Past projects 6
The Future Is Now
Funded Oct 31, 2024Thank you for your generous gift. My students, of course, will appreciate the books as well. I will start the unit for this novel next semester where I will reinforce learning from the first semester and add new standards as well. I' sure my students will enjoy the genre, too, since it is unusual.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Magee
A Boy Must Face His Past
Funded Dec 2, 2023Receiving the novel, allowed me to continue teaching a novel that I enjoy, students have enjoyed in the past, and I have practiced. Over time, I have seen which assignments work best, how to interest students in the novel and how to prepare them for writing a literary essay on the novel.
This book revolves around a teen, Cole Mathews, who begins the story as angry and destructive and grows into someone who learns from his past and becomes understanding and stable. I emphasize how the writer shows how the main character grows and what allows him to grow, and see more clearly through the teachings of two men who start as his probation officers. I also emphasize symbols: the spirit bear, fire, and nature and how the symbols in the novel gather meaning. Finally, I teach theme and conflict through the experiences of Cole.
I usually teach the novel in three to four classes over a six-week period. I use binding tape and number the books. However, over time they can get wear out. I am grateful to have new, crisp and clean books for my classes.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Magee
This classroom project was brought to life by Townsend Press and 3 other donors.A Boy Must Face His Past
Funded Oct 24, 2019This is the second time that I have requested a project to be funded by Donors Choice. My reaction when the project was funded was the same both times: excited, surprised, and joyful. I was excited about the completion of the project because it meant that I would be receiving books for my classroom. My first project was for a class set of a novel, this project was for a selection of Scholastic titles.
I was also surprised by how quickly the project was completed. Finally, I was joyful when I received the books and began to display them in my classroom and tell my students about them. Since this project was for a collection of books, I will be using them for my homeroom when students can choose a book to read during Sustained Silent Reading and to check out from me to read during their free time at home and school.
Donors Choose really breaks through the red-tape that can delay and frustrate me when I want to order books or major materials for my classroom. My school does have collections of books and class sets of books, but many were ordered by someone other than the teachers or were ordered many years ago and are no longer relevant to our students. Donors Choose allows me to choose what I feel and sometimes test out will work in the classroom to engage students. Further, I receive the books or materials very quickly.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Magee
An Inspirational True Story
Funded Oct 11, 2022The book Unbroken has made a lasting impression in the two 8th grade classes I taught it this year. The arc of experiences that made up Louie Zamperini's life engaged students and gave them a lot of choices when it came time to write about the book. The story also mirrored their history curriculum. His turbulent childhood, success in track and field leading to his participation in the Olympics, his experiences early in the war, his beyond imagination survival adrift in the Pacific, and his brutal experiences in several POW camps. During Open House this Spring, the parents of one of my 8th graders told how he would come home and summarize the experiences of that day's reading to them.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Magee
This classroom project was brought to life by Seed to Read and 4 other donors.A Slam-Dunk Novel
Funded Aug 12, 2019I have used this highly engaging novel for my ESL and for an end-of-the- year reading for other classes. All my students are impressed with the lyrical, rap-like rhythm of the writing. I use an audio of the novel which captures the poetry of the novel. Further, the relationship of the brothers, their parents and basketball are highly relatable for my students.
For all classes, I focus on the vocabulary and figurative language and the definitions given in the book. Student can see how the academic language is used and ready examples are available to them and me.
During reading students are engaged in the text and at times ahh and ohh as the rap qualities surprise and impress them.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Magee
This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Funder and 2 other donors.Wonderful Reading Books
Funded Oct 21, 2021This is the second time that I have requested a project to be funded by Donors Choice. My reaction when the project was funded was the same both times: excited, surprised, and joyful. I was excited about the completion of the project because it meant that I would be receiving books for my classroom. My first project was for a class set of a novel, this project was for a selection of Scholastic titles.
I was also surprised by how quickly the project was completed. Finally, I was joyful when I received the books and began to display them in my classroom and tell my classes about them. Since this project was for a collection of books, I will be using them for my homeroom when students can choose a book to read during Sustained Silent Reading and to check out from me to read during their free time at home and school.
Donors Choose really breaks through the red-tape that can delay and frustrate me when I want to order books or major materials for my classroom. My school does have collections of books and class sets of books, but many were ordered by someone other than the teachers or were ordered many years ago and are no longer relevant to our students. Donors Choose allows me to choose what I feel and sometimes test out will work in the classroom to engage students. Further, I receive the books or materials very quickly.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Magee
This classroom project was brought to life by Dollar General Literacy Foundation and 5 other donors.