Past projects 53
Thinking in Pictures
Funded May 3, 2016Hello, Hello!
Because this project was funded so near the end of the school year, it will be my current class of fourth graders that benefits from it. The portfolios, for which this project was intended, are part of our classroom conversation all year long. From day one, the students are aware that the learning they are doing and the projects they are making will become part of this portfolio. Having the portfolios here for them to see was EXTRA powerful this year!
Also, we are wrapping-up our unit on Utah Environments, and the students will be using the bake-able clay to form critical parts of their chosen environment for a diorama that will be used to make an iMovie. Because many students don't have access to e-mail or the Internet at home, taking still photos of their movie will serve as an artifact to put in their portfolios.
Thank you so very much for your generosity and willingness to support creative learning in the classroom!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Ekins
This classroom project was brought to life by The Horace Mann Companies and 8 other donors.Tricky Teachers use Science to Get Students Reading
Funded Oct 23, 2015Thank you oh so very much for these valuable classroom tools. There were a couple of weeks when the students were studying Utah environments without the engaging text from this project that would soon be arriving. I tried my best to find engaging articles on the Internet. Then, the day the books arrived in the office, and the class got to research from a variety of text that is colorful and interesting, the attitude of the classroom changed. I was now teaching genuine, curious scientists. The fourth graders felt the feeling of discovery of interesting information.
We immediately used the science books to do research and write informational books about how to help specific Utah environments. They researched published books and shared them with our second-grade neighbors. Thank you for giving us a resource that allowed not only our class to learn, but allowed us to share our learning with others.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Ekins
Working Hard, Learning a Lot, Finishing the Year
Funded Apr 9, 2015It is a pleasure to write you this thank you letter and spend time reflecting on the resources you provided for my class after the school year has ended.
The blank, hard cover books were cheerfully used to publish the students' autobiographies. I was astounded by the charming, silly, informative, and heart-breaking "chapters" they wrote. Our class also used those books as a way to bring their families into our learning community. Families were invited to the publishing party and loved reading about their own families as well as others. It was a day or reading, chatting, and snacking in our school library that will not be forgotten.
As the 180 day school year came to a close, the students worked down to the last moment organizing and reflecting on their second grade school year. They meticulously organized the school work and projects they had been storing away all year. Their "ahas" as they could physically see the learning that had taken place gave me the chills.
Thank you so very much for your kindness and generosity. Your impact is felt by twenty-four second graders, their teacher, and now their families as they cherish their stored work from second grade.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Ekins
I Read, You Read, We all Read for Comprehension
Funded Oct 14, 2014The second graders and I are proud to announce that we started our second chapter book today! This is the second chapter book we are able to read because we have a class set due to this project and your incredible kindness. I am not over exaggerating when I say the kids cheer EVERYDAY at 1:30 because it is time to read. Even my most struggling readers, who at the beginning of the year struggled with the alphabet and sounds of the letters, are THRILLED they can identify sight words in the books and sound out other simple words. These students also follow along diligently, seeing and hearing words they would not otherwise know. On the other end of the spectrum, other students cannot help but read ahead a chapter or two. During six years of using the district mandated program, that NEVER happened. The kids love these books. They are unforgettable and an excellent way to teach whole class reading. So much of reading is the joy we in it. Thank you for giving us the tools to feel that joy!
We have also had a few opportunities to experiment with the art supplies and printer ink. At Halloween, we did printing with our new rollers and ink after reading a book about ghosts. The color printer ink has been such a luxury as we read and study weather during science. The weather reports the kids did after reading look amazing with authentic photos.
Thank you for these supplies that will be cherished for years to come. And thank you for providing tools that will help give children a second grade experience they will never forget.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Ekins
This classroom project was brought to life by an anonymous donor and one other donor.Big Projects...For a BIG Year
Funded Jan 11, 2014The end of the school-year is in full swing! The kids are finishing final projects and anticipating putting together their portfolios. All year we discuss how important certain projects and final drafts are and those projects are SO important they are saved at school to be put in our portfolios. The kids have begun to ask daily when we will be putting our portfolios together and when they get to take their work home to share with their families.
We are also in the middle of writing our LAST writing portfolio piece, which is an autobiography. They are working on their rough drafts and are truly showing everything they have learned about becoming a good writer. They know the value of the hard cover final drafts that await them. The students in my class genuinely appreciate these supplies and are showing great care in the way they will use them.
Thank you so very much for supporting a classroom that functions around giving kids experiences they will never forget.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Ekins
This classroom project was brought to life by Wells Fargo & the Eccles Foundation and 10 other donors.We Want to Become Second Grade MacBook Pros
Funded Oct 4, 2013Thank you so very much for this amazing tool for our classroom. It is truly a luxury I never could have imagined having. It is AMAZING what I have been able to already do with the MacBook for the classroom and in the classroom.
I have parent volunteers come to the classroom to help type student stories. This MacBook makes their job so much easier because they can plop down right next to the student and type their published piece. We also have recently been allowed to login to our school district's wireless from our own laptops and other devices. The parents help enter reading minutes and other information needed through the Internet.
Receiving this incredible MacBook and now being allowed to use the wireless internet has made our new MacBook an amazing tool for the students. Their favorite thing to do is listen to estorybooks they checkout from the county library's website.
We have become a very tech savvy (and technology rich) classroom. Thank you beyond words for giving my students a chance to have the best technology the world has to offer.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Ekins
Ready, Get Set, GO...Back to School!
Funded Aug 30, 2013It is truly amazing how HUGE the benefits of basic school supplies are. First, they allow the students to do required classwork and homework with supplies I know are time tested for quality and meet our classroom needs.
Another benefit of the school supplies we received is the opportunity to learn how to take care of items and to learn responsibility. Each time an item you have given us has been introduced, the kids have brainstormed the correct ways to use it. As well as things we would never see happen to our new classroom supplies. Especially with the school year underway and pencils running low on their original erasers, the new pencil top erasers are beloved by the kids. They are careful to get them only when needed. And, because they are of such high quality, there have been no eraser crumbles or cracked eraser tops.
Thank you so much for giving us the tools we need to start the year off right!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Ekins
Time to Finish the Year...and Think about Thinking
Funded Mar 7, 2013The portfolios and notebooks have arrived! All school year the kids have been storing away their best work and hearing me say again and again, "This is a portfolio piece. You'll look at it all the time, even when you're eighty years old." A few times this school year, the students have looked through their entire hanging file of saved work. They are amazed at their improvements and are motivated to set higher standards for their work.
When the box of portfolio items arrived, I was excited to show them their actual portfolios. They were in complete awe, to say the least. The portfolios allow me to give them a special place to keep their precious, second grade work.
Thank you so very much for giving our class this amazing tool to finish our school year and to have work from their childhood saved and organized in such a professional way.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Ekins
This classroom project was brought to life by Friends at the Eccles Foundation and Wells Fargo and 11 other donors.We Count On Reading
Funded Feb 8, 2013The books have arrived and have quickly become celebrities in the eyes of the kids! It is well researched that good readers make connections to the text they read. They connect the story they are reading to other books they have read, to themselves, or to the world around them. In our classroom, we've created a new way to connect to text....with text to math connections! Because most of these books are written to include a math concept, making math connections with these books is easy to do and extremely engaging for the second graders.
So far, we've read several books that have connections to beginning multiplication. A couple of the books have obvious ways to connect multiplication to the story. But, one of them was merely about a guy who wore hats to make him feel happy. On bad days, the man wears more than one hat. Using the book as a springboard, I asked the kids what would happen if he had several bad days in a row. How many hats would he need? Because the kids adored his character and the story, when I introduced the day's math task, the kids had a reason to care about the math they were doing.
Thank you for giving us these AMAZING stories that are filled with interesting characters, great plots, and mathematics!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Ekins
This classroom project was brought to life by Friends at the Eccles Foundation and Wells Fargo and 7 other donors.Technically the Kids Adore Technology
Funded Oct 10, 2012I am surprised and delighted at the many uses we have immediately found for our iPad. First, the students almost choked when we opened it together. The wonder of Apple products, and the innate ability the kids have to work them, astounds me. Several parents expressed deep thanks and excitement that their child would have such a motivating tool to use in the classroom.
So far, the students have used it to practice math facts when they are done with the day's assignment. We have hooked it to the SmartBoard to allow the entire class to join in the iPad fun and learning! During small reading groups, I use the iPad to provide spelling interventions to students at risk for reading. It's motivating and we see progress.
My favorite use, from a teacher's perspective, is it's easy recording ability. In my class, the kids read their stories they have written to an adult, to be typed and printed. However, the long line of stories waiting to be published was growing fast! In a panic, I began having the kids read their stories to "Steve", the iPad. That way, the kids got to read their stories out loud, fix any last minute mistakes, and I could type their stories from the iPad after school.
The iPad is also has an excellent quality camera we have already utilized to document our year of learning!
Thank you for such an extravagant, and incredibly useful tool for our classroom!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Ekins