Past projects 6
Technology Support
Funded Nov 5, 2023Thank you for your generous donation to my class! The iPad has come in handy every week in every class, when we play review games and at least one student every time has an uncharged chromebook or the website is coming up blocked for whatever reason. The iPad helps me have a quick way for them to sign in to the review game so that they are able to reinforce their learning individually rather than sharing with a classmate.
The lightning to HDMI cable has been useful when I have something to show students from the iPad, I can easily connect it to the flat panel display and it automatically mirrors what is on my iPad. This has helped cut down the time that it takes to find things using the flat panel display's computer which leaves more time for instruction and review.
Thank you again for your support of my students' learning.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Sparks
This classroom project was brought to life by Nevada Department of Education.Future Teacher Supplies
Funded Oct 21, 2021Thank you so much for the supplies for my classroom. My students are gaining valuable insight into what it takes to make a classroom feel welcoming and how to create a sense of belonging by celebrating class birthdays and creating bulletin board displays that promote kindness and a supportive classroom environment. Every student's birthday is displayed on the bulletin board during the month of their birthday and as a class, we sing to them on their birthday or before (if it falls on a weekend). The supplies from Lakeshore have made it possible to have each student's name on a monthly themed bulletin board.
The iPad has become very helpful for students to learn about the different apps that are available to young learners, the students they will eventually teach. They have also used the iPad when we play review games collaboratively as a class and for whatever reason their personal chrome book isn't loading the website.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Sparks
Future Teachers!
Funded Oct 1, 2018Thank you so much for the donation credit to my classroom. I've used it to purchase a floor lamp so my students can see in the dark when they take notes from the LCD projector screen and my students, particularly the ones that sit near it, were so happy to benefit from the light it gives.
I also purchased an alphabet rug and flexible seating for a corner of my classroom that we will use to practice reading aloud to children and each other, a valuable skill to develop for future elementary teachers.
I purchased a few games for my teaching students to be able to play and create learning experiences in the elementary classrooms that they 'intern' in once a week. They are learning about how learning through play is more interactive and meaningful for children, and they enjoy using these tools.
My students have also decorated bulletin boards in the classroom, making it more welcoming and educational, and they are proud of their work contributing to creating a healthy learning community in our classroom.
Thank you again for your support.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Sparks
Sewing Machines for Little Dresses for Africa Club
Funded Jul 28, 2015Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your donations toward my Sewing Machines project. I was able to start the Sewing Club at our school this year thanks to you and have empowered young ladies with the knowledge of using a sewing machine and making clothes! I began by enlisting a few students who were interested and teaching them how to thread the machines and sew. They each sewed a dress for little girls in Africa. Then after I had them trained on how to use the machines and how to make the dresses, I put an announcement in to the school news channel and that attracted about 15 students, all of them girls. My original 3 students trained the new girls how to use the machines and since there are 3 machines and many girls, they are coming in after school as their schedules permit and using the machines to practice their skills and sew little dresses for Africa. We are going to be sending our first shipment of dresses in at the end of next month.
The girls are excited to try other projects after we finish with the dresses. One of them has a baby sister and wants to make a bandana bib, another girl wants to make a pencil pouch with a zipper, another want to turn an old t-shirt into a tank top. They are getting excited about the possibilities that lay before them. They can now make things how they want and take pride in their creations. I am overjoyed at their enthusiasm. I can't wait until one of them can answer the question "Where did you get that?" with "I MADE IT!"
I hope you are happy with the satisfaction of knowing that you helped make this a reality and that many little girls in Africa will be receiving new dresses. I get great satisfaction from teaching them how to sew, and from knowing that this is helping two people at once. When they first learn, my students are a little anxious and unsure of themselves. When they see how easy it is, they gain a sense of confidence and are happy to make something useful for someone in need, and they are grateful that even though their seams and stitching isn't always straight, that will not make a difference to the little African girls, they will be grateful for their kindness and the new dress.
I hope you will remember how valuable your donation has been to us and will continue to be throughout the years to many girls.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Sparks
iPad for Research and Vocabulary Practice
Funded Feb 26, 2014My students love having the iPad in our classroom, thank you so much. The Spanish students use it to practice conjugating verbs and to identify and recall new vocabulary through the website Conjuguemos.com. I'm looking into Apps that serve that same purpose also.
I also recently found an app called Charades that you can type your own cards into and I hold it up so the class can see the word but I can't, and they have to use their Spanish knowledge to get me to guess which vocabulary word they are giving me clues about. With certain movements of the iPad it will allow you to either pass that word and go on to the next one or score a point for you. This tool has been tremendous in motivating the kids to build phrases and sentences in Spanish and to get them to think about vocabulary in an 'outside-the-box' way. They get really excited. If students want to be the guesser, I allow them to as well.
Since I have more sections of Spanish in my schedule than of U.S. Government, I notice their learning has been impacted by the iPad more than that of my Government students. They have mostly been using it to google answers to questions they come up with, that I don't know the answer to off the top of my head. While I'm lecturing, I'll often have a curious student ask specific questions like "When was the last time that this happened" and now, thanks to you, instead of saying "I'm not sure" and going back to my lecture, they can look it up and we can all learn and discuss in real time. Even though many kids have smartphones, my classroom is a dead spot for cellular service so they weren't able to use their Internet to look things up previously. Now, thanks to your support we have an iPad that we can connect to the school's Wi-Fi.
Your donation has impacted 180 kids this year and will continue to impact approximately 180-200 kids a year, indefinitely. Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Sparks
Scissors for Spanish Projects
Funded Dec 22, 2007THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR GENEROUS DONATIONS!! My students are going to be thrilled to be using the new scissors and glue in class! I will launch them into a project right after Mid-term exams and they'll enjoy being able to work on their projects in class and get sentence and grammar help from me as they do it! This will help them learn instead of feeling helpless at home as they attempt to use dictionaries and translators to compensate for the words they don't know!!! WE REALLY APPRECIATE IT AND LOOK FORWARD TO USING THEM AND SENDING YOU THANK YOU LETTERS!! HAVE A GREAT HOLIDAY!!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Sparks