Mrs. Robinson's Classroom Edit display name

Past projects 4

• Multicultural Texts To Build Reading Fluency

  Funded Nov 29, 2022

  I wanted to again express my appreciation for your donation to my multicultural texts to build reading fluency. My students thoroughly enjoy listening and reading books that include children "that look like them". (A direct quote one of my students said after sharing the new books with them.). Not only are these books quality literature, but they include characters from different cultures and areas around the world. With a class of students from so many diverse backgrounds, it is wonderful to pair them with texts that they connect with on such a personal level. This automatically helps to increase students' engagement and focus while reading the text. Secondly, by providing the audio read aloud, this provides access for all my students to enjoy these books even if the books are considered too challenging for some of my readers.

  Not only do utilizing these books in my weekly book center provide an opportunity for all students to engage with high quality literature and more advanced vocabulary, it also models for the students fluent reading, a goal they continue to work on with their own reading skills. During our middle of year reading assessments, I saw the impact with the positive growth my students demonstrated on their reading fluency. Many students increased their words read per minute, thus continuing to take steps forward with increasing their reading fluency. With continued effort, focused instruction, and the modeling through the book sets, my students' reading fluency will only continue to get stronger as they head towards the end of the year. Thank you for your contribution to help be a part of supporting my students' reading growth this year.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Robinson

  This classroom project was brought to life by an Anonymous Classroom Supporter and 5 other donors.

• Listening for Fluency and Expression

  Funded Sep 20, 2022

  I wanted to take the time to say again "thank you so much" for your donations to this project. As the pictures show, the students love listening to the variety of books I was able to purchase with your generous donations. These books include a range of fiction and nonfiction texts, which are so important to expose my students to these different genres.

  The students rotate through our listening station each week during our small group time. This station creates an opportunity for all my varying levels of readers to be independent and engaged with reading. The books provide an opportunity for my struggling readers to hear texts read with fluency (smoothly) and with expression. A goal for all proficient readers to be able to do. These texts also create an opportunity for exposure to more complex story lines and vocabulary that they might not be ready to read on their own. This further develops my students' reading skills, as well as their comprehension. In addition, these texts are helping to develop a love of reading in my students and that is often the hardest aspect of reading development to create in young readers. So, thank you for your donation that is giving my students a lasting gift.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Robinson

  This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 3 other donors.

• Scholarly Second Grade Readers

  Funded May 5, 2022

  Thank you again for your donation that enabled my class to receive a Scholastic News subscription. The students are thoroughly enjoying the weekly time we spend reading about a variety of topics appropriate for their lives and experiences. Just today, we read about how squirrels prepare for winter by collecting nuts and as we walked outside to recess, there was a squirrel gathering nuts on the playground. The students were so excited to connect their Scholastic News with their own lives. They have also enjoyed other topics including how Dalmatians live in fire stations to help comfort fire fighters from the stress of their jobs, and how elephants work together as a community to help each other. Another student made the connection how that is just how we work together as a classroom community to help each other.

  I greatly appreciate the Scholastic News as an appropriate nonfiction resource for my second graders. Through the use of Scholastic News, I have been able to help my students begin to identify the main idea of a text, as well as using context clues to figure out an unknown word. The nonfiction text features like captions, bold words, headings, and very detailed photographs provide a wonderful scaffold for the students' reading skills. Needless to say, your gift is so appreciated each week by all of us!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Robinson

  This classroom project was brought to life by Dollar General Literacy Foundation and 4 other donors.

• Attention + Movement = Focus and Learning

  Funded Nov 19, 2019

  Thank you for your contribution to my classroom project. The wiggle stools and the ball seats are a huge hit with my students. My students were not aware of the project request, so when they saw the seven boxes arrive in the classroom, they were SUPER excited! As with any new thing, everyone immediately wanted to sit on the stools. We had to draw "name sticks" to give everyone their fair "first turn" on the stools and the balls. Even when their initial excitement waned and we no longer needed the name sticks, the students are still super excited to use these materials.

  I chose to arrange my wiggle stools around my group table. Many times, I pull students to that table because they are having difficulty with a concept or need some extra practice. Often, students are already feeling frustrated and the wiggle stools provide the students a safe and appropriate outlet for their frustrations while we continue to work on clearing up their misconceptions. Without the wiggle stools, students might not be able to appropriately release their emotions, thus preventing their ability to focus on the learning. I also appreciate the ease I can move the wiggle stools around the room. This enables me to swap a student's chair with a wiggle stool when they need that extra movement to remain engaged in the lesson. Regardless of being used at the small group table, a student's desk, or another spot around the room, I continue to be very appreciative how supportive they are in keeping students engaged in their learning without being a large disruption to everyone else.

  Upon arrival the ball seats were also highly coveted seating for the students. Students often use these seats while they are engaged in self-selected reading or working individually. During this working time, students can often need an appropriate outlet for their energy to help maintain their focus. Since the arrival of the ball seats, I have witnessed students using the bouncy motion to help them maintain their own learning focus and not get as distracted by others working around the room.

  My students are I are deeply appreciative to you and your willingness to donate to our project. Wiggle stools and ball seats may seem like a small project, but they are making a HUGE impact for my students and their learning.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Robinson

  This classroom project was brought to life by Kaplan Early Learning Company and 9 other donors.