Past projects 2
Going Graphic!
Funded Jul 11, 2022I just wanted to say thank you for helping my classroom library grow! As an elementary teacher, one of my main goals is to promote a love of reading in my classroom. Graphic novels have exploded in popularity over the last few years and, unfortunately, my classroom library did not show that development. Graphic novels are so popular at our school library that students are not even allowed to re-check them each week due to the demand. Now, my students have access to MANY in their own classroom!
Graphic novels are a great way to promote a love of reading, but they also allow students to practice reading skills that may have previously been inaccessible to them. For example, some of the graphic novels that were donated were the "I Survived" books. These are graphic novels based on historical events. These novels also have "normal" chapter books associated with each one. However, many of my students are below the level of those books and wouldn't be able to comprehend the chapter books. The graphic novels bridge the gap by including pictures with each portion of text. Students are then able to apply their reading skills (main idea, summarizing, vocabulary, etc.) while also learning about events in history.
The excitement when I started to unpack the books was amazing to see! I had to stamp the books with our library stamp and scan them into the program that I use for the classroom library before they were "released" to the students. This means that they were sitting on my desk for a full day before students could check them out. I had three students ask if they were available yet! I frequently pick up books at thrift stores and from book fairs and they have never asked for them before they were scanned before! On the day that they were "released" to the class, I had to draw names to let students pick first and to make it fair. Every single student in my class found a new graphic novel to read and we had the most focused independent reading time that we have ever had! Once again, thank you for your help in getting these books for my classroom and know that your contribution has helped to encourage a love of reading to a very grateful class of 4th graders!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Meyer
Let Our Learning Glow!: Literacy Using a Glow Classroom Transformation
Funded Mar 6, 2020As you all know, the last few months have not gone as planned for anyone. When I first made this project many months ago, I had planned to use the GLOW materials to do an end-of-the year literacy review to prepare for our state assessments. This was going to take place the week after Spring Break. As luck would have it, we never got to go back after Spring Break to finish our school year. This led to my altering of the plan. Instead of using the GLOW materials as an end of the year review, I created a GLOW-themed day to incorporate every subject. This involved creating activities using the GLOW materials to use in Reading, Writing, Grammar, and Math.
I started with transforming my room by covering all the windows, putting black tablecloths on all the tables, setting up the blacklights, and putting black-light reactive tape in various locations in the classroom. When students entered the room that morning, they were in shock. They immediately went to their tables and put on their glow stick bracelets and started talking about how the room was different. The day then progressed with glow stick reading, student presentations (wearing glow glasses of course), glow-in-the dark markers used on whiteboards for math practice, practicing the R-A-P written response method using gel pens and highlighters, and literacy stations that incorporated glow games. The kids had a fabulous time and some serious learning and engagement occurred as well.
Going forward, there are elements from the project that I hope to use again. Most of the items that were donated with the project can be reused for future Glow days. I'm hoping to incorporate another Glow day at the end of the year as a day of engagement and review of skills. I don't have any other projects in mind at the moment, but I love the idea of creating projects that promote classroom engagement and infuse some fun into my classroom environment! Thank you again for your donation and I hope that you enjoyed reading about the impact that you have had on my classroom through your generous donations.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Meyer