for my students with family obligations at home, as they are now able to listen to my weekly lectures without needed to look at their iPads or computers constantly. Supplementing this into their class structure has also started showing a correlation in an increase in their assessment scores!
As our remote learning will continue into the winter and possibly the Spring, I have begun planning more Podcasts to keep my kids engaged and have started assigning topics to my students as well. This will encourage my classes to begin listening and building upon one another, which will hopefully translate into a more wholistic and authentic environment of care with one another. My seventh grade will be focusing on how the Constitution has been applied and changed over time, with reflections on current events and a look into the world around them. My eighth grade will begin their global conflicts and foreign policy focus soon, and end the year with an in-depth discussion on Civil Rights in America. This will be paralleled with our recent marches and movements towards equity and voice in our communities and I hope it spurns a generation of young activists. This was all made possible by your thoughtful donations.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Walk-Faust
Educate, Innovate, and Invigorate!
Funded Dec 14, 2019My students and I wanted to share our thankfulness and appreciation for the generous donations you have all made towards our classroom. With your generosity, you have helped to ensure the success and excitement within these young minds; done so by enriching our classroom with a more engaging and enriching STEM toolbox. Upon receiving our materials my kids began opening the boxes as if it were their birthdays, weaving around the new supplies showing sheer excitement for the opportunities they were now afforded. Word-of-mouth quickly began spreading around the 6th grade as news of our new materials gave many of my young scientific minds ideas on how they could use these things to begin exploring STEM in a fun and innovative way.
Over the past several weeks, my students have been able to design a race course with their new Magna Tiles and began Coding their new Sphere Bolt to navigate the course. One group of students were so excited they helped to create a scoreboard using our new snap circuits kits. Seeing all of these different pieces of science and technology integrate together, completely self-run by the students, was one of the most exciting things I have ever experienced as an educator. We are now planning a larger grade level event for next year, in which they can design arcade games and put together challenges to use this technology in fun and competitive ways.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Walk-Faust