Past projects 2
Teacher, I Read the Whole Book!
Funded Jul 17, 2023Having "Bob Books" has been a game changer for my reading instruction this year! Many students are able to learn to read successfully with the standard reading resources I've been given, but there's always students who need extra practice and the regular reading materials move on too fast and overwhelm them. That's where your donation comes in. Using the Bob Books with these students this year, took away that unnecessary frustration and tendency to give up. I have happy, willing readers this year!
One student in particular, who is often absent and was getting behind, was becoming unwilling to even try reading. He would hide under his table when it was small group reading time. After switching to the Bob Books, he was excited when it was time to practice them and eventually succeeded reading several books by himself and is still going strong. He is so proud of himself for being able to read his Bob Books. He can even write some of his favorite characters' names and words from the book by sounding them out and dictating them all by himself. I love when he comes to me, without any prompting, and asks if he can read the book to me and asks if he can take it home to read to his grandma.
I've sent several home with students and have received positive feedback and thank you's from parents. Some of them have used them as a supplement and some use them as the main reading material they practice at home. Some parents have used them "as needed". If a student is being difficult when parents pull out the regular phonics story I send home for practice, they allow their child to choose between it and a Bob Book. The Bob Book is shorter, but still gives them practice with the same phonics skills we are learning in class. It's a win-win for everyone!
Thank you again for your generosity! I don't have to worry about having enough sets to read with the students at school and I can freely let as many students who need them, borrow them to continue practicing at home. Since teaching Kindergarten for the past three years, this has been my most successful class of readers yet! I'm so thankful for the resources to make this a reality!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Lisa
Segment, Build, Blend, Write, and Cement Words in My Mind!
Funded Jan 22, 2022Our new magnetic white boards and paddle boards are used (and praised in my mind) everyday! Our new magnetic letters are used for at least 50% of our small group time because they have been so beneficial in helping my students learn to segment and blend words! The paddle boards have become a must during whole class dictation because a quick glance at raised paddle boards gives me a quick assessment for who understands our new spelling pattern and who needs extra help. Students receive quick feedback and can fix mistakes easily (no messy pencil erasers and holes in paper). The paddles are so quick to hand out and efficient; the marker fits snuggly in the paddle and has a built in eraser. No wasted time here! Both boards have been extremely helpful for handwriting because they have guidelines and the students never seem to get bored writing sentences, unlike paper and pencil which loses its charm quickly. I love these things!
I knew they would be excited the first time they got their "very own alphabet", but they still get excited to find the correct letters to build a word, then swap out one of the letters as we work on word chains. Gone are the days of picking up lost letters off the floor after a lesson because I finally have magnets...thank you!
I have a handful of students who tire quickly of routine tasks that are essential. I could tell it was time for something new, so when I brought out the fun magnetic gel boards, I wasn't surprised that all of a sudden they wanted to participate in our dictation lesson again! They worked just as I had hoped, so I use them judiciously; not too often so they become ordinary, but just enough so they still keep their charm.
Many of my students came in without a preschool experience because of Covid so they had a lot of catching up to do. I'm beyond pleased to see the growth they've made this year, having so many chances to see, sort, write and manipulate the alphabet with these materials. Thank you so much for making these materials a possibility in my classroom!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Lisa
This classroom project was brought to life by Utah State Board of Education.