Past projects 56
Get the Wiggles Out
Funded Dec 17, 2015These seats have been a huge hit. The students are really enjoying them. My highest need kids get them everyday but I have enough for the other 4 or 5 to be rotated through the class. The students wrote some amazing responses in their Thank you Notes.
"I like the fact that I can tuck my feet under the stool. It helps me learn because I can wobble on it..." said One student.
"...it makes me pay attention on the teacher so I can twist where the teacher is." said another.
My students who struggle with ADHD are finding them very helpful. They are able to move in them and to be honest I don't know how they do it but they are able to balance on their knees on the stools. A couple of the students end up draped on them: feet on the floor and abdomen on the stool and the rest in what only looks like an uncomfortable position but it works for them.
A great problem to have is trying to satisfy everyone who wants one of the stools.
Thank you, thank you, thank you”
With gratitude,
Ms. Helgeson
This classroom project was brought to life by Google.org and 5 other donors.Chocolate Reading
Funded Aug 25, 2014My students loved reading about chocolate. We had a great time. It was yummy to learn about right before Christmas and Valentine's Day. In fact, since one parent spoke Spanish, she came in to read the book to us in Spanish after we read it in English. The book that was bilingual was Abuelita's Chocolate. We really enjoyed having both languages. Some words were the same but others were not. We had to listen very closely.
We also learned reviewed about the plant cycle. It was very different from the pumpkin but some parts were the same.
Thank you so much for the wonderful books. We really enjoyed reading and learning about Chocolate.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Helgeson
Brain Works
Funded May 2, 2014Did you get to check out the pictures of the brains, that my students drew?
The drawings were amazing. The students were so excited to have a chance to draw the thinking part of their bodies. We have used the books many times in class.
We have especially enjoyed the book, My Fantastic Elastic Brain. We are now referring back to the book. We talk about how our brain learns when we make mistakes and such. (One teacher said the little girl looked like me so the students have read that book more than once. They are always pointing that person out in the illustrations.
Thank you so much for supporting our brain development. We have and will continue to use these books to help our minds grow.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Helgeson
Cozy Up With a Good Mystery
Funded Nov 14, 2013Research shows what we already know about reading; we all love to have someone read to us. Audio Books prove this but even more important is having someone who cares read the book. Your gift has given our class the chance to sit and read together. This book is amazing since we all will have a copy to look for the clues as we read them together. Maybe we will solve the mystery first.
"Chasing Vermeer" challenges many of the students' reading levels but engages them in many different ways. This book pushes the edge of the reading level of students in our classroom. The exciting part is all the mathematical patterns. This book encouraged me to visit the neighborhood where the story takes place in Chicago. I bought sets of pentominos for the students to engage with as we read the story.
We have loved looking at the clues as we read. They students are more engaged in this read-aloud than any other one we have every done. In fact, some days we are so busy talking about the art, the pentominos and the clues that we run out of reading time. What a great and engaging book. Even better is the characters in the book are not the popular people, but people who are a little bit odd like the rest of us. It has been so easy for my students, both high and low to engage and interact with this book.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Helgeson
This classroom project was brought to life by an anonymous donor and 4 other donors.Don't Know The Words
Funded Nov 11, 2013The students were so excited when we started looking up words for our vocabulary lesson with our story. Of course, they were looking at the amazing pictures and definitions. The definitions in this set of dictionaries are right at our level. They give a complete definitions with words we can understand. How awesome it that?
The picture that caught the attention of many of my students was for acupuncture. Nice picture of a man's face with needles in it. The students want to keep the dictionaries at their seats instead of returning them to the shelves, always a great testament to the popularity of an item. Dictionaries popular, YES!!!!
Thank you so much for supporting our classroom. The students are enjoying their new dictionaries and I don't have to try to explain the definitions.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Helgeson
This classroom project was brought to life by NEA Foundation and 2 other donors.Fly into Reading with Poppi by Avi
Funded Oct 12, 2013The class copies of Poppy fly out of their containers as soon as the students arrive. They are sitting and ready for read-aloud as soon as the pledge is finished. My students are once again excited for our class read-aloud.
Today we finished chapter 6. The students were starting to see connections with the owl pellets we started to take apart. Next year we will the read the book as we are dissecting the owl pellets. That will be an eye-opening discussion as well as why the mice will want to move locations due to overcrowding and population control. We have been having discussions in class regarding needs and wants. And how needs can be meet pretty easily but wants are more difficult and what we desire.
They are also seeing the bullying behavior of Mr Ocax, the Great Horned Owl. I can't wait to see their faces after they meet the menacing and meat-eating porcupine, Ereth. The bullying and controlling behavior of the Owl often represent how people manipulate each other. The main character has her eyes opened and learns to find out answers for herself”
With gratitude,
Ms. Helgeson