Past projects 2
Using Vocabulary Games to Grow Our Brains!
Funded Apr 22, 2022When we received the games at the end of last year, I immediately used some of them with my students, and we had such fun! We used them to review all 160 words we had studied last year. This year, I used the folders to create new vocabulary notebooks that we work with each day. Students weekly learn five vocabulary words and one wow word based on Greek and Latin roots and affixes. I am also implementing those games weekly as a way to help study the words as we learn them.
My students have had a blast playing the vocabulary games with each other. Somehow I accidentally submitted the photos without showing a few more of the games we've used. The kids have begged me to play them each week...even in our after school program. They also will point out our words they find in books, diagnostics, and videos we use. It thrills me to see the kids excited about vocabulary.
This year, I will continue using our vocabulary notebooks daily, and our games weekly as we review our words. The students have quizzes every other week over ten words. The generosity of our donors has been amazing. I can't thank them enough!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Barber
Awake the Inner Reader
Funded Aug 23, 2019I cannot begin to thank you enough for supplying our classroom with novel sets. We have thoroughly enjoyed the two books we have read. We will read the final one, Hatchet, after Christmas break. We read Because of Mr. Terupt first and the kids absolutely fell in love with the novel! They determined the themes of this book were related to personal responsibility and change. We examined the character traits of the different characters, and how each character changed throughout the story. About three-fourths of the way through the book one student shouted out, "Now I know why this is the title...because of Mr. Terupt, all of these changes are happening to the characters!" It sparked a wonderful discussion. With our nonfiction guide, American Revolution, we focused on nonfiction text features, and coincided our reading with the social studies content. It reinforced what they were learning in social studies, but offered some interesting information that the students hadn't learned yet.
In my classroom, we read in a variety of ways. Sometimes we read whole group, sometimes in small groups, or even individually. My students love when we stop everything and have a period of flashlight reading. Of course we have to learn the reading standards, so I try to incorporate those skills through our book studies and StoryWorks magazines. We also focus daily on vocabulary that will help us read fifth-grade level books.
With Because of Mr. Terupt, students expressed so many emotions! One student wrote it was "a heartwarming story and an emotional roller coaster, so it is pretty hard to not either smile or frown or gnash your teeth." It thrilled me to see the level of engagement when we read. Several students proclaimed it to be the best book they'd ever read, and so many talked to me or wrote about relating to the characters. The best part about this book was the bonding we shared and how it helped build a positive classroom culture.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Barber
This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 10 other donors.