Past projects 6
Start On the Right Foot
Funded Sep 12, 2023Thank you so much for contributing to our communal supplies! Our first 5 days of school have been wonderful and it has been such a delight to see returning students and meet the new members of our community.
Your generosity will help us build a caring and collaborative community over the coming months and myself and my students are so excited for the rest of the year!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Elizabeth
This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 9 other donors.Computers, Circuits, and Kits! Oh My!
Funded May 11, 2023Thank you so much for your generous support for the Arduinos project! My students loved using and learning about how to wire the circuits and code the programs to get different effects. Students who finished their other project first got to explore the Arduino circuits as teams, and then teach and assist the rest of the class once everyone was done. Once they all knew how to set up the basic circuits and switches we programmed a series of flashing lights to simulate a spaceship control panel.
Not only did this give my advanced students an area to grow and challenge themselves, it gave them a chance to practice leadership skills while teaching the rest of the class. Notably, many of my female students felt much more comfortable with this project than the boys and took on leadership roles they had been hesitant about with other projects! It also gave all the students exposure to coding and a chance to work with electronics, which they had been asking about all year.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Elizabeth
This classroom project was brought to life by General Motors Corporation and 4 other donors.Refreshing Basic Supplies!
Funded Feb 24, 2022Thank you for helping supply my students with basic supplies to enhance their learning. The use of pencils and dry erase markers is obvious, though it should not be understated. However, I would like to talk about the ways some of the more specialized materials have been used in our space.
The set of highlighters has become a staple tool of our class. Having a large class set where every student can access the same colors have been invaluable while editing and peer reviewing class work, close reading articles and test questions and analyzing the parts of a scientific argument.
The pipe cleaners were perhaps the most unusual item on our list, but they have been immensely impactful. I pass them out to students as cheap fidgets that they can use for a class or take with them. Because they are so cheap and numerous it doesn't matter if a middle school student misplaces them or keeps it. Because they are quiet and provide tactile stimulation they take the place of louder and move distracting movements like tapping desks or tipping back chairs. Students who know they need them have taken to asking for them or getting them themselves from the flowerpot in class. I pass them out when we have guest speakers and students who typically cannot sit for 10 minutes are able to self-regulate through the entire visit and ask for a break when the fidget is no longer enough, rather than disrupting or feeling uncomfortable most of the time.
Thank you for helping to make my classroom a space where all students, no matter their background, have the tools they need to be present and successful.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Elizabeth
Help Us With Headphones!
Funded Feb 24, 2022The headphones have been a wonderful tool for our classroom. They have allowed students to access all types of differentiation (which means tailoring the learning experience to their personal needs). The headphones allow students to use read-aloud technology by choice during Science reading assignments (especially helpful for students who can master science thinking and concepts but need help with reading, like students who are still learning English or who have dyslexia).
They also let advanced students work ahead or individually explore concepts deeper through watching videos & TED talks related to the topic of the day when they finish ahead of others.
And, of course, middle school students love the voice and choice of being able to play music while quietly writing or working and allowing them that flexibility because it will not disturb their classmates has been a wonderful gift to them, especially helping reluctant writers and sound sensitive students find the flow during independent work.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Elizabeth
Engineering & Design Dreams: 3D Print Filament
Funded Feb 8, 2022This project had an amazing impact in our STEM class!
The first project students worked on using all the new colors of filament was to experiment with fashion design and algorithmic thinking by using coding to build belt buckles with repeating geometric patterns. They got to practice using the 3D printer, learned how to load it with the filament of their choice and monitor the print to make sure there were no errors before adjusting the print speed using software. Then they got to use a sewing machine to attach their plastic buckle to a belt of their choosing.
The ability to have choice is always the most exciting element of a project for almost any middle school student. My students have since printed devices for students with disabilities (in the color of the end-user's choosing), or set personal achievement goals to track and earn a personal print! Some students earned the title "3D Printing Master" and have since trained other students to use the printer and taking on a leadership role within the STEM class.
Many thanks for giving our students this personal growth opportunity, and the ability to express themselves and connect art with Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Elizabeth
STEM Stuff: Supplies, Storage, Safekeeping and Sketches!
Funded Sep 4, 2019Our new resources are used every day!
Students have been using the observation notebooks to do detailed and labeled science sketches once a week, as well as visiting the same spot each weekend to make written observations of a place through time. Their observation skills have been growing with practice and now they are skilled at making detailed and accurate scientific observations when given artifacts and evidence in class.
We have used the binders daily to organize our learning and the spares you donated were especially helpful this year as we had many students join us several weeks into the school year. I was able to give them a binder and set them up with a reliable classmate so they could get set up that day and begin catching up instead of falling further behind waiting for materials!
Our STEM supplies were organized and sorted by our students into the bins you donated. They think it is a massive improvement over last year, when we were using old paper grocery bags to sort our supplies. The durable, labeled and see-through boxes have helped students find what they need quickly and clean up well at the end of class, meaning we have more building time in STEM. We use the smaller bins to organize everything from lab supplies being set out for the day to group projects in the process of being built. This keeps our long term projects safer than simply leaving them on the counter and helps preserve the students work, making them feel valued and successful.
Students were so excited for the new materials when we got them and they continue to comment on how much nicer our classroom is this year with proper storage. They have even been asking to get their observation notebooks back from grading, they've enjoyed the weekly assignments so much.
We hope to use our wheelchair project as a jump-off point for students to design a device that will increase inclusion for medically fragile students. We will use the supplies stored in the bins and the model wheelchairs they made for prototypes, then move on to building life-sized, working versions of their inventions.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Elizabeth