Past projects 19
Fun With Color!
Funded Feb 24, 2016We were so excited to when our color printer got funded! Thank you so much for your generous donations to help us get our printer. After Christmas this year, I began teaching Math a different way. I would teach my Math lessons whole group at the beginning of the week and then the rest of the week, I would meet with small groups to really work on skills that particular group may be struggling with. For example, if our unit was on subtracting 3 digit numbers and a small group of students were having trouble remembering to regroup, I could pull that small group to work on that skill with them. The struggle was coming up meaningful, engaging activities for those students not at my table. Our color printer has allowed me to create and print colorful games to use in my Math Stations. Students think they are just playing games, but they are practicing math skills!
Having the color printer has also allowed us to print off pictures that students can take home to show their parents and activities we've created on our class iPads. I think we can all agree that things in color are just more exciting and fun! The color printer has definitely helped us brighten our classroom. Our printer also has a scanner with it so if I needed to scan a copy of something a student did, I could, and then email that to parents right away.
It's just been so nice to have instant access to the color printer to print something. I don't have to worry about my file being too big to send to the office or figuring out the pages I need to print. If I want something printed right then, I can do it.
Thank you again for your donations!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Fulton
Learning Through Legos (again!)
Funded Sep 21, 2015I cannot even being to describe the surprise and excitement on my students' faces when they heard our Lego Math project had been fully funded! We have had so much fun using our one Lego set for writing and reading. The class loved knowing that now we have Legos to use for Math too!
We've only had the chance to use the Math Legos once in our classroom, but we are looking forward to using them with future math lessons! I want to use the lessons already created from the Lego Education company and I'm incorporating those lessons in with our Math units from our Math series. We are actually going to use them next week with 2 digit addition story problems! Knowing that we have that fun activity to look forward to helps motivate students to concentrate and work hard when practicing the skills needed to use them!
Looking ahead, there will be many opportunities for us to use the Legos in our upcoming units. There are several Lego lessons on measurement (which we cover in the spring), 2 and 3 digit addition and subtraction (which we are currently learning), fractions, and many other skills! The students are eagerly awaiting these units so we can pull out our Lego boxes!
We thank you again for your generous donations! We are currently working towards getting a color wireless printer for our classroom so that we can print the activities and creations we make with the Legos. Using Legos in our classroom has definitely sparked the kids' motivation, creative thinking, and problem solving skills!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Fulton
Wobble and Learn!
Funded Sep 9, 2015Thank you again for your generous donations that helped us purchase 2 Wobble Chairs for our classroom! They have been a HUGE hit! It has really helped my more active students have a place to sit and move without distracting others around them. Since we only have 2 chairs, we pick 2 students who have the opportunity to use the chairs for the day. We call them the "Wobblers." After the initial newness wore off, students started seeing the benefits in them too! One even made the comment that he was able to concentrate better while sitting in the chair and being able to "wobble" while he did his work.
It's always amazing to me to see the different ways students learn. Each child is different and CAN be successful. Sometimes even the smallest changes (like a Wobble Chair) can make a world of difference! Again, thank you so much! I'm looking forward to adding more Wobble Chairs to our classroom in the future!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Fulton
iLearning Through iPods
Funded Aug 25, 2015Thank you so much for your help and support with my iPod project! The kids were SO excited to get a new iPod to add to our classroom. We use the iPods during workstation time. The kids are working in various stations around the room while I am able to pull a small reading group at my table. I need to ensure that the children working in stations are engaged and focused so I can give my full attention to the group at my table! With an additional (and updated!!) iPod, this will provide a great way for my students to play AND learn at the same time! I make sure ONLY educational games are put on the iPods such as Stack the States, Math Bingo, and Math Fact. Students are given the opportunity to choose which games they would like to play! They think they are just playing on an iPod, but they are actually working on reinforcing the skills I've taught in class!
This will also provide a great way to keep my higher students challenged! All students are at different levels and for those students that are ready for higher thinking skills such as multiplication and division, they will have a chance to practice those skills as well. I want my classroom to be fun, but my number one priority is making sure my students are learning too! Any way I can disguise learning into a fun activity, I am all in!
Thank you again!!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Fulton
Learning through Legos (Again)!
Funded May 7, 2015Thank you again for your generous donation supporting our Lego project! We were able to purchase 2 complete add-on Lego packs for communities and fairy tales (both directly relate to our standards). The students were excited to know that we use Legos in our classroom. They were even more impressed with the fact that we use them for building AND writing. For younger students, coming up with something to write about can be a challenge. The Legos help provide a starting point for them. They are able to build a project and put so much creativity into it. The project helps them transform their writing into imaginative creations!
With the fairy tales pack, we have been able to build our own fairy tales. We spend time reading many different tales and studying the different concepts that make up a fairy tale. When I feel like the students have a good grasp on what a fairy tale is, they work together to come up with their own. The fairy tale Lego pack helps provide the pieces they need to do their "brainstorming." The kids get are so proud of the stories they create and it shows in their writing! They are engaged and entertained!
The community Legos directly relate to one of our Social Studies units. Students are able to show me what a community is by building the community they live in and showing places and people they know. Seeing the kids' excitement makes ME excited too!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Fulton
Time for TIME Magazine!
Funded Feb 3, 2015Thank you so much for your generous donation to our classroom! We used TIME magazine this week and the kids loved it! We were able to pull up a bigger, interactive issue on the Smart Board while the children had their own copy of the magazine. They were impressed with the intro video that introduced what the topic (top inventions of 2014) of this particular issue was. After going through the magazine, it sparked their imaginations! They were giving me all kinds of ideas of things they could invent to make things easier!
This was a perfect reading lesson to accompany our lesson on nonfiction reading. I loved using this with a small group because we were able to make more meaningful connections. I love that the magazines come with a teaching guide to give me an idea of specific points to bring up with the children AND it connects it to our standards. The online portion gives more ideas on how to expand the issue in the classroom, along with many printable resources that I could use as an assessment. I'm really looking forward to using this each month in my classroom!!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Fulton
Learning Language Arts through Legos!
Funded Nov 9, 2014I just want to thank you all for your generous donations to my Lego project. The kids were SO excited and couldn't wait to use them. Luckily we didn't have to wait long to get our Lego kits and we got started right away! Since receiving out kits, we have used them almost every week. We use them to help brainstorm ideas before we sit down to write. The stories the children come up with to go along with their creations are amazing! We are still working on getting all those details down on paper. :) We started something just this week to help organize our story a little better. We used the software that comes with the program to form a beginning, middle, and end to our stories (we are writing about things we would do at night if we were snowmen). It seems to be helping!
The kids don't even realize they are forming ideas to help them write. They think they are just playing. There have been several occasions where we have had to stay in for recess and we used the Legos to help get a jump start on our writing lesson. Not once did the kids complain about staying in! Whenever I tell them we are using the Legos, I heard sounds of "Yesss!!" all around the room.
Thank you again for your donations! We love being a Lego classroom. We are growing as writers by using the kits to form exciting ideas for writing. We are beginning to study nonfiction and we will be doing research on people, places, and animals. I can't wait for us to show off what we have learned with the Legos!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Fulton
iSuccess in the Hands of Little Ones
Funded Jun 15, 2014Thank you so much for your generous donations to help our class get another iPad. My students were excited to learn that we have our OWN classroom iPads to use. Students have an iPad station where they are able to create different things. Some of their creations include a ChatterPix to tell about a book they read, a Pic Collage of long vowel words around the room (they had to find an object with a long vowel word), and a Tellagami, explaining their favorite spot in our community. Students have also been able to practice Math facts with Math Fight (which they love competing against each other). Last week we introduced a new app called Write About This. Students who struggle with coming up with writing ideas are given a picture with a topic to write about. Students may choose another topic if they do not like the one given to them. They are able to create writing samples without even picking up a pencil!
My students have enjoyed having an extra iPad in the classroom since we do not have access to an iPad cart each day. They are excited to use the iPads and look forward to going to stations where they can showcase different skills by creating projects. I love seeing their excitement over new creations and/or new apps! They have been teaching me different things to!
We thank you again for your donation.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Fulton
iSuccess in the Hands of Little Learners
Funded Jun 23, 2014Thank you so much for your generous donations to help our class get another iPad. My students were excited to learn that we have our OWN classroom iPads to use. Students have an iPad station where they are able to create different things. Some of their creations include a ChatterPix to tell about a book they read, a Pic Collage of long vowel words around the room (they had to find an object with a long vowel word), and a Tellagami, explaining their favorite spot in our community. Students have also been able to practice Math facts with Math Fight (which they love competing against each other). Last week we introduced a new app called Write About This. Students who struggle with coming up with writing ideas are given a picture with a topic to write about. Students may choose another topic if they do not like the one given to them. They are able to create writing samples without even picking up a pencil!
My students have enjoyed having an extra iPad in the classroom since we do not have access to an iPad cart each day. They are excited to use the iPads and look forward to going to stations where they can showcase different skills by creating projects. I love seeing their excitement over new creations and/or new apps! They have been teaching me different things to!
We thank you again for your donation.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Fulton