Past projects 34
Cooks and Books: Celebrating Math and Literacy
Funded Apr 7, 2022Thank you so much for donating money to purchase books for our school's "Cooks and Books" event. Each student received their very own copy of Short and Sweet by Josh Funk. Since this event had to be held virtually, this allowed each child to have a copy of the book to read along with me as I read aloud.
The students were so excited to participate in what will now be known as our First Annual Cooks & Books event. We made a yogurt apple dip after reading the book. Students gave the snack a thumbs up during the event and even brainstormed various ingredients that could be added to the dip to make it even better.
The next morning at school, students were raving and asking the math coach and me to hold the event again the next school year. So, of course we are now planning for our second Cooks and Books event, which we will hopefully hold in person this year. We could not have had such success without your support. Thank you for generously supporting my students and our educational activities.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Gingrich
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose community & an Anonymous Partner and 5 other donors.Quality Books for an Award Winning Education
Funded Mar 18, 2021Thank you so much for making one of favorite annual school projects possible! With your help, I was able to purchase the 10 books on the Virginia Readers' Choice Primary list. Each grade level will receive a copy of each book to share among themselves and read aloud to students After reading all 10 books students will be asked to vote for their favorite and we will submit our votes to the Virginia Readers' Choice Committee. We cannot wait to find out if our favorite book is the same as the favorite book across Virginia!
This project is one of my favorites because I get to share new and noteworthy books with all 300+ students in my school building. It gives us a common ground for discussing books and literacy across grade levels K - 5. This project helps build a love a literature and reading within my building. It makes me so happy to see students rereading the books over and over again and discussing them with one another.
With your generosity we are able to continue providing students with books they love and add them to our classroom libraries. This project would not be possible without your support. Thank you for helping to make this project a reality!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Gingrich
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 6 other donors.Read My Lips: Fresh Air Literacy Instruction
Funded May 3, 2021Thank you for your support of my project for which I purchased materials to help create flexible learning spaces as my students and I transition back to in person learning. Your donations helped me purchase individual lap desks, foam squares, masks with clear mouth spaces, and cleaning supplies. I am thrilled to be able to use these items with my students and to help keep my students germ-free.
With the need to social distance this year, the individual lap desks allow me to keep my students apart while also still working in a small group. The flexible learning space materials also allow me to work in various parts of my school building. For one of my groups, I am able to work in the hallway outside the students' classrooms instead of walking the students up and down 3 flights of stairs. This saves us time and allows us to spend more time working on foundational reading skills. The clear face masks also allow students to see the position of my mouth when I teach them letter sounds. It's difficult enough to hear through the masks that we must wear daily but it's also detrimental to letter sound knowledge when students cannot see the correct mouth formation.
Your support means that we can be safe while also building foundational reading skills. With this project we are able to spend a greater amount of time working on skills while also ensuring that we remain germ-free. Thank you again!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Gingrich
This classroom project was brought to life by Ford Drive 4 UR School and 3 other donors.Multi-Sensory Reading Instruction for Virtual Learning
Funded Sep 4, 2020What a school year this has been! Our district has decided that we will remain virtual for the entire year. Therefore, I thank you for so generously donating to my project that has allowed me to get materials into my students' hands. This year since I am unable to hand my students materials daily as we sit around a table, I must vary my methods of providing instruction. With your support, I have been able to provide my students with materials several times this year by either dropping the supplies at their houses or sending them through the mail.
With the supplies purchased, I have been able to print and laminate materials that ensure my students are able to write and spell during our lesson each day. While there are online/virtual whiteboards, these are difficult for my younger students to use. Students also retain information better by physically writing with markers or pencils. Thank you for helping to ensure that my students are able to write each day.
Along with this, I was able to provide my students with several manipulatives that help them to sound out words. By moving a bingo chip or a bead for every sound they hear in a word the students are better able to break words apart and then write the letters to spell words. My students and I are grateful that you are helping us to continue learning in this new environment.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Gingrich
Building Background Knowledge with Scholastic News
Funded May 8, 2020Thank you for generously supporting my project to provide my students with copies of Scholastic News and Scholastic Storyworks magazines! These magazines provide my students with articles and stories that make reading exciting while also providing needed background knowledge. Engaging my students in interesting material helps ensure that they will continue reading and continue building their foundational literacy skills.
Due to teaching virtually this year, I am just now beginning to use the digital version of these magazines with my students. I am holding onto the print copies to give to my students the next time we distribute textbook materials. Now that Scholastic has made the magazines and activities available digitally, I am able to share my screen with students during our Google meetings. I am also able to assign fun articles for students to read during their independent worktime. I know that by providing articles about lizards that lick their eyes or articles about how pop rocks candies are made, my students will be more likely to read on their own time, even when I cannot be there to monitor them.
Again, thank you for taking the time to support my students and their literacy skills!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Gingrich
This classroom project was brought to life by SONIC Drive-In and 4 other donors.Reflecting on Life Experiences through Graphic Novels
Funded Mar 2, 2020Thank you for your generous support of my project, "Reflecting on Life Experiences through Graphic Novels"! With your support I was able to purchase copies of two graphic novels to give to each student in two fifth grade classes. It is such a thrill to walk into a classroom carrying brand new books and tell the students that they get to actually keep them.
This project is especially meaningful to me at this time. While I did not personally get to read and discuss the books with my students, I was able to give each student their two books on the last day of school before we shut down due to the Coronavirus. While school ended halfway through the third quarter (we are not returning this year), I was thankful that I was able to provide reading material for my students to have at home with them.
Graphic novels are an extremely popular genre with my students right now. I am confident that my students are enjoying these books as they stay safely at home. Both books are about characters dealing with difficult life events. My students may connect deeply to these books at this time. Again, I am truly grateful for your support in funding this project so that I was able to get these books to the students in time.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Gingrich
This classroom project was brought to life by A group of anonymous donors and 5 other donors.Back to Basics for Early Literacy
Funded Dec 3, 2019Thank you for your generous donations to help us get back to basics with early literacy. My young students have loved using the new supplies that we received. The play dough and wiki sticks have allowed us get creative in learning our letters. The students have a blast trying to figure out how to make letters out of the wiki sticks. They love carving letters into a slab of play dough. These activities have helped keep my active students engaged in what we are doing by providing hands-on, tactile learning. My students have had to work in small groups to put magnetic alphabet letters in abc order. The pride on their faces is heartwarming when they can display what they know.
The other materials have allowed me to make games to play during group time and to send home for family time. Creating a fun learning game is as simple as writing on blank note cards and putting them into a bag. It's not much but it excites the kids to have time for games or to have something to take home to show parents.
Again, I thank you for helping to make learning fun for my students. Establishing a love of learning and reading early on will help ensure my students are successful as they continue their educations. I truly appreciate the help you have given in providing my students with a strong start their learning.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Gingrich
This classroom project was brought to life by An anonymous classroom supporter and 4 other donors.Quality Books for an Award-Winning Education
Funded Jul 17, 2019Thank you for your generous donations that helped me purchase copies of 10 books found on the Virginia Reader's Choice Award List. This is one of my favorite school-wide programs to implement each year. It is only possible with the funding provided by donors like you.
In January we will begin reading each of the 10 books as a school. Each week I give two books to the grade level teachers to read aloud to their students. When all books have been read, the students vote for their favorite book and I submit these votes to the reading council to see if our favorite was also the state favorite.
These brand new read alouds increase the excitement about reading in my school. A book that a teacher has read aloud to students is more likely to be picked up and reread by a student. This program also allows us to have school-wide conversations about books. Students and teachers from various grade levels often discuss the books as they see each other throughout the school.
Again, we could not do this without you! Thank you!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Gingrich
This classroom project was brought to life by Craig Newmark Philanthropies and 4 other donors.Reflecting on Life Experiences Through Graphic Novels
Funded Aug 13, 2019Thank you for your generous support in ensuring that my students have books to add to their home libraries. My students were ecstatic when they saw me standing with a pile of brand new books. The look of astonishment on their faces was heartwarming as I told them they could put their names inside the cover of the book and keep it as their own.
Graphic novels have become extremely popular with students over the last few years. They have encouraged more of my students to pick up a book and read for pleasure. While my students are reading for pleasure they are also learning without knowing it.
The graphic novel El Deafo by CeCe Bell is autobiographical, telling the story of CeCe Bell's hearing difficulties and struggle with having hearing aids. Through this story, my students will learn the lessons of perseverance and overcoming obstacles in their own lives. They will also get to know the features of a graphic novel and how they work together to help the reader develop comprehension of the story.
Again, thank you for all you have done to help my students enjoy reading.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Gingrich
This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 5 other donors.Building Background Knowledge With Scholastic News
Funded Jun 13, 2019Thank you for your generosity in providing the funds for us to purchase Scholastic News magazines. I am thrilled to be using these magazines with my fourth and fifth graders this year and can't believe that I haven't used them in the past. Scholastic News is engaging my most struggling students in reading and critical thinking.
The Scholastic News magazines come with several engaging articles each week that allow my students to stay up-to-date on current topics. So far this year we have read about excursions to the Titanic wreck, the Amazon Rainforest, and an interview with an extremely popular children's author. There is always an article that will catch the eye of every student.
I have been amazed to see the engagement and the learning that has taken place. My students are making connections from one week to another. One week we read about pygmy sloths and the next week my students were ecstatic to point out a picture of a pygmy marmoset in a new magazine. They were eager to tell me that they remembered the meaning of the word "pygmy." In reading about the burning rainforest, my students connected to information they had seen in a TV program. We were then able to build on this knowledge to see how the rainforest affects our own lives.
Thank you again for providing my students with exciting reading material that is engaging them in science and social science matters. The background knowledge and connections they are building are invaluable to their success as readers.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Gingrich