Mr. Knotts' Classroom Edit display name

Current requests

Past projects 11

• The Mountain State Part 4: Building a Great Library Continues!

  Funded May 6, 2024

  Thank you so much for your immense generosity to our classroom! We are so grateful for all of your support! The books received through this project have added a wealth of wonderful information about West Virginia to our class library. My students have been very excited to explore the books and learn more about the various subjects covered in the works. Students are particularly interested in the books concerning the Civil War in West Virginia and the books on monsters and ghost stories of West Virginia!

  As we continue to grow our class resource library of books all about our great state of West Virginia, we are very excited to dive deep into these new volumes. They will go far to continue our pursuit of learning as much as we can about our state's history. Thank you again for your support! It means the world to us!”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Knotts

  This classroom project was brought to life by Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation and 6 other donors.

• The Mountain State Part 3: New Year, New Amazing Books!

  Funded Jan 3, 2024

  Thank you so much for your immense generosity and support of my classroom! The books obtained through this project will be added to our ever growing class library of books on various subjects related to West Virginia! We will use these books to supplement our learning and broaden the scope of our understanding about our great state.

  As mentioned in the project description, our textbook often glosses over subjects or presents just the most basic information on a topic. The creation of a class library of books on various subjects related to West Virginia will allow students to dive deeper into topics that interest them and will provide additional resources for our regular classroom discussions and activities. Thank you again for your support!”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Knotts

• Writing Appalachia: The Authors of West Virginia

  Funded Mar 30, 2023

  Thank you so much for your continued generosity to my classroom and classrooms across the country! My students and I are so excited to received these wonderful books written by West Virginia authors. We will use these books as a part of our normal classroom discussion on notable people from West Virginia.

  West Virginia has a wonderful literary heritage and we will use these books to explore that heritage. Students will learn about the authors and their relation to West Virginia, and will then work analyze the works, either as entire novels or as selections from the works.

  Thank you again for your support of our classroom and our efforts to learn as much as possible about our great state of West Virginia! Thank you!”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Knotts

  This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 2 other donors.

• The Mountain State Part 2: Still Exploring West Virginia's History!

  Funded Feb 23, 2023

  Thank you so much for your incredible generosity to my classroom! My students are beyond excited to have received these books and have the opportunity to explore West Virginia's complex and fascinating history. These books cover a wide range of topics including the Civil War and West Virginia Statehood, The West Virginia Mine Wars, John F. Kennedy and the 1960 West Virginia Primary Election, among numerous others.

  We will use these books in our classroom to expand our learning beyond the confines of the textbook. Textbooks often cover just the big ideas or main points of a topic and leave much behind. These books will allow my students to learn about West Virginia in a more in-depth and meaningful way.

  Again, I am beyond grateful for your support of my classroom, and thank you with so much gratitude!”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Knotts

• The Mountain State: Resources to Learn All About West Virginia

  Funded Feb 13, 2023

  Thank you so much for your amazing generosity to our West Virginia Studies classroom! My students are very excited to have these books to further their learning about our great state. Additionally, several other teachers in the building have expressed their interest in using the books in their classrooms as well! There are several books which multiple students want to examine and explore at the same time. The level of interest in these books is wonderful to see!

  We will use these books to enhance our learning about West Virginia. The various books on statehood and the Civil War will be of great use and interest, as we are quickly approaching that era of our history.

  Other books on topics such as the monsters of West Virginia (Mothman, Flatwoods Monster, Grafton Monster) are always popular topics, and these books will allow our students to learn so much more about our state's legends and monsters! I cannot express how grateful I am for your support of classroom teachers. It is so appreciated! Thank you so much!”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Knotts

• Creating Deep Conversations Using Graphic Novels

  Funded Mar 16, 2021

  Thank you so much for your immense generosity in supporting our class project for a class set of the graphic novel They Called Us Enemy by George Takei! My students were beyond excited to hear that they would get to read this wonderful book.

  We have prepared to read the graphic novel by completing primary source analysis on Executive Order 9066, and watched video clips from the National World War II Museum on the subject of Japanese-American internment. We have also viewed George Takei's TED Talk "Why I Love a Country That Once Betrayed Me" on the subject as an introduction to the graphic novel, as it is represented in the opening panels of the story.

  In our classroom, students read assigned selections of the novel independently and complete comprehension questions independently. After, we hold a class discussion on the current selection to gauge student comprehension of the material they read. Students have been very eagerly reading the text and very actively participating in the class discussions on the subject. Again, I can not express my gratitude enough for your generosity in supporting reading in the classroom. Thank you so much!”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Knotts

  This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 4 other donors.

• Developing Strong Writers in the Classroom

  Funded Jan 26, 2021

  Thank you so much for your generosity in supporting our classroom! My students were beyond excited to hear that we had new Story Dice to use in the classroom. It was an entertaining day of class creating stories that had to include Darth Vader, Bugs Bunny, and Batman! At the current moment, we are using the Story Dice as a journal activity. The Chat Pack conversation starter cards are also being used at the moment to create interesting and engaging journal topics. The Word Spin games are being used by individual students when they complete work.

  When our classroom returns to a normal schedule and social distancing requirements are lessened, I intend to use all of these resources to create writing stations. Students will rotate between the various activities (Chat Packs, Story Dice, Word Spin). These stations will serve to assist students with developing skills as writers.

  My students and I are immensely grateful for your generosity in providing our classroom with these wonderful writing resources. Thank you so much for all you do to support teachers!”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Knotts

• Watching Rockets Soar in the West Virginia Sky

  Funded Mar 2, 2020

  Thank you so much for your donation to my project to provide my classroom with a class set of the fantastic novel October Sky! I am so incredibly grateful for all of the support you have provided to my classroom.

  Although we were unable to fully explore the novel this school year due to the global events related to COVID-19. However, we will waste little time in diving into the novel when we return to school! This will be something that both my students and I will be looking forward to when school begins.

  Thank you so much for you everything you have done for me and my classroom! I am so very thankful to have the support and generosity of your gift for my classroom. Thank you again!”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Knotts

  This classroom project was brought to life by A group of anonymous donors and 3 other donors.

• Bringing the Feud to Life

  Funded Jan 20, 2020

  Thank you so much for your generous donation to our classroom! My students are so excited to learn more about the Hatfield and McCoy Feud through this wonderful work of historical fiction. The story of the Hatfield and McCoy Feud is one that always captures the interest of students, and it is wonderful to have this opportunity to explore this era of West Virginia history.

  We have begun our unit by exploring the real historical events and people related to the feud. We discussed the material in our textbook on the subject and viewed the PBS American Experience documentary entitled The Feud to further our comprehension of the main events of the historical event.

  Students will be independently reading the novel. While reading the novel, students will complete text dependent questions for the novel and participate in class discussions on the story. We will continue this pattern throughout the novel. Again, we are so grateful for your generosity and kindness. Thank you so much!”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Knotts