Past projects 7
Series-ous Readers
Funded Oct 12, 2022Your generous donations have had a wonderful impact on my classroom. My students are reading more which ultimately makes them better readers and my classroom is a much more peaceful environment.
Students need to read to themselves 90 minutes a day to increase their reading skills developmentally. Having series of books allows my students to set reading goals for themselves, which ultimately leads to them reading more books. my students quickly found series that they truly enjoyed reading. They worked very hard to complete the entire set of books by using any of their free time to read. This also meant that when they were finished with an assignment, they read silently at their seat, which created a quiet learning environment.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. M.
Today a Reader, Tomorrow a Leader
Funded Feb 6, 2021The first 12 books of the Magic Tree House series was such a wonderful gift to my students last year. My kiddos last year were struggling readers. I gifted each student the first 12 books of the Magic Tree House series and I also posted read aloud videos for my students to listen to as they read the books. My lowest readers loved owning their own books and being able to read them. They would read the books while they listed to the read aloud videos at school and at home. I truly believe getting these books was probably one of their best memories of school during a global pandemic.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. M.
Yoga for Young Learners
Funded Sep 8, 2017Your generous donations have made an amazing impact on the students in my classroom! I use flexible seating in my classroom. Each morning when my students enter my classroom they get to choose where they are going to sit for the day and what they are going to use for their seat. They can sit on a chair, a stool, or now thanks to you, a stability ball. Some students choose to use a ball everyday, some don't like sitting on the stability balls, and some students alternate.
The students that use the stability balls are able to expend some of their energy without distracting themselves or others. They involuntarily use core muscles to stay on the balls which also helps them focus. These students also have the option of gently bouncing or swaying on their balls when they feel the need to fidget.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. M.
Third-Grade Tablet Techies
Funded Aug 4, 2016Your generous donation, which allowed me to purchase three new transformer tablets, has had an amazing impact on my students. My class spends one hour, three times a week, in our computer lab, but that is not enough time for them to get everything practiced and completed that they need to. Our math curriculum is extremely high paced and we are not able to remain in a lesson long enough for everyone to gain mastery. Luckily, there is a website that goes with the curriculum which allows my students to move at their own pace. Therefore, my slower students are able to catch up with the lessons we do in class, and my advanced students can move on.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. M.
Comfy Cozy Comprehension
Funded Aug 23, 2015I wish you could have been in my classroom the day the beanbags arrived! Each beanbag came in its own box, so I set the boxes in my room while the students were out of the room for resource. As soon as they entered the room, they immediately noticed the boxes, and began to banter me with questions. They were super excited when I removed the first beanbag from its box, and they all wanted to have a turn sitting on the beanbag. It took a while for my students and I to figure out the appropriate procedures for using the beanbags, but once we did they became a regular part of our classroom learning environment.
One of my four table groups is assigned the beanbags each day. The students in that group may use the beanbags during any carpet time or any choice time. During carpet time they are listening to myself or their peers, as well as contributing to the conversation. While they are participating in choice time, the students may take part in Read to Self, Read to Someone, or Work on Writing.
Research shows that students need to have frequent brain breaks and need to be able to make choices about their learning. Your generous donations have made this possible in my classroom. Being able to get up from their seats and move to an alternate location allows my students to reset their thinking and focusing abilities. Likewise, having the opportunity to decide where they are going to sit to to work on reading and writing causes my students to become stakeholders in their learning.
Once again, thank you so much for your amazing donation!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. M.
Oh, The Places We'll Go! Expanding Prior Knowledge
Funded Sep 25, 2014My students were extremely excited when they saw me adding the nonfiction readers to my classroom library. I paired these readers with stories in our basal reader so my students could practice writing essays in which they cited their sources. The nonfiction books were also available for my pupils to read during silent reading. They really enjoyed the photos, charts, diagrams and other graphics within the books.
So far, I have used the Common Core Exemplar texts as read aloud books for twenty minutes each day. As we discuss the books that I read to them, they mention that it was neat to imagine and visualize what I was reading to them.
Because of the generous donations my project received, my students are now better readers and writers. By reading the nonfiction readers to themselves, they have extended their academic vocabulary. As they listened during our read aloud sessions they benefited from rigid and vivid vocabulary. Being able to cite the sources they used in their writing gave them a reason to write.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. M.
Loving My Listening Center
Funded Jan 21, 2014Your generous donations had a tremendous impact on my students. Before we received the listening materials and novels, I had a single listening center in my classroom. This was the most popular station in my classroom, but it did not impact many students. Since I wanted the students in that group to listen to the entire book it sometimes took two or more weeks before another group of students could use my one listening center.
Once we received our additional supplies, every child in my class of twenty-one students got to read along as a novel above their level was read to them, every day. My advanced students used the listening centers for thirty minutes everyday. My students with phonics deficits spent 15 minutes in the listening center and 15 minutes with me receiving explicit, direct phonics instruction.
My students loved this time during the day! They efficiently entered the classroom after lunch and went straight to their center. One student who was listening to "Shiloh" by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, told me that he found the second and third book of the trilogy in his basement and couldn't wait to read them. Several times my students would reference a book they were reading during a discussion in our reading block.
The supplies you helped my class receive established a strong foundation on which I will continue to build. Even though our summer has started, I am thinking of ways to improve my listening centers next year.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. M.