Past projects 5
Bee Bots for Learning Fun
Funded Mar 9, 2016Words cannot possibly describe the excitement my students have about these BeeBots! As soon as they arrived we got work programming the code to have them move around the game boards we created. Students practiced high level math, grammar and letter recognition in an amazingly fun way. Additionally, the teamwork skills they developed were phenomenal as they had to work together to accomplish a specific task.
When school started this fall, the first question I got from students was, "Will we get to use the BeeBots this year?" Even the 4th graders are asking about them! I have had a few teachers come to me asking about ways they could incorporate them into their own classrooms while still meeting their curriculum goals. Additionally, several parents asked how they could get one for their children at home. The parent of one special education student who speaks very little said their child was so excited about the BeeBots he told them about them and they bought one for him at home.
Clearly, this project has had a big impact on our students. I continue to work with students and teachers to find new and valuable ways to use them regularly.
Thank you again for your support of this project.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Cryer
Picture the World
Funded Dec 22, 2015Thank you very much for supporting my project to get cameras into our school.
As you can see by the pictures, students already are using them to record their learning. These students were working on a science unit about wavelength and used the pictures to reflect on what they learned. Reflection is an important part of learning, since it allows the student to summarize what they did and what results they discovered. They also can take some time to discuss what went well with the project and what could have been done differently for better results and more learning.
This, of course, is just one project that took advantage of the cameras. Teachers are excited about having students take them on field trips or excursions outside our school and share their experiences. As the technology teacher at our school, I plan to teach students about blogging and have them use the cameras to show their audience what they are doing in school!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Cryer
We Can't Compute
Funded Feb 22, 2013The Chromebooks I received as a result of your generous donations have been an incredible addition to my classroom. In the couple of months we have had them my students have been able to put their higher order thinking skills to work as they never have before. These skills, creating, analyzing, comparing and the like; are required when students create concept maps, blogs, presentations, graphs, slide presentations and so much more. My students are eager to get started on their work and their is a friendly rush to get to the computer!
I recently invited one of my local donors into the classroom to show off what students have been doing. Her comments at the end were exceptionally telling, "It is so much more than I had thought it would be," she said, referring to the work students were doing. She also commented that her staff had recently been working on a project concept map. Here we are with eight and nine- year old children doing the same thing as corporate employees! The students were VERY impressed and excited to hear that!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Cryer
iPads for myPads
Funded Feb 1, 2012I would like to thank each of you personally, a letter of thanks will have to suffice.
Our tablet came into a class that was anxiously awaiting its arrival. The students had helped raise money for it by collecting cans and bottles, so they knew what it meant when all of you made a donation as well.
As part of our literature program our class has been mapping books using some online mapping tools. Being able to work on this in small groups with an tablet that is easy to pass around and navigate has made a huge difference for the students.
Additionally, my class has struggled with their computation skills, so I have been in search of ways to motivate them to practice basic and more advanced skills. They love being able to use the tablet to do this. In fact, they often fight over who gets to use it and will even offer to give up their snack or recess time if it means getting a chance to use the tablet.
One unexpected lesson that arrived with the tablet was a persuasive writing project. When the tablet arrived the students asked if I would install the Angry Birds app. Initially I said no, but after thinking about it and doing a bit of research I realized that there actually are some educational benefits to playing the game. After teaching them about persuasive writing I told the students to use their new skills to convince me that Angry Birds is educational. Boy, were they motivated to give it a try!
Thank you very much for your generosity”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Cryer
This classroom project was brought to life by People's United Community Foundation and 6 other donors.Fluency for Friends
Funded Dec 30, 2010Thank you so very much for funding my Fluency for Friends project. My students were having trouble grasping the idea of reading with expression as we went through the year talking about fluency and what it meant. They knew the words and, for the most part, would stop at the punctuation as required, but they were having trouble showing me how to include the expression in their reading.
By giving each student ownership of their very own book and the motivation of being a professional reader for a younger student the children began to practice reading their books with a lot more involvement. I sat with students as they read to me and to each other and heard even the most struggling readers begin to add excitement to their reading! We discussed how the characters felt and how they would sound with each feeling and they began to have a better understanding of what makes a read aloud enjoyable.
By the end of our project I saw some incredible changes. The students are looking forward to presenting their books and CD recordings to their favorite teachers within the next couple of weeks. The teachers also are looking forward to hearing their former students as professional readers.
Although I will be making changes to the implementation of my project in the future (there is always room for improvement), I hope to make this an annual project for my students.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Cryer