Past projects 2
Children's Books for Preparing Future Teachers in Seattle
Funded Oct 3, 2024Thank you so much for your generous donation to our class. Our class has a heavy emphasis on representation. We ask the questions: when was the first time you had a teacher who you felt shared any kind of identity with you? When was the first time you saw a character in a book who looked like you? We discuss what the impact of seeing yourself in a diverse range of character roles does for our understanding of how we can and should operate in the world that can be both limiting and empowering.
This month, students are writing a children's book that features a character like them. Many of my student, they had not seen female characters in adventure and action books, books that feature multiple languages, or celebrations other than historically Christian events. Part of their project is to do an analysis of engaging and educative children's books to identify (1) the lesson of the book, (2) attributes of the books that make them engaging, and (3) explain how each of those attributes engaged them. They then used their analysis to craft a children's book either digitally or in hard copy.
The last part of our project is to write and enact a lesson plan for the book they wrote. This month, we will rehearse them in the class with each other. Our plan is for students to do their read alouds with elementary students next semester.
Thank you so much! Your contributions help more than you can imagine!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Chinen
This classroom project was brought to life by SONIC Foundation and one other donor.Butcher Paper for Showing and Sharing Knowledge
Funded Jul 1, 2012Thank you Jaime and Judi for your contributions! Since receiving the butcher paper, students have been able express their understanding of the content we've been learning and use their posters to present their learning to the entire class. Posters also add an element of fun!!
Like many schools around the country, our school has had difficulty in having all of the requested materials teachers ask for. As a result, many times teachers have to change a project or unit to be less material consuming. Instead of being able to create a poster, students have to perform procedural tasks in their notebooks. The work students do may become more isolated and the opportunity for students to learn math in a collaborative setting is lost. Your donation has given us the opportunity to engage in more collaborative activities and helps me keep groups accountable for everyone to learn.
Thank you again for your generous contributions!!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Chinen