Past projects 42
Insects, Volcanoes, The Human Body... Oh My!
Funded May 1, 2018This has been the most exciting project to date! We dove into our new science books and just couldn't get enough. My students have been endlessly curious about different animals, the weather and anything science. With the recent volcano eruptions in Hawaii, we have gotten into natural disasters, the earth and how all of these natural phenomenon occur. Every morning we look up new videos of the volcano and determine if anything has changed. The best part about all of this is that we now have books to support our learning! We have learned about the layers of the earth, tectonic plates and earthquakes--wow!
These books will be used during independent reading, during our non-fiction reading and writing units and for read-alouds. My students always have access to them and will be able to use them in so many different ways.
Thank you for being a part of our science adventure. Our curiosity about the world is only growing and as a teacher I could not ask for more!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Angelique
Authors Of The Future: Digitizing Our Writing
Funded Feb 18, 2018The difference these iPads have made in our classroom is truly immeasurable. The students are learning how to type, have used reading programs, have digitized their stories by typing and animating the pictures, we have implemented additional math work for them, etc. It is impressive to see first hand the impact that technology can have on a classroom of first graders. It has been so fun to watch them explore and discover new tools, apps and capabilities that the iPads have. Each and everyone of them are excited to "play" on them and we are just as excited knowing how much learning they are doing! These iPads have just shown us how the impact technology can have in our classrooms.
My students are at the age where they are not only eager to learn but they also absorb everything that they are taught. Technology has become part of our every day life and if it imperative that my students continue being exposed to technology and how to use it to advance themselves. We are planning on finding appropriate apps for coding, games for types and other activities that may better prepare our students to be citizens of our world. We can not wait to see all the growth that will continue to happen! Thank you for being a part of our journey.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Angelique
This classroom project was brought to life by AT&T and 6 other donors.Laminating Our Learning: Make Our Materials Last
Funded Dec 17, 2017These laminating sheets have been a game changer in our classroom! From number lines to reusable writing worksheets, we have been able to create a plethora of materials that can be used and reused in order to save paper and get extra practice.
One of my favorite parts of laminating has been recreating our morning meeting and calendar materials. I have made a place value chart, laminated days of the week and created magnetic names in order to participate in an interactive morning meeting. Every afternoon I am able to erase the work that was done allowing us to practice once again the following morning. The students love it!
With these materials I have also been able to make reusable games and flashcards that I have sent home for additional help. When the materials are laminated not only do they last longer but they can then be returned for another student to use.
These laminating sheets have truly impacted our learning and we are so grateful to all of you!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Angelique
Major Magazine Madness
Funded Jan 26, 2018Thank you all so much for allowing this project to come to life! We received our preview of the scholastic magazines and we are so excited to start getting the weekly magazines in the mail. The students have looked through these issues multiple times and are fascinated with the current events, science and social studies that are in the magazines. Since receiving these magazines my students have been more curious about the world around them and are eager to get their questions answered. Seeing my students gain interest in different topics through these articles and images allows me to get excited simply because I know that they are gaining an appreciation and love for reading. These magazines have already made a large impact.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Angelique
Creating Worlds Through Imaginative Play
Funded Feb 7, 2018Thank you so much. My students were beyond excited when they saw all of the new creative play materials after one of their specials. We broke up into small groups and all of the students got to explore the new materials. Within minutes the small groups were creating towns, making up stories and communicating! It is incredible how playing and using your imagination can promote story telling, help build relationships and increase overall classroom community. I can't wait to see how much this creative time impacts our academic and social skills.
My students now have toys and tools that they have never been exposed to before and it is truly magnificent to watch. Thank you for allowing my students to have these opportunities!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Angelique
Books for Scientists, Historians and Mathematicians
Funded Jan 10, 2018The impact of these books has been truly incredible. Our students have been fascinated by all of the different topics that they can learn about and we have had many impromptu lessons surrounding topics they have brought up because of them. Just the other morning, we were heading on a field trip when we discussed museums, what they are and why we go to them. The topic of Ancient Egypt came up and one of the students remembered that they had a book about Pyramids in their book baggie. The discussion continued into a lesson about pyramids, mummies and pharaohs. Using our document camera we were able to look at all of the beautiful pictures and read the text in order to learn more and answer the questions that we had. A week later, our students are still talking about what they learned during that lesson--and it all started because of one of the books we got from this project!
These books have not only impacted our whole group lessons but they have also been used in small group work, independent reading and writing. Students have been able to chose non-fiction books to put in their book baggies and read on a daily basis. In writing, we are currently writing non-fiction chapter books and these books have served as mentor texts for a number of our students.
Simply put--these books have had an immense impact on my students and our classroom. Our students are motivated, interested and curious about the topics we are discussing which is truly heart-warming to see as their teacher.
Thank you so much for allowing my students the opportunity to engage with engaging and appropriate non-fiction books.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Angelique
One Document Camera... Endless Opportunities
Funded Dec 31, 2017Our document camera has changed our classroom!
The document camera has changed the way we do everything--from reading a book aloud to math game demonstrations. When reading aloud we are now able to look at and analyze pictures in detail as all of the students are able to see it full screen on our smart board. We can in real time point at images, circle a clue or cover the words. In writing, we have multiple students who are eager to share their hard work in front of the class. Every couple of days we have a few students share their work allowing them to feel proud of everything that they have accomplished. This also allows our students to be invested in each other causing our classroom community to go stronger. In math we play a lot of card games and it has been an incredible experience to show the games prior. Our students can ask questions when they are unclear and are ready to get straight to work when they are sent off to try it on their own.
For our students who are visual learners this tool has made an immense impact on their learning. We went from having to demonstrate activities or show work in a cramped way where students lost interest to being able to have all students involved and focused at the same time. We get excited every time we are able to use this new tool in our classroom!
Thank you SO much for allowing my students to have access to technology that they otherwise might not have access to. My class of first graders is eager to learn and it is a wonderful feeling to be able to provide them with what they need.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Angelique
Write, Wipe, Repeat: Individual Dry Erase Boards
Funded Nov 30, 2017Have you ever seen 25 first graders overexcited about writing a sight word during shared-writing? What about two students working independently on math problems while using both a number line and a 10-frame? These materials have made all of this our classroom reality--it has been incredible.
My students absolutely LOVE the different write and wipe materials that we got for our classroom from this project. From the personal erasers to the hundreds charts, they have been more engaged and eager to participate across the subjects and throughout the lessons. We have used these materials in a variety of ways (whole group, small group and independent work) and their impact is evident! We use them in reading when working on guided-reading, in phonics when spelling out words with blends and digraphs, in writing when trying our best to spell tricky words and in math in order to visualize our problems.
The students have learned exactly when and how we appropriately use the materials and have been able to gain lots of independence in the process. They know that this is just another tool that they can use when working hard and allowing their brain to grow.
Thank you for giving my students more opportunities to make mistakes and grow from them.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Angelique
Peace Around The Classroom: A Calm Down and Reflection Corner
Funded Nov 28, 2017I can not begin to describe how thankful my students and I are for having the materials from this project. These materials have had a huge impact on our overall classroom community and it has been great to watch.
Since receiving our materials we have done multiple class-wide lessons, projects and discussions on kindness, emotions, stress and feeling safe. My students feel more and more comfortable opening up about how they are feeling and why--which has allowed our classroom community to grow very close very quickly. The students have been asking each other independently how they are feeling and they have been working together to make sure that everyone feels included. We have become a true team!
We completed a week-long project on "The Invisible Boy" and the students had a wonderful time talking about times they have felt sad, hurt or lonely and then problem solving to find ways to make sure that does not happen again. They wrote letters to one another and expressed why our class is special.
The last couple of weeks with our new materials have been incredible and I can't wait to watch how the materials help my students grow even more in this new year! Thank you all a million!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Angelique
This classroom project was brought to life by Born This Way Foundation and 7 other donors.Wiggle the Wiggles Away: OT Tools For Our Classroom
Funded Nov 29, 2017Thank you. I could have never imagined the impact that wobble stools and stability cushions could have made on our students. The students absolutely love being able to wiggle while at their desks and the number of times we have had students tell us how much they like them has been eye opening.
During whole group, small group and independent instruction, students are able to ask for a tool (wobble stool, stability cushion, fidget, etc.) if they believe that it will help them learn in some sort of way. We have had discussions that all students are different and have different needs when it comes to learning. Every single student has tried out the tools and they have made the decisions independently as to whether or not they feel like the tools have impacted their learning. There are some mornings where 10+ students will walk into class and ask for a tool and there are some mornings where only 2-3 students feel like they need a tool. Their independence and self-awareness has sky rocketed and its impact is apparent.
I am extremely excited to start new units and new adventures alongside our OT tools in the classroom. I have no doubt that the focus and learning within out classroom will be magical to watch.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Angelique