Past projects 25
Help to Make Our Shelves Relevant, Engaging, and Research Ready!
Funded Oct 3, 2024Thank you for supporting our library, our readers, and our researchers by helping to fund this Donors Choose Project. Thanks to your generosity, over 35 new nonfiction books were delivered to our shelves. We had chosen this selection of books as it represented the most requested topics for our current research projects here at the middle school. I believe they have already made an immediate and positive impact on our young researchers. Our fifth-grade projects on the regions of the United States got a huge boost by the fantastic books dealing with geography, the national parks, and amazing places to visit. Our 8th grade researchers were enthralled by the Captured History series and biographies that they were able to use to complete one of their biggest research projects of the year. Several more books will play a key role for your 7th grade students in an upcoming project as well. Your donations have given us so much more than just a set of books, however. These titles have captured attention, curiosity, and true engagement for students that often do not have an interest in reading. Thank you for bringing such a powerfully positive experience to our middle school researchers.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Conti
This classroom project was brought to life by SONIC Foundation and one other donor.Grab & Go to Research & Learn; Essential Library Tools!
Funded Aug 15, 2024Seven minutes. Seven minutes is exactly how long it took the 8th grade students that were working on a research project in the library to find the new lap desks! All ten were instantly grabbed as students spread out to do their work in their favorite spots and bean bag chairs. Thank you for your generous donation to fund this project for our middle school library. Along with the 10 lap desks, we also got boxes to create resource sets that students could just grab when they are needed. We filled each with markers, colored pencils, and highlighters. We have these sets, along with the lap desks, in a marked area that students now know is for them. They appreciate the freedom to borrow supplies whenever the need arises!
We are working hard to make our library the hub of our school. Students visit all day for numerous reasons, and their needs are constantly changing. In addition, our space is often quite crowded as we may have more than one class, more than one grade, using the library at the same time. The simple idea of having student materials available has helped to make our space function smoothly. Plus, it helps to encourage students to visit the library anytime they are working on projects and research. As a librarian, this is exactly where I'd like them to be! I can offer search suggestions and help in finding resources on an individual basis.
Thank you for supporting our library and our learners. This project has helped our space be the welcoming research powerhouse that we knew it could be!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Conti
This classroom project was brought to life by The Gates Foundation and 2 other donors.Reading Rhythms: No Book Club just a Fabulous Reading Environment!
Funded Jun 22, 2024It's catching on like wildfire here at our middle school – Reading Rhythms is exactly what we needed to bring a whole new wave of students through the library! Simple in concept, a Reading Rhythm event is an activity where students that love to read can come to the library with whatever it is they are reading and stay for a while. Your donations brought a fantastic, comfy carpet, as well as amazing bean bag chairs and floor cushions to our space. We move desks out of the way, turn on some great floor lamps, stream some amazing "ambience" on our big screen and then let the students get comfortable...and read. We do not separate the time into grade levels; all readers are welcome throughout the day and get to stay as long as our time schedule permits. I am working with our English Language Arts teachers to develop an ongoing schedule so that we can further promote the Reading Rhythm days. So far interest is booming as students share their first experiences!
Normally, throughout the week, many teachers have scheduled class times, 15 minutes here and there, when students are required to silently read. But for students that just love to read and explore new books, such short events leave them wanting so much more. Reading Rhythms offers a refreshing and comfortable alternative to sitting in a hard desk in a room where othesr may be grumbling about having to be silent (and/or read). Students are smiling as they open the library door and see how the space has been transformed for a day. Some even run to their favorite spot to get comfortable and start reading. A few have elected to join the activity as they just want to see what others have been talking about – and they, too, quickly become enchanted.
Without such generous donations and support, we would never have been able to bring this idea to life! For the first time in years, our library has some fantastic books and periodicals that are new and relevant to our students. Reading Rhythms offers a way for students to take full advantage of our space and offerings in a way that breaks the norms of regular class structure. It's a fun way to spend an extra thirty minutes, and students are reading for the sheer joy of reading. Now how fantastic is that? Thank you for this wonderful chance to improve our middle school library!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Conti
This classroom project was brought to life by Wing 2 Wing Foundation and 2 other donors.Our Library Shelves Need to Encourage Natural Curiosity and Fun!
Funded Jun 22, 2024Lately, our nonfiction shelves have undergone a much-needed transformation. The outdated and irrelevant books have been pushed aside, and we are making room (and great displays) with new, engaging titles. This has been done in huge part through amazing and generous donations that Donors Choose has made possible. Students now have wonderful selections in several major areas that our shelves had otherwise very little to offer. We are set for awesome research projects and investigative activities! But this project had a special goal in mind – to sprinkle the shelves with books that pop out to browsing, reluctant readers. Honestly, I can say, so far, it has been hugely successful! The books this funded project sent our way are everything our fifth and sixth grade students need to garner their attention. They feature intriguing, mystifying topics that students think are downright fascinating.
Our students are coming in and finding books that immediately capture their attention and keep their minds working. Some of these titles have led students to entire sections of great books that would have otherwise been overlooked. These are the titles that make browsing sheer fun for kids. Our reluctant readers are finding that not only do they love to visit the library, but despite past experiences, they really like to read when the books offer such interesting facts. And not much more can be as exciting as that for a middle school librarian! Thank you, Donors Choose supporters and the Wing 2 Wing Foundation for caring for our readers and our middle school library! You are bringing a whole new, powerfully positive experience to our students.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Conti
This classroom project was brought to life by Wing 2 Wing Foundation and one other donor.Spark Their Interest & Keep Them Turning the Page!
Funded May 17, 2024This Donors Choose project brought class sets of both Scholastic Scope and Scholastic News to students and teachers at our middle school. These vibrant and engaging magazines are fantastic at promoting curiosity and wonder as students browse their pages. Not only do they provide a different type of reading experience for our readers, but they also spark interest in topics and genres that students may have otherwise not known about.
We are only two months into our school year and the sets of magazines have already been used in various ways by twelve different teachers. The Scope magazines are geared for our older grades (7 and 8) and our English Language Arts teachers have appreciated many of the standard features that the magazines supply. They have been used both by the entire class and in other situations as independent reading activities. And the News magazines are loved by all. Each article is eye-catching and covers news and topics that are current and interesting.
We do not normally have the ability to offer these periodicals as the cost for a class set is often prohibitive. Thanks to your generous donation and the Wing 2 Wing Foundation's match, we have this amazing chance to broaden our offerings. As students are reading about topics, they are naturally turning to the library shelves to learn more. What an amazing experience – to spark curiosity and be able to fuel the desire to investigate and learn for sheer pleasure.
Thank you, Donors Choose supporters. Your impact on our middle school library has been amazing!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Conti
This classroom project was brought to life by Wing 2 Wing Foundation and one other donor.Help Me Put the Right Book into Each Student's Hand!
Funded Jun 21, 2024Helping students choose books to read for leisure can be a challenging task. Often young readers get foiled by misleading cues such as thickness of a book, a flashy cover, or the age of a paperback to determine what to read next. The nuisances of book selection need to be cultivated and modeled repeatedly so that it can become a habit that students can rely upon to navigate the shelves. And this successful Donors Choose project has made a huge impact on our middle school browsers! The page displays and the sign holders have already been used in several key locations to feature new books, new series, hidden gems, and best sellers. I also use the sign holders when we have projects in the library to help organize stations or display instructions. Within seconds, I can easily swap out the pages and update the signs as much as needed. This is so helpful as within a single day, the library sees multiple grade levels for various purposes; so, I can change signs on the fly when moving from 5th grade to 8th grade projects.
I am so excited to have an enhanced arsenal of tools at my fingertips to add guideposts for students as they decipher their tastes and the types of books that they like to read. Our reluctant readers now have even more clues to guide them to better choices, exciting adventures, and for some, their first independently finished book! As I was walking down the hallway just this week, a student held up his book and said, "I love this book! I am going to read the whole series!" I cannot express how exciting those words were to hear, as they came from a student that absolutely believed he hated to read. He had found a sign that caught his eye which led him to a series that fit everything he loved. Thank you for donating to Donors Choose and selecting our project to fund! These new tools will help guide readers to more exciting adventures for years to come.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Conti
This classroom project was brought to life by Wing 2 Wing Foundation and 2 other donors.Building a Collection of Solid, Engaging Resources for Our Researchers!
Funded May 30, 2024Our middle school library shelves have needed a great deal of help to get up to date, and the fantastic donors of Donors Choose have generously answered the call! When I wrote this project, I had created a wish list of books that we not only needed to match current research projects, but that also that fit areas of student interest which lacked representation on our shelves. When this project received full funding, I wanted to do a back flip with excitement. These titles are not just relevant to our students, but they will intrigue and inspire them far more than anything we had on our shelves previously.
Along with the wonderful books that were delivered once funding was complete, we are also receiving monthly editions of Science World, Scholastic Scope, and Scholastic News! We hope these magazines spark a curiosity that grows into a genuine interest beyond the pages of the periodical. These magazines and books, (39 books in all!) have stocked our library with fascinating topics to grab the students' attention. To say this project has made us 'research ready' is an understatement. Our students and staff are eager to browse, research, read, and learn. Thank you for your generosity; our shelves are brightened, and the aisles are filled with curious browsers! Your support will continue to impact our middle school library for years to come.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Conti
This classroom project was brought to life by Wing 2 Wing Foundation and one other donor.Building a Collection of Solid Resources for Our Sixth-Grade Researchers!
Funded May 28, 2024These amazing boxes of books arrived within the last few days of the school year before the students left for their summer vacation. I had so much fun with the unboxing, as teachers had a bit more freedom than usual to stop in and browse the piles that started to accumulate on the desks in the library. What excited several of the sixth-grade teachers was that we got duplicates of many of the books we can use for writing assignments. For several reasons, it is easier for students to start learning note taking techniques and paraphrasing strategies when they are working from printed materials. So having duplicates of books on in-demand topics is a game changer for classroom management. I can also tell that several teachers are excited about the new additions to the library as they have already visited this school year asking if I have all the books processed already. They are ready to start to collaborate on upcoming projects!
This fabulous collection hits multiple topics, and we will be able to use them for projects in English Language Arts, science, social studies, and music classes. This collection is so engaging that students will gravitate to these titles out of shear curiosity even without an active project guiding them. Your donations have brought a whopping 48 books to our shelves that cover subjects ranging from World War I and II, biographies of famous world leaders, scientists, activists, and composers, government and the constitution, and books on topics that are covered during several cross curricular projects, such as the Iditarod and Read Across America. Simply put, that is a mountain of excellent resources that we now have at our fingertips that we could just not have obtained on our own. This project will impact our entire building as these books will be used and enjoyed by all our students, not just our sixth graders. We cannot thank you enough for your generosity and support!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Conti
This classroom project was brought to life by Wing 2 Wing Foundation and one other donor.There's a Line! Let's Give Them Another Copy! Part II
Funded May 25, 2024This Donors Choose project was actually part II of a previously posted request. Our library has made dramatic moves to replace outdated materials, refresh our image, and encourage more students to visit and, well, read! With our increased circulation, I have started to see that students are waiting in line to get some of our more popular books. I do not want to stop that enthusiasm and momentum, so I developed a wish list of books I'd love to have in duplicate for our readers. This project added 32 copies of books that students have been clamoring to get their hands on to read. These are all tried and tested titles that truly have earned student interest. As I processed the books and placed them on the shelves, they were immediately found and checked out. I cannot explain what joy that brings to a librarian's heart!
Some of the titles were the first book in a popular series. Others were classics of which students never tire. Your generous donation has added books to almost every fiction genre we have showcased: historical, adventure, mystery, humor, realistic, sports, and fantasy. Several of the nonfiction additions are not just popular with students, they are also volumes that we use for research projects in several grade levels. I believe it is safe to say that these books will circulate and recirculate for years to come. Your donation and that of the Wing 2 Wing Foundation's match have had a wonderful and dramatic impact on our library's ability to circulate the exact books that students want. I cannot say thank you enough.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Conti
This classroom project was brought to life by Wing 2 Wing Foundation and one other donor.So Popular, there's a Line; Let's Give Them Another Copy!
Funded May 25, 2024I want to begin by repeating a thought from my original project description; the last thing a librarian wants to see is a student leaving the library empty-handed because all the books of interest are already checked out. This project has given us a giant boost in the right direction! All the books included in this project are first picks for so many of our students. They run the gamut from sports, hunting, and strange fact collections on our nonfiction shelves, to fantasy, horror, mystery, suspense, and romance on our fiction shelves. These are all the titles that attract a line of readers, and I am so delighted to be able to add another copy to our library.
We try hard to encourage every student to find that niche that they enjoy. We want them to try different genres and authors, to explore new ideas and reading formats, all without worrying about due dates or time constraints. We definitely do not want to discourage a slower reader from taking the first book in a series, even if we know it will not return for several weeks. The importance of having a wide selection and an extra copy of the popular picks cannot be understated! Our donors and the Wing 2 Wing Foundation have done so much for our library and our students, as we continue to transform our outdated shelves and room into a special space filled with excitement, adventures, and exploration. Thank you for your most generous gift to our middle school readers!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Conti
This classroom project was brought to life by Wing 2 Wing Foundation and one other donor.