Mrs. Serra's Classroom Edit display name

Past projects 5

• IPads for 2nd Grade Math Enrichment: Making Math FUN!

  Funded Oct 6, 2015

  My students have really enjoyed using your gift of the mini IPads for enrichment math practice. The students see using this technology as a reward in our classroom. Our classroom only has four laptops and now has three mini IPads, thanks to you. They know that they must submit their assigned work first and then they can come to me to get the Internet password to do the math enrichment assignment. Also, my math enrichment club has been able to use this these for fun online math games and projects before school. Your support has really increased the activity and motivation level around math because it has made it fun and new! The iPads are a huge success.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Serra

• Cozy Carpet Needed! Encourage 2nd Graders to Read

  Funded Aug 24, 2015

  I truly appreciate your support with the gift of the classroom area rug. I that it was going to be the perfect space for them to do their independent and shared reading time. I had also considered that we would be able to hold class meetings on the carpet, and that I could quietly excuse my students from there at the end of the day.

  All of these things did come true. (My second graders work so hard!) However, even more happened. By giving my students this space to come together within my classroom, they knew that it was their time. Carpet time is almost 100 percent student directed time. They are able to make some choices and can have some autonomy over how they can be successful. I am there to help and answer questions, as needed. This is very empowering to them as a student, and as a class. Because of this donation, and my beautiful area rug, I have students who love to read, ask to share their work, and participate in student-directed meetings.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Serra

• WONDERful Book For 6th Grade Anti-bullying Unit

  Funded Aug 22, 2014

  Thank you for the gift of this book to our class. Because each student was able to have their own materials. We utilized this novel, in small group sharing,for the the students to realize who they did and did not want to want to be or be around as they mature. We laughed, we cried, and we all cheered for Auggie, our protagonist, to finally have a life of a "normal" kid. Although this book illustrates to its readers that "normal" is fuzzy for everyone, and who are we to judge?

  The Characters in Wonder are relatable and likable for any age group. Our students created their own precepts at the end of the novel study. A "precept" is a motto or a general rule intended to regulate behavior or thought. Mr. Brown, Aggie's English teacher had a new one up each day. Our culminating project was for each student to reflect on their life's precept, then share on our class wall. These were inspiring and thoughtful. I will look forward to doing this project again next year. Thank you again for your support.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Serra

  This classroom project was brought to life by Gates Foundation Back To School and 7 other donors.

• Sleeping Bags Needed For Science Camp!

  Funded Sep 15, 2014

  Thank you so much for the much needed gift of sleeping bags for use in our environmental science camp. We go every year for three days and two nights. This is often the first time any of our students have spent a night away from home. Being comfortable is paramount to making them feel safe.

  Thanks to your generosity, we were able to offer this gear to our students in need. This took a financial burden away from the already sometimes overwhelmed parents at our school. We had asked them to pay a tuition for camp, and this can be a hardship for some.

  Your grant of ten sleeping bags has enabled our students to focus on the task of learning. They can also have a wonderful time at camp because they knew they were going to be warm, cozy at night. We were very pleased to have very happy campers this year and will have for many years in the future with this nice gift.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Serra

• The Time Machine: Advanced Readers Need Challenge

  Funded Dec 10, 2013

  Thank you again for your generous support with these higher-level novels for my advanced reading class. The students were eagerly anticipating the challenge, and while some dug into the content right away, others needed a little more coaching to embrace H.G. Wells style of writing and a handy dictionary standing by to decipher unknown vocabulary.

  One student compared reading this book to our unit on reading Shakespeare earlier in the year. He said that once he got comfortable with the vocabulary, then he could comprehend what was going on in the story. Another student told me that she had never liked the genre of science fiction until we had read The Time Machine.

  I have had fun listening to the students debate within their literature circles over the class struggles of the Elois and the Murlocks. I hope that by reading books like this we can debate these topics and keep asking these questions. Please check out my website where I will post all final projects. This book has really inspired me to teach more classics. We appreciate support with the gift of books like these. We do encourage the students to read at or above their lexile level. These books can be hard to find at an elementary library when the students are higher-level readers. The Time Machine was a very challenging read with a high lexile, strong vocabulary and high content. Plus, it is fun and entertaining!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Serra