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Mr. Sinclair's Classroom

  • Willard Model Elementary School
  • Norfolk, VA
  • Nearly all students from low‑income households Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more

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Support Mr. Sinclair's classroom with a gift that fosters learning.

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We'll charge your card today and send Mr. Sinclair a DonorsChoose gift card he can use on his classroom projects. Starting next month, we'll charge your card and send him a DonorsChoose gift card on the 17th of every month.

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Make a donation Mr. Sinclair can use on his next classroom project.

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show projects from all time

Past projects 3

  • Can You See What I See (On My Apple TV)?

    Funded Feb 19, 2022

    What can I say? It had been such a joy to use the Apple TV with my reading remediation groups. As you can see in my photos, I am able to use the Apple TV to project from a school iPad onto my desk screen. Sometimes we read from web sites on the big screen. Other times we use programs like Jamboard and Google Slides so kids can share their work.

    What you see in my photos is us using the iPad as a document camera. As we use our reading strategies (here we were Visualizing), each student gets a turn to show everyone their work and talk about their thinking.

    This Apple TV has been an amazing teaching tool for my reading students and I appreciate your help with it so much.”

    With gratitude,

    Mr. Sinclair

  • This TIME, Let’s VIRTUALLY Guarantee Reading Success!

    Funded Dec 17, 2020

    I am a reading teacher. I take the kids in grade 3-5 who are struggling to read and help them gain the skills they need to become proficient readers. But I want more than mere proficiency for my students. I want them engaging with what they read, wrestling with big ideas, and seeing that being a reader is a lifelong gift for growth and success and joy and satisfaction.

    There is only ONE way that this can be done: by reading lots and lots of INTERESTING text.

    And therein lay a problem caused by the COVID-19 shut down. Without access to my library of time-tested and kid-approved books and magazines, how could I get students reading good text? Most of what is free online aims to get students better test scores, not make them see reading as a way to transform and better their lives.

    When you secured us access to TIME For Kids digital magazine, all that changed. Suddenly, we had an unlimited supply of great current-event science and social studies articles to read. We read about Amanda Korman and her poet's journey that landed her on stage at the Presidential Inauguration. We read about the NASA rover, Perseverance, and the science behind how it was designed, built, sent and eventually landed on Mars. We read about the contentious Presidential election, as it was playing out, in the digital "pages" of TIME.

    Students loved it. Not only were they being given text to read that was at just the difficulty level they need to be successful but also challenged, but they were getting to develop and express opinions about things happening in the real world, about famous people they could see on their screens, and about science that was changing their world.

    We continue to use these magazine subscriptions now and will continue to do so right up to the end of the school year. Kids love them and their skill increases every day.

    Thank you so much for giving us this invaluable resource to use during this difficult time.”

    With gratitude,

    Mr. Sinclair

    This classroom project was brought to life by Perry and Donna Golkin Family Foundation and one other donor.
  • ERROR: System Crash. to Continue Learning, Please Upgrade Your Computer

    Funded Dec 19, 2020

    Have you ever tried to remove a screw from the wall, only to find that you don't have the right screwdriver? Maybe it's the wrong shape, or else it's the wrong size, or maybe the handle's too short to reach the screw? You can press and twist, hold it at an angle, recruit a hammer and chisel or a pair of locking pliers into the job, and eventually you will get that screw out of the wall, but it isn't going to be easy, it isn't going to be pretty, and it definitely isn't going to be fun.

    That's what teaching an online class was like using the outdated technology our district was able to provide at the beginning of the school year. It was so slow, so riddled with errors, and so insufficient for the job. The students and I made it work - we abandoned fun and engaging web games, gave up on the idea of seeing each other via video, quit trying to have groups work together on Google Slide projects because all of these things required that my teacher computer keep up with the technology, and it simply could not. We were doing plain vanilla learning. Videos off, microphones, off, just me sharing my screen and hoping that the computer wouldn't freeze or crash as I read with the kids and hoped that they were getting something out of it.

    All of that changed when you kind folks fulfilled my Donor's Choose request for a functioning computer. You would not believe the difference this machine has made. Suddenly, students and I were able to see each other's faces. I could listen to them read and see what they were doing. A whole world of online games and activities suddenly became available to us, because I was able to keep pace with the kids and run things efficiently from the new computer.

    For example, a common activity we do now has students reading a page or chapter from their book, then answering questions in a game show style activity via the website Kahoot! Before the gift of this amazing computer, I was not able to see the students on Zoom and run the teacher end of the quiz game at the same time. Now kids can laugh and play, competing in teams with their classmates to best understand what they are reading. This is just one small way that this device has turned our online class into something that more closely resembles a REAL classroom.

    So although this is not a technology that my students personally put their hands on and use, they have benefitted from it's presence. Class has gone from slow, confusing, and frustrating to energetic, enthusiastic, and connected. This computer, it turns out, was EXACTLY the screwdriver we needed to remove the technology barriers holding us back from enjoying online learning together. And I thank you enthusiastically for that gift.”

    With gratitude,

    Mr. Sinclair

Normally, I teach students using a collection of chapter books, novels, and science magazines that I have collected over the years. During the COVID crisis, however, this isn't an option. Finding ways to put good reading material in front of my students is my biggest challenge. Subscriptions to TIME Magazine for Kids' new DIGITAL publication would give me interesting, engaging text to help students learn and practice reading skills online. Full of interesting science and social studies topics, from the latest in NASA news to biographies of famous YouTubers, this magazine captures kids' attention and makes them WANT to read, which is half the battle in getting low readers caught up with their peers. We will use the subscriptions provided to match students to the magazines that are at their reading level, giving them "just right" text that is interesting and fun to read and discuss.

About my class

Normally, I teach students using a collection of chapter books, novels, and science magazines that I have collected over the years. During the COVID crisis, however, this isn't an option. Finding ways to put good reading material in front of my students is my biggest challenge. Subscriptions to TIME Magazine for Kids' new DIGITAL publication would give me interesting, engaging text to help students learn and practice reading skills online. Full of interesting science and social studies topics, from the latest in NASA news to biographies of famous YouTubers, this magazine captures kids' attention and makes them WANT to read, which is half the battle in getting low readers caught up with their peers. We will use the subscriptions provided to match students to the magazines that are at their reading level, giving them "just right" text that is interesting and fun to read and discuss.

About my class

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