Past projects 6
Revisiting History through Graphic Novels
Funded Jul 18, 2019It is with deep gratitude that I send you my thanks for donating towards my cause of having graphic novels in my classroom. I have many many reluctant readers (they are high school juniors), many English Language Learners, and many special ed students and they are all benefiting from this experience of reading a text unlike what they have read before.
They had a day to look through the different graphic novels and learn about the topics/themes within them and then chose the top 3 they would be interested in reading. To be able to give choice and voice to students is often a luxury; for students to have a choice is a rarity. I have students who said they have never read a complete book finishing these in a day or two. The pictures really say it all--they are engrossed in the books!
Students will be transitioning into research projects about the topic/theme of their graphic novel and having a story that is accessible and interesting can only help them in their journey.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Garvoille
Read It! Share It! Learn From It!
Funded Apr 19, 2018I am humbled by the generosity of all of the people in my little world. I am so very grateful, also, to the donors who I do not know but gave so generously to my students and classroom. My students will have so many more contemporary and culturally-diverse novels to choose from and read.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Garvoille
Turning Technology Lemons into Chromebook Lemonade
Funded Aug 16, 2017Having chromebooks in my classroom this year has been amazing for my students, their learning, and also for me and my teaching. We do pretty much everything online, so there is less paper being used. I have also noticed that students are much more likely to do an assignment and do it with dedication by being able to type instead of write. For example, right now they are writing personal narratives. In the past, when I haven't been able to have computers available, I have found students much less likely to work on a rough draft and/or edit it because it meant handwriting it all over again. Now they are using Google Classroom, can simply "share" their document with a classmate, and the classmate can make comments. No rewriting, no fear of writing on a paper that would require rewriting the paper.
My teaching has improved as well because I can give real time comments on assignments (such as this narrative), I can simply carry my laptop home at nights and on the weekends for grading rather than lugging a back pack full of papers, and I can have lectures online for students who are absent or students who are special education and need to have notes provided.
Finally, the students have expressed how cool it is to just have laptops available every day, and I have been much less stressed about trying to check out a cart (they are in high demand in the school) and much more flexible with timing.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Garvoille
What Will Students Choose to Choose When Given the Choice?
Funded Apr 25, 2016Thank you so very much for donating to my classroom project. It allowed me to add to my in-class library; when a student needs a book recommendation, I now have such a selection to show them. I am using the books (in my room and the library) to implement a new class which is designed around students choosing their own book to read, one that is of interest and reading level. It also helps to have books in my room on those days that a student forgets their book.
Reading days looks like (almost) complete engagement. I have students who said they have never read a book on their own; I have students who have never tried a certain genre but become interested because of a book talk that another student gave. I even have some days that are scheduled for something different and the students are disappointed that they can't "just have a reading day." Projects have been colorful, original, and creative.
I bought quite a few non-fiction books with this project, and those have been a hit among my male students. There are stories of survival (Into the Wild, Tuff Juice, In Cold Blood to name a few), books of poetry, written by young adults, that grab the students' attention. I also have been buying quite a few "urban street lit" that have been hits with both the males and females. They are new titles and authors they haven't heard of; some have found the authors on Twitter and started following them. When one student received a tweet back, he flipped!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Garvoille
RIF (Reading is Fun)
Funded Apr 29, 2016Thank you so very much for donating to my classroom project. It allowed me to add to my in-class library to implement a new class in which students choose what they read rather than having to all read the same book at the same time.
I have students who, when interviewed at the beginning of the year, stated that they hadn't read a book since elementary school. We are now halfway through the school year and at least a handful of these students have read at least 3 books already. I have boys who are reading poetry even though they claimed to not be readers. I also have some who have found the authors on Twitter and started following them. When one student received a tweet back, he flipped!
Books are an essential part of our society. It is also an essential part of keeping students engaged, and keeping them engaged means having books they can relate to as they read. With these donations, I have been able to provide my students with this newly found engagement.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Garvoille
Putting Real Life in Real Hands
Funded Aug 24, 2016Thank you so very much for donating to my classroom project. It allowed me to add quite a few non-fiction books to my in-class library, and those have been a hit among my male students. There are stories of survival, such as Into the Wild, Tuff Juice, A Child Called It, American Sniper...books that have been chosen by a varied selection of students, most importantly, the guys. Many of the male students are also eating up the urban lit books that I was able to buy, stories that feel like real life because they are issues being felt by today, by today's young adults..
While I do have a wonderful library in my school, it has helped to have books right in the room that I can walk students to when they say they can't find anything to read. I don't have them arranged in any particular fashion, which is on purpose so that students, as they browse, see many different types of books and authors and subjects. The one section I do keep separate is the non-fiction. When students say they like real-life stories (or those are the movies they like), I can take them right to one book shelf and give them a variety of topics.
Reading is fundamental. Many of my students have been bored throughout the years of English because they all have read the same book, at the same time, at the same pace. Having a choice of what to read (hopefully) is allowing more engagement in class, and also showing students what else is out there to read.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Garvoille