Past projects 32
Distance Learning Supplemental Materials
Funded May 28, 2020Thank you so much for donating to my project. I had received a voucher from Donor's Choose to buy the majority of the distance learning materials I needed for my students, but there were these two items I wanted to add. With your donations I was able to buy colorful fabric bags to put each of their items in rather than having to use grocery bags. I was also able to give each student a paint by sticker book. My students found their love for this activity during the school year when we used it as a Fun Friday activity.
My students have been so excited to receive their end of year gifts and their parents so appreciative of them. It has also given me the opportunity to say goodbye to each of my students for the school year since it ended so abruptly. So again thank you!!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Ewing-Murphy
This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 5 other donors.Branching Out With Branches Readers
Funded May 6, 2020Thank you so much for all your donations! It means so much to me, especially during teacher appreciation week and all that is going on in the world right now. I can't wait to be back into the classroom and get these books into the hands of my new students next year!!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Ewing-Murphy
Students Beg for More Graphic Novels
Funded Dec 30, 2019My students were so excited to come into the classroom and find this very large box of new graphic novels awaiting them. They were especially excited about the Amulet series as we already had books 1 and 2 from the series in our current library, but they were wanting to know what happens next. I really love that more of my students are enjoying getting involved in book series and are asking me to get the next book for them or when the next book will be made available. These graphic novels have made even my most reluctant readers enjoy having books in front of them. I let my students have a teaser of the new books and then I needed to put our classroom labels on the books so they could be a part of our take home library. All of my students were volunteering to help with this process because they very much wanted to hurry it along and get the books back in their hand. I love seeing my students excited about books and about reading and it was with your donations that it made all that possible. So again thank you so much for deciding my project was worth it!!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Ewing-Murphy
This classroom project was brought to life by An anonymous classroom supporter and 3 other donors.Nos Encanta Leer!
Funded Jul 1, 2019Thank you so much for your donations to help bring books written in Spanish and Hispanic cultural books into my classroom library. Not only are the books being used by my students, but other teachers have asked to borrow them so their students who speak and read Spanish may use them. These books have already helped to impact so many students in such a short amount of time.
I have used these books during our Hispanic Heritage month to introduce Hispanic culture to all my students. Otherwise the students are allowed to read them during free reading time throughout the day. They are also being used as a part of my take home library system so that they can be enjoyed by the families who speak Spanish as well. I even have my students who can speak and read English but come from Hispanic background enjoying these new books. The Dog Man series has definitely been the favorite!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Ewing-Murphy
This classroom project was brought to life by Google.org and 4 other donors.Diverse Readers Become Leaders
Funded Sep 18, 2019Thank you again so much for your donations in helping bring these new diverse books to my classroom library. My students love having these new books. These books are used during Reader's Workshop, when students finish their work early, and the students are able to take them home each week as a part of our Take Home Library. I also do First Chapter Friday in my room, where I read 1-2 chapters of our new books every Friday afternoon. I do this in hopes of getting the students excited about our new books and to introduce them to all the literary genres we have available to us. I've had so many of my students try new literary genres because of these books. My girls are now reading graphic novels, which I'm so excited to help break that stigma that they are only for boys. These books are helping to push my students to read more challenging levels and introduce new vocabulary.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Ewing-Murphy
Books Should Be Windows, Mirrors, and Doors!
Funded May 7, 2019We've only had the books about a week and already my kids are in love with these new books! They were so excited to come in and see the new stack piled high and were so grateful to you all for your kind donations. Every morning the students have a rotation of time in our classroom library of free reading time. They also have a block of time in the afternoon to do independent or partner reading time. This year especially my students' reading levels have grown the most I've ever seen and I believe its due to the high-interest level books I've been donated through Donor's Choose and this donation will just add to that!
Some of the texts I ordered will be used more specifically in the beginning of the year when I am teaching the procedures and expectations of the classroom and throughout the year when I need to reinforce those ideas. I am especially excited about the Teach Your Dragon series as it presents valuable school expectations (i.e. following directions, understanding consequences, etc.) in a fun, understandable way for my students.
Again I thank you so much for helping to get this project funded and getting these books into the hands of my students!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Ewing-Murphy
This classroom project was brought to life by Google.org and 10 other donors.Technology for Our 21st Century Learners
Funded Dec 4, 2018Thank you so much for your donation to provide a set of headphones for each of the students in my classroom. We are very fortunate to have received a school grant to provide each of our students with a Chromebook to be used throughout the day, but it didn't come with headphones. At our school we have a math program called Dreambox which first tests students on their particular math level and then I can also go in and assign them tasks on their level (whether it be above or below second grade). The program is great for differentiation and allows me to look closely at how they are solving each of the problems. Our school has a reading program called Reading A-Z, which has a phonics components as well as a guided reading library. The guided reading library has books in both English and Spanish, which is another great component as I have several ESL students. The program will read the stories out loud to the students if they wish and will have a quiz at the end of each of the stories to check for understanding. Both of these programs requires students to listen to vocal directions, which when all of my students are on the computers it can be quite loud. There are times of the day when I am working with a small group at the same time as students are on the computers and now they no longer have to worry about disrupting my group. Overall the addition of the headphones has streamlined our classroom technology for everyone.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Ewing-Murphy
This classroom project was brought to life by Verizon and 2 other donors.Flexible Seating to Transform the Classroom
Funded May 8, 2018My students are using the resources funded through this project as their seats for the year. Students get to chose their seat for the week every Monday. At the beginning of the year, we went over rules for using each type of seat, how to properly use the seat, and the consequences for not following the rules. The students were so excited to see the resources as most of them had not used flexible seating previously. Currently in my room the flexible seating I have available for students are lap desks, yoga balls, wobble stools, wiggle disk seats, a standing table, and stadium seats at a floor table.
At first I was apprehensive about starting flexible seating because I am a very Type A teacher and like to have things in a certain order. I wasn't sure about how things were going to go with students moving their folders and journals every week and still keeping things organized. By starting the routine the second week of school, my students have learned the expectations and procedures early on. They are doing a really excellent job with and can now move their things on their own without my directions.
The flexible seating options gives each student the opportunity to find a seating spot that is not only comfortable for them, but helps them work out any fidget needs. I have a couple students this year that are diagnosed with ADHD and the yoga balls and wobble stools really help those students with their more energetic needs. Overall, I really enjoy having flexible seating in my classroom and so do my students. Your donation helped make this possible and I thank you so much for that!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Ewing-Murphy
This classroom project was brought to life by General Motors and one other donor.Effective Classrooms Need Supplies
Funded Jun 6, 2018A lot of the supplies that were donated were organizational classroom needs to help the classroom run more smoothly. The book bins went into my classroom library because our district funded our school to get us more books for in our classroom and therefore I needed more bins. The paper trays are being used to organize were students turn in their completed work assignments, homework folder, and extra copies I make. The anchor chart part that you helped buy is something I use everyday for every subject. I use it to make charts about new topics we're learning, procedures I'm teaching, and to collect student ideas.
The scissors and glue sticks provided in this project are used so that every student can have their own set. We use interactive journals in our classroom. Interactive notebooks help students to organize and synthesize ideas with creative, interactive activities. In our classroom we have daily math journal time and weekly science journal time. By giving each student their own set of scissors and glue it cuts down on wait time for my students and allows them to spend more time on the learning part of the activity.
I was able to get these materials funded by the end of last year and get them into the classroom before the beginning of this school year. This helped me immensely when building my classroom environment and setting up routines and procedures. Thank you so much for your generous donation.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Ewing-Murphy
A Child Who Reads Will Be An Adult Who Thinks
Funded Mar 27, 2018In a school with students coming from low-economic homes, many of our students do not have access to books at home. As a part of my daily routine I always allow time for my students to read on their own. In order to increase fluency and strengthen vocabulary skills students need access to books. Therefore I created this project to allow my students to take home books so they can continue reading outside of the classroom. Our school library only lets students checkout one book a day and they are not allowed to take them home. By receiving these book donations my students are now able to take 4 books home a week!
My class and I talked a lot about how to take care of books and how to be responsible for their Book Bag in hopes of making these books last for years to come. My students were so excited to have access to these new high-interest books and the fact that they are now able to take them home was just icing on the cake. I'm excited to see how this increase in reading time will effect their reading level.
Thank you again for your donation, which allows all of this to happen. My students and I are very grateful! I couldn't have made this wish into reality without your help!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Ewing-Murphy
This classroom project was brought to life by Ripple and 4 other donors.