Past projects 4
Diverse Literature in Diverse Genres From Diverse Authors
Funded Aug 22, 2018I want to take a moment to thank you sincerely for the books that you have all provided. They have fulfilled a number of needs in my classroom and you were a part of that. Let me begin by talking about all of those nonfiction books. The nonfiction books that you provided were used as a support to an assignment that my advanced students have had since I started working here. Our students are asked to select a book and read it in its entirety. After they have completed the book, they analyze it and write a very brief essay analyzing the author's purpose and whether the author is successful in their attempt to accomplish it. As a midway point in this assignment, students were asked to sit down with me while I read randomly from three passages. They then had to give me some background for what is going on in those passages. Often my students who have finished the book have already returned the book to the library by this point and no longer had access to this book. So this enabled this assignment to happen more easily.
Another thing that I asked for was a variety of graphic novels that represented diversity. These were graphic novels that had more diverse protagonists and a set of graphic novels that were nonfiction in nature. The nonfiction graphic novels specifically told the story of John Lewis's work in the Civil Rights Movement. I value these because I have a diverse classroom with students who I want to be able to see themselves in literature.
Finally, thank you so much for the copies of the Thesaurus. These will help the students during their actual standardized test. In fact we are finding that these are far more helpful than dictionaries for helping students to gain understanding of difficult words or terms.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Cambra
This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 8 other donors.Teens Meet World (Through Nonfiction)
Funded Aug 14, 2017Thank you so much for the time, effort, and money of donating to my classroom. These books were just what we needed to complete an extended project we give to our Pre AP students every year using a Nonfiction book. Having the books in class helped our students in a number of ways which I would like to enumerate further.
First of all, working in a school that is 50+% free and reduced lunch means that many of my students cannot afford to purchase these books for themselves. Further, many of them do not yet have cars and do not have parents that can get them to the library on a regular basis. We try to be creative with a number of solutions to these problems, but having a copy of the books in class is probably the best possible option for these kids.
Secondly, we are able to spend time working with the students on how to recognize valid sources and good research. We are able to discuss the difference between primary and secondary sources. These discussions are more valuable in our current media climate than ever. We want our students to be able to make wise choices when choosing sources.
Ultimately, I couldn't do what I do in my classroom without the help of people like you, so thank you very much.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Cambra
This classroom project was brought to life by Sergey Brin Family Foundation and 4 other donors.Graphic Novels For Increasing Love Of Reading
Funded Apr 18, 2014We received the graphic novels that each of you made possible near the end of the school year. The students were so excited. I had witnessed them leaning towards the graphic novels in our school library and so I knew that they would really appreciate having them in the classroom. I was not disappointed in their reactions. Even as I was unpacking them and putting my classroom stamp on the inside covers, the kids were drifting over and trying to sneak a peak at what had been brought into the room.
As a result of seeing a new interest in reading amongst some kids who had shown very little previous inclination, I decided to create more weekly reading time in the class. The students were elated, though somewhat sad that it was so late in the school year that I made that decision. This year, I will offer them a little bit of free time every Friday to read a book of their choice and I know these will be some of the most sought out books during that time. Last year, on testing days, they were the first books students picked up when they completed their EOC tests.
Every statistic I look at shows that the biggest factor in whether a student is successful or not is if they are into reading. That is why I want to continue to make my classroom a room that celebrates and elevates the value of reading.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Cambra
Young Adult Boxsets Encourage Ongoing Reading
Funded Aug 23, 2014Because of your amazing generosity, my students will have a vast array of books to choose from as we work to increase a love of literacy in all students. The box sets that you helped me to purchase for my classroom will give them the opportunity to fall in love with a character and read anywhere from 3 to 7 books about the character. I believe this will make a huge impact in their love for reading.
Statistically, teachers spend an average of $480 a year on supplies. Many go far above and beyond this. Even after spending all of that money they are struggling because they really, really want to spend more to make their rooms better. People like you make it possible for us to do more than we ever possibly could without you.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Cambra
This classroom project was brought to life by Gates Foundation Back To School and 9 other donors.