Past projects 16
Dear Martin, Let's Embrace an Anti-Racist Pedagogy
Funded Aug 12, 2020Thank you so very much for supporting this project. It was the first time we read Dear Martin as a whole class book, and it was incredibly successful. Having teenage protagonists meant there were so many connections being made to the characters, their conflicts, and to the themes of the book.
Our seniors used this book in their literary essay graduation portfolio, a time when they not only write an essay but present it to a panel of staff. They asked unbelievably deep questions of their adult panelists, ranging from issues around power and race to police brutality. They discussed the different types of power and oppression. They also talked about resistance and what we can do about these different types of injustice.
Thank you for your contribution to these rich discussions. We are so grateful.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Sheila
This classroom project was brought to life by Equal Justice Initiative and 10 other donors.Adding Some Love to Senior Year With Back-to-School Supplies
Funded Aug 27, 2020I am so grateful for your support of our students. With your help, we were able to hand out these colorful bags with school (and art from another Donors Choose project and their first whole class book) supplies. Most students picked them up in-person, which gave an opportunity to put a face to the name. For those who were fully virtual and didn't pick them up, we were able to make deliveries and got to see the students outside of their homes.
In both cases, they were filled with joy to be receiving such a generous gift. The ones who were part-time in-person filled their desks with some of the supplies and kept some at home. It made them feel like they already belonged in that classroom.
You also helped things feel a little more real. To name one example, journal entries are able to be done in a real journal, and then students upload a picture of that journal into their documents.
It's been an unbelievably tough year filled with incredible hardship, especially for these students and their families, so we all appreciate your love and support that much more.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Sheila
This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 8 other donors.Art to Help Us Create, Connect & Heal
Funded Aug 27, 2020It is with so much gratitude that I am writing this thank you letter to you. This year, as you all know, has been beyond challenging. While my seniors are the most resilient people I know, their spirits are not always up. They're going through so much outside of school that I often am impressed when they show up to Zoom at all.
Most of my students choose not to show their faces - for a variety of reasons, and I never would make it a requirement. That being said, I have learned the most about them through their artwork. Your contribution helped me get to know my students in ways that I couldn't have otherwise. Their art sparked conversations we would not have had and also helped me learn how to better support them.
Their personal art kits also brought so much joy to them personally, and they are as appreciative as I am (as are their younger siblings who also benefitted from your support). We thank you with all our hearts.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Sheila
This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 16 other donors.Black Lives Matter Book Club
Funded Jan 1, 2018Thank you all so very much for helping make the Black Lives Matter unit a success! It was my first time teaching this unit, and I was not sure what to expect. We started by discussing the Black Lives Matter movement and how and why it started. Then we connected to what the students were learning in history class by going deeper into the Civil Rights Movement through literature, which is where your generosity helped us out. Thanks to you, the various reading levels among my class were represented in a choice of four books: March by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell; Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom by Lynda Blackmon Lowery; Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals; and Malcolm X: By Any Means Necessary by Walter Dean Myers.
Students read their books individually, a skill we've been working towards this year. However, each week they met with the other students reading their book and had a Socratic Discussion. I sat in their circle as an observer, and they led the discussion with their own thoughtful questions, analysis of the text, and connections to today. Additionally, they worked through a layered curriculum project that helped assess their understanding, application, and ability to extend the text. This provided an opportunity for me to conference with them and help them make connections to the Black Lives Matter movement today, to question how much has changed and what is needed moving forward.
Overall, students were empowered by the heroes/heroines in their books. They wrote them letters - or their family members for those no longer living, explaining how they were moved and also connecting to their struggle by describing their own battles. Additional readings were offered to go deeper into the themes of the texts. Many of them read James Baldwin's "Letter to my Nephew" and critically analyzed Baldwin's solution to the problem of racism. Some of them did an extension project where they read Ta-Nehisi Coates, Between the World and Me, to gain a deeper understanding of where we are today in this struggle and movement.
Every single student did at least one part of the final project. I had two students tell me this was the first time they read a whole book from beginning to end. So THANK YOU, donors, for helping make this unit one where students could dive into the recent history of their new home country to make profound connections to their own lives, both in the past in their native countries and now, here in America.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Sheila
Space to Read, Create & Rejuvenate
Funded Jul 31, 2017We are incredibly grateful for your support in helping us create our reading nook! The space was set up just in time for our last unit - the Teen Social Issues Book Club, where students are reading 1 of 5 books on different issues that affect them. Some moments in these books can be heavy, particularly when it hits home, so having a comfortable space to read and get lost in the books and in their thoughts has been incredibly valuable.
Two students stayed after school on a Friday to help set it up, so you can imagine the surprise and joy when the students saw the space on Monday. We started with a rotating schedule for who can use the space, depending on the book they were reading; but after a week, they had their own schedules worked out and were respectful of each other's time in the space.
We're going to be writing an essay after break on these books, so the lap pillows will come in handy again. I'll also go back to the pillows when we start our Black Lives Matter unit in February. It will be there for morning and after school use as well. In other words, this is the gift that keeps on giving, so thank you so much for your generosity and support.
On behalf of over 100 students this year, we THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Sheila
This classroom project was brought to life by Sergey Brin Family Foundation and 7 other donors.Ninth Grade Artists Need Supplies
Funded Dec 30, 2013Thank you all so very much for your contribution to our classroom's art supplies! As the year is coming to a close, I wanted to share with you impact these supplies had on several of our units...
To begin the Silk Road Unit, I had students envision the longest journey they ever took and then express these through collage. They had so much fun bringing their journeys to life through the arts and crafts supplies you provided. These 88 students from 25 countries had some incredible journeys to create and then share with the class. The students wallpapered our classroom with their collages, a constant reminder of the struggles many of them have overcome to be here and also of your generosity. Thank you!
We also had an Around the World with Music Unit, where students learned about studied various sociocultural and historical aspects of a range of societies around the world through their music. Music turned into an interdisciplinary portfolio project (one where they get to present their music work in all 5 classes to other teachers and admin in the school), and the students made a drum machine as their final product. Many of them used your arts and crafts to decorate and personalize their group's drum machine. They also used the fancy paper and sparkly paper (what they started to call it) to decorate their "come hear the band" fliers that they posted around the school to publicize their group's portfolio. Thank you!
For the start of our Human Rights Unit, students first underwent a thorough exploration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). In order to help them better understand the 30 articles of the UDHR, we played a guess that article game. Many of them chose to represent the articles visually and used the art supplies to do so. They had a great time creating these, and we had a fabulous time guessing the article they were visually expressing. Thank you!
There were other opportunities to use the supplies, and we also shared the arts and crafts love with the seniors. They were also very appreciative!
You have really made a difference in our projects, classrooms, and lives. Thank you very much!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Sheila
This classroom project was brought to life by Quill.com and 3 other donors.