Past projects 105
Potpourri of Class Supplies
Funded Mar 25, 2019Thank you so much for helping to fund this project, Potpourri of Class Supplies. The materials arrived in late March, and I've been using them in my classroom since.
The photos posted with this project show one of the activities I did with the wood blocks. My students explored configurations of three and four blocks which met certain conditions. In the process, they recreated a classic puzzle from the 1950s called a Soma cube. Once they had the necessary configurations, we glued the blocks in place so each student had a puzzle with seven pieces. Continuing the geometrical exploration, I then challenged them to try to create certain shapes out of their seven pieces.
None of this would have been possible without your support. Thank you so much.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Stern
This classroom project was brought to life by Verizon and 2 other donors.Laser Cutter For STEM Explorations
Funded Feb 28, 2019Thank you so much for helping fund this exciting resource. I have been reading about laser cutters for several years, and noticed that the price is coming down enough that it was conceivable to get one for my classroom. I am really happy that I was able to fund it, with your help.
The package arrived on a day when I was out of town at a conference. As soon as I got back to school, I brought it up to my room, and a student helped me open it. Lasers can be dangerous so I made sure we read all the safety information before proceeding. There are a few projects I want to try which require some materials (plywood) that I didn't have on hand in the classroom. So I thought of some simpler things to get my feet wet in cutting, and to get the students involved.
I decided to cut student names into the folders they use to store their work. After a little trial and error I got exactly the right intensity and speed settings to cut through the top layer, but not scorch the next layer. After the first couple, students saw what was happening, and asked excitedly to be next.
I call this success. I have students excited about a mathematical design process. This could not have happened without your help. Thank you again.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Stern
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose.org Community and 3 other donors.Break Out Your Thinking
Funded Apr 7, 2018Thank you so much for your generosity, and I apologize for taking so long to write back to you. I have just completed my second "Breakout" activity with my students, and want to share my reflections with you.
Although BreakoutEDU has a number of pre-made activities on their website, for this second activity I chose to write my own. I used some of the standard puzzles -- fluorescent writing that is invisible until the students find the UV flashlight, letter transposition ciphers, etc. -- I also wrote a specific maze that related to our most recent unit on mathematical sequences. After the students successfully "broke out" and got their prize I asked a few students what they thought of the puzzles. Almost all spoke glowingly of them. I then asked what they would have thought of the maze without the Breakout context. All said they would have refused to do it.
That's one of the powers of this activity. Practicing skills in the context of a game is fun.
Thank you again for helping bring this project to fruition.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Stern
Supplies to Get Us Through the Year
Funded Nov 28, 2017Thank you so much for helping to fund this project. As the year draws to a close, inevitably it seems certain supplies run short. Somehow the school supply room is unable to order when we get late in the year. For that reason, I turn to generous donors such as you.
Sometimes minor things can be the most important. For example, colored pencils. Many people don't realize how vital these simple things can be to a high school math classroom. Color helps distinguish between key characteristics, and having a generous supply of color pencils means I can give students easy access to my supply.
The other items in this proposal are similarly simple, yet important. Thank you again for making it possible for us to close out the year.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Stern
This classroom project was brought to life by Con Edison and 3 other donors.Robotic Rovers for the Classroom
Funded Mar 5, 2018Thank you so much for helping to fund this project. I first saw the Texas Instruments Robotic Rovers over a year ago, and was intrigued that students would be able to program and interact with them without any need for a computer. That is, the programming environment is calculator-based. Since my class already uses TI graphing handheld calculators, it seemed the most economical means to add robotics to our coding offering.
As soon as they Rovers were unpacked, students perked up and began exploring. Programming a robot entails a shift of frame-of-reference, and gets the students the think and solve problems from a different perspective. These lead to valuable habits of thought.
Thank you again for helping make this possible.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Stern
Robotic Rovers for the Classroom
Funded Mar 7, 2018Thank you so much for helping to fund this project. I first saw the Texas Instruments Robotic Rovers over a year ago, and was intrigued that students would be able to program and interact with them without any need for a computer. That is, the programming environment is calculator-based. Since my class already uses TI graphing handheld calculators, it seemed the most economical means to add robotics to our coding offering.
As soon as they Rovers were unpacked, students perked up and began exploring. Programming a robot entails a shift of frame-of-reference, and gets the students the think and solve problems from a different perspective. These lead to valuable habits of thought.
Thank you again for helping make this possible.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Stern
This classroom project was brought to life by Verizon and 2 other donors.Interactive Math Manipulations with Graphing Handhelds - Part 5
Funded Sep 11, 2017Thank you so much for your very generous decision to assist my classroom in obtaining graphing technology.
A component of the mathematical standards that I try to frame my lessons around includes helping students learn to make appropriate choices on tools they will use to solve problems. Sometimes those tools are simple things, such as loops of string or pencils, and other times we need more sophisticated equipment, such as computers or graphing handhelds.
Your donation helped assure that we have a complete classroom set of graphing handhelds for my students to use.
Thank you again.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Stern
Interactive Math Manipulations with Graphing Handhelds - Part 3
Funded Aug 23, 2017Thank you so much for your very generous decision to assist my classroom in obtaining graphing technology.
A component of the mathematical standards that I try to frame my lessons around includes helping students learn to make appropriate choices on tools they will use to solve problems. Sometimes those tools are simple things, such as loops of string or pencils, and other times we need more sophisticated equipment, such as computers or graphing handhelds.
Your donation helped assure that we have a complete classroom set of graphing handhelds for my students to use.
Thank you again.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Stern
This classroom project was brought to life by Sergey Brin Family Foundation and 2 other donors.Interactive Math Manipulations with Graphing Handhelds -- Part 2
Funded Aug 23, 2017Thank you so much for your very generous decision to assist my classroom in obtaining graphing technology.
A component of the mathematical standards that I try to frame my lessons around includes helping students learn to make appropriate choices on tools they will use to solve problems. Sometimes those tools are simple things, such as loops of string or pencils, and other times we need more sophisticated equipment, such as computers or graphing handhelds.
Your donation helped assure that we have a complete classroom set of graphing handhelds for my students to use.
Thank you again.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Stern
This classroom project was brought to life by Sergey Brin Family Foundation and 2 other donors.Interactive Math Manipulations with Graphing Handhelds - Part 4
Funded Aug 29, 2017Thank you so much for your very generous decision to assist my classroom in obtaining graphing technology.
A component of the mathematical standards that I try to frame my lessons around includes helping students learn to make appropriate choices on tools they will use to solve problems. Sometimes those tools are simple things, such as loops of string or pencils, and other times we need more sophisticated equipment, such as computers or graphing handhelds.
Your donation helped assure that we have a complete classroom set of graphing handhelds for my students to use.
Thank you again.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Stern
This classroom project was brought to life by Sergey Brin Family Foundation and 4 other donors.