Past projects 10
Putting the T in STEM
Funded Nov 29, 2023The reintroduction of iPads into our classroom represents a transformative investment in my students' educational journey. Through engaging, personalized, and inclusive learning experiences, my students will become lifelong learners and innovative thinkers prepared to excel in an ever-evolving global society.
One impact of this project is that these iPads now serve as powerful educational tools, offering interactive and dynamic content across various subjects from math games to reading games to the use of SeeSaw (which helps students create, respond and record their learning).
Another impact of this project is that iPads will empower students to unleash their creativity and thinking through multimedia projects that can be done or displayed on SeeSaw.
One final impact of this project is that these iPads ensure equitable access to technology and learning resources for all students, regardless of socioeconomic background or learning abilities. By bridging the digital divide, I can create a more inclusive learning environment where every student has the opportunity to thrive and succeed.
Thank you for helping provide us the technology tools that are so very necessary in today's world!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Locke
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 14 other donors.Brain and Mind Well-Being
Funded Sep 26, 2023Play is important because it benefits both learning and mental health. Having the resources that this project yielded, my students were able to practice social skills by interacting with peers, work independently during small groups and better understand concepts related to the human body and outer space. Not only did the resources from this project benefit students, it directly benefited me the classroom teacher.
It's wonderful to see my students playing together with Snap Circuits, trying to build things that work and have a visible result. It's even better when they problem-solve if what they have built doesn't work the way it is supposed to work. Students are also thinking about what else they can build on their own.
The printer ink and cardstock have been a huge asset to me because I like to make and print games that kids can play independently, with others or in a small group I am teaching. These games are reading and math centered so kids are learning while having fun!
The book "A Teacher's Guide to Understanding Sensory Processing Challenges" has opened my eyes to things I can be doing to help students who struggle with sensory processing. But it also has reaffirmed things that I already do because I feel they are beneficial for my students
Being a teacher involves having the right resources to teach with and learn with in order to make academic gains and have stable mental health. Thank you so much for providing these resources!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Locke
This classroom project was brought to life by Alaska Department of Education & Early Development.Interactive Osmo-sis
Funded Mar 27, 2018My first graders are digital natives that learn quickly and soak up technology. They use iPads to learn and practice reading skills, math skills, word skills, handwriting skills and even writing skills. Many different apps are used to accomplish this and now that we have eight OSMO bases and a few games, students are continuing to do this in a more hands-on way since OSMO uses number and letter tiles as well as shapes (Tangram game) and coding pieces.
I think half of my class would consider the hands-on game pieces that are used with the OSMO as their favorite part and the other half would choose the apps (games) themselves because they are fun and engaging. I definitely think the fact that OSMO is a learning tool that students can quietly play is my favorite part because it allows me to conduct small reading and math groups.
Students are a bit surprised, at first, that an iPad can be used with external pieces (the OSMO base and pieces) in a hands-on, interactive way. But it soon becomes the norm. . .like all modern technology!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Locke
This classroom project was brought to life by Ripple and 3 other donors.Robotics For Wee Ones
Funded Nov 2, 2017The use of technology, access to technology and its role in our schools is vitally important in this day and age. Teaching young children to code and program is like building the foundation of a house. Everything they subsequently learn will build upon that initial learning and lead to very skilled youth who will build and create things for our future! The tools you helped provide allow me to help my students lay that foundation.
Learning in small groups is the cornerstone of my teaching philosophy and the tools you helped provide allow me to accomplish this. My students learn through play and the technology is the engaging, motivating impetus and leads to independent, on-task students so I am then able to meet with a small group to provide direct math instruction.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Locke
This classroom project was brought to life by 3M and 9 other donors.Engineering with LEGOs
Funded Mar 24, 2017The LEGO Mindstorms kits that were purchased for this project, thanks to your generation donations, are wonderful pieces of technology that help students learn how to code and problem solve while doing the challenges we provide them. Students use school iPads to communicate with the robot(s) they build and use a special app for the coding piece. If their robots do not perform a task perfectly (as the code intends) they must work with their partners to fix the code so the robot completes the challenge.
The two most exciting things for students are the challenge of getting their robots to correctly perform a given task (figuring out the code) and then the success they feel when their robot correctly completes the task at hand. Students also became aware that they could free-program their robots to do they wanted them to do and we gave them time at the end of each class to experiment with that.
There were two students who had prior experience with the Mindstorms Kits and were able to help other students with the coding specifically. The other students were brand new to this technology and to the process of coding. You could tell from observation and debriefing at the end of our classes that they really enjoyed everything from learning about the kits (via an amazing Power Point presentation that one of the parents prepared), to building the robots to programming their creations.
These kits are fun, high interest, engaging and a wonderful learning tool! We look forward to offering more robotics classes this year and inviting the younger grades to participate.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Locke
Adopting an iPad
Funded Oct 31, 2016Technology at our fingertips is the present and future of classroom teaching and my students are
"digital natives". I know that incorporating technology, such as iPads, into classroom teaching and learning, leads to more engagement, more interest and more motivation to learn. The addition of a seventh iPad means I can incorporate iPad usage into all of my small learning groups (reading, math, writing) due to having the largest class in my teaching career (26). During reading groups my students use a district-mandated program called Lexia that helps kids learn and master many different phonemic awareness and phonics concepts (the foundations of learning to read). Using an iPad, versus a desktop with mouse, significantly increases student response time which is monitored, tracked and recorded. During math groups my students are able to play a variety of math games that are either concept focused or present a variety of math skills that lead to well-rounded student math knowledge. During writing groups my students are able to play either writing or spelling games. The benefit to me is that I am able to lead small groups, effectively teaching a few kids at a time, which has a greater impact.
The most exciting thing for my students is just the ability to use an iPad everyday, several times a day and have the ability to choose what they want to do. For me, I love finding new apps that target the skills I'm teaching and are fun and engaging for kids!
All of my students enjoy using the iPads, some more than others of course. There are a few students who especially like using the iPads to take reading comprehension quizzes (Accelerated Reader) because it's fun and that also gets them reading more!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Locke
IPads Mean I-Can
Funded Oct 6, 2015The iPads you have generously provided for my first grade classroom have benefited my students in so many ways and has thus made learning and teaching even better and more successful! My students use the iPads every single day of the week for small reading, writing and math groups which allows them to practice and improve skills in these subject areas in a very fun and engaging way. Of equal importance is the fact that I can teach small groups because several of my students are using the iPads at a time which helps keep the noise down and keeps kids working independently. One huge benefit is the ability to simply tap and touch versus using a mouse. Being able to touch the screen allows students to respond quicker to questions posed of them when they are playing games that monitor the amount of time it takes to respond (Lexia Reading Core 5, for example). I am fortunate to also have 5 desktop computers available for students to use but now that we have iPads, I would trade them all in a heartbeat for more iPads because of the many benefits to both students and myself.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Locke
Let It Grow, Let It Grow!
Funded Sep 9, 2014Living in Alaska, we enjoy nature to the fullest in the summer and then it seems to come to an abrupt end in September. My goals with this garden table and gardening supplies were to bring nature into our classroom to teach students more about the plant life cycle, allow for students to care for and observe our plants and add some living green to our classroom. Students were thrilled when I told them about what I was hoping to receive and how we'd use it. They were so excited when the garden table arrived and we set it up, as was I! The plants are just part of our classroom now and I think the one big thing students are learning is that growing a plant that produces fruit or vegetables takes a long time! And my students are going to have more background knowledge and experience than students in other first grade classrooms when they enter second grade and participate in a longer science curriculum unit on plants because of this fantastic resource that was made possible thanks to you and your thoughtful generosity. I'm ever so thankful that I get to share this with my current and future students!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Locke
Listening Center Organization
Funded Apr 30, 2012Albert Camus once said, "Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present." So I want to thank you for your generosity because, as Camus said, your contribution to my Donors Choose project is benefiting the 20 students in my classroom right now and will continue to benefit the many boys and girls who will be part of my classroom for years to come.
Charles Clark hit the nail on the head when he said, "The fluent reader sounds good, is easy to listen to, and reads with enough expression to help the listener understand and enjoy the material." These are exactly the goals I have set for my students' reading fluency! The books-on-CD my students listen to (with a personal CD player or at the group listening center) entertain them, provide great models of fluent reading and keep them engaged while I am teaching my small reading groups. Your generous contribution provided 6 personal CD players with headphones and a piece of (mobile) furniture that houses our group listening center. I am so grateful for these items because they help make my small reading groups all the more effective, engaging and fun! In addition, my student's fluency (rate of reading) is improving and when students read more fluently, they can focus much more on comprehending what they are reading. Instead of "learning to read", they transition to "reading to learn".
I can't thank you enough for having chosen my classroom, my students, this project and me! I can only assure you that my students love listening to books-on-CD as evidenced by their enthusiasm, smiles and desire to listen even during our "Free Time" and "Choice Time"!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Locke
Ga Ga for Math Games!
Funded Dec 13, 2011Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "Since you get more joy out of giving joy to others, you should put a good deal of thought into the happiness that you are able to give." This is exactly what you've done for my students and I in providing us with new math games! We are so excited and grateful to you for choosing this project and being so generous with your donation.
Our math curriculum places some emphasis on playing games to practice, master and maintain newly learned concepts and skills. I place a huge emphasis on playing math games, not only for the mathematical benefits, but also for the social benefits of playing and working with others. My students do very well in math, due in great part, to all the games they play. At the end of the last school year however, I went through my collection and noticed gaps in conceptual areas and that's where the need for a few more select games came from.
The major benefit and impact of these games on my students are twofold. First, students who struggle need more practice with particular concepts. They get this practice in a fun, engaging way by playing these games over and over. Furthermore, students who excel in math need to be challenged and kept "on their toes". These games are designed to be played with a beginner and challenge level, so they benefit all my students and their abilities.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Locke