Past projects 19
Ready? Set? Dash?...I Think There's an App for That!
Funded May 6, 2019I can not begin to thank you for the technology and coding cards we received to go with our new robots! We use the tablet every chance we get, to practice coding and to research all the nifty things we can do with Dot and Dash. The coding cards are really great too. They are organized so that we can start with easy tasks and gradually work our way up to more complex coding activities. We have learned to make the robots move forward, backward, and spin in circles. We can make them light up now and change colors. We can make them bark like a dog or rev their imaginary engines. We can even make them come to us when we clap or call their name! We are enjoying every moment we spend learning about coding, and it couldn't have happened without your kindness and generosity. Thank you so very much!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Utke
This classroom project was brought to life by Verizon and 4 other donors.Ready. Set. DASH 2.0!
Funded Apr 18, 2019It is with a very full heart that I thank you for donating to our classroom project: Ready, Set, Dash 2.0. My students were so incredibly excited when our two new robots showed up this week! The Dash and Dot robots, although made of bright blue plastic, become incredibly lifelike when turned on. They can say hello, good bye, and hi! They can make a myriad of noises, move in any direction, change colors, and flash and blink their eye. These two even came with attachable arms, along with a catapult and small balls, so the students can program them to throw, and a xylophone so they can program them to play music! All of these features, plus the activities contained in the Wonder Works apps, make learning to program the robots engaging, challenging, and very fun. I wish you were all here in my classroom seeing the wonder and joy with which they approach learning to code! Thank you again, for donating to my project. You all have had a profound effect on my classroom, and have given lasting lessons and memories to a very wonderful group of third graders.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Utke
This classroom project was brought to life by Verizon and 8 other donors.Ready. Set. DASH!
Funded Nov 28, 2018The very first time Dash the robot was plugged in, it moved its head, turn on all its lights and said, "Hey, hey, hey! Howdy do!" The students were enthralled! Dash has turned into a spectacularly engaging way to have the students begin to code. The apps needed to run Dash were easy to download, and we started with the most basic, called Blockly. With very simple to learn commands the children were programming Dash to move forwards and backwards, turn around in circles, turn on and off its lights, and even tell them "hello"! We have started using Dash a few times a week, usually in small groups, where the students practice programming. If they program it correctly Dash lights up green and says, "Alright!" If they do it incorrectly, Dash stays still and the program they wrote lights up in red right where the mistake was made. The students can then go back and correct their programming. As they work their way through the various projects in the app they learn the skills necessary to program it completely on their own. It has been so wonderful seeing the joy on their faces as they learn to program, and I am very excited to see where their imaginations lead while they teach Dash new skills and commands. Thank you again, for this amazing opportunity to engage, challenge, and bring joy to my students.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Utke
E-Z Access!
Funded Oct 22, 2018You would have loved to have seen the looks on my students' faces the day they walked in and saw all of our PE equipment organized and hanging from our new PE cart! "OOOOH!" and "It's so beautiful!" were exclaimed by many, and all of them clamored to be given the chance to come up and look at it. Since that day, getting ready for physical education has never been easier! The students know how to take the jump ropes and hula hoops off the cart, and even more importantly, put them back on. Our materials are neatly organized and easy to access, and it has motivated even the most reluctant of them to get outside and get moving! The cart is lightweight, even when loaded with materials, and very easy to move around the room, by both adults and students. Thank you for making our workouts more colorful, more engaging, and more organized!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Utke
This classroom project was brought to life by Nickelodeon and National Fitness Foundation and 5 other donors.We Like to Move It, Move It!
Funded May 16, 2018Thank you from the bottom of all of our hearts for our wonderful PE equipment! We have been hula hooping and playing new ball games - getting our heart rates up and our wiggles out!
When our equipment first arrived, it just happen to coincide with 6th grade visitors from our sister school in Beijing, China. We put out the hoops and jump ropes and jump skip balls and brought out the loudspeakers and favorite dance tunes so we could groove and move to the music. It was the perfect ice breaker! Although very few of our visitors spoke English, and none of our students speak Mandarin, they were easily able to communicate with movement. It was a beautiful sight seeing them all play together!
Because of this beautiful equipment, I have been learning new PE games that utilize hoops. We play relay races, team ball games, and run obstacle courses all utilizing our new materials. You have added zest and zing to our physical education, and I truly can't thank you enough.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Utke
Jump Around! Jump Around! Jump, Jump, Jump Around!
Funded Jun 22, 2017I cannot thank you enough for your generosity. This new equipment has already brought joy , curiosity, and perseverance to my students. Their faces lit up when I showed them all the amazing jumping materials. You should've seen how quickly and happily they lined up for P.E. class! We played upbeat music with our new speaker, which is powerful enough to be heard on the playground, even with the regular urban noise in the background. They were incredibly curious about how to play with the jumping rings, and it was more difficult than they thought it would be. But they persevered, and by the end of the very first class many of them were able to spin the ball and jump for an extended period of time. It was kind of amazing! All the equipment is gorgeous and well made, and I'm looking forward to using it all year long. Our healthy bodies will be thanking you for a long, long time!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Utke
This classroom project was brought to life by The Clorox Company and 8 other donors.To the Internet and Beyond!
Funded May 20, 2015I would love to tell all of you about the exciting things we are doing with the technology you procured for our classroom. The Kindle Fires and the iPad are used every single day, from listening to music, to watching old episodes of School House Rock, to watching kids' exercise videos during PE to practicing reading and taking quizzes. As the teacher, I would be lost without the ability use this technology to take attendance online, input grades, and search out lesson ideas on the Internet.
My students adapted to using the tablets very quickly. They are now comfortable searching for information and have even become comfortable typing - both using their fingers and using keyboards. This will help them enormously as they are taking more exams using technologies. At the moment we are writing fractured fairy tales and they are enjoying watching the "Fractured Fairy Tale Theatre" from the old Rocky and Bullwinkle Show on YouTube for inspiration. They are writing their own fractured fairy tales using their tablets and are excited about publishing them. They are also writing poems and science reports using the tablets. Our next unit is on informational nonfiction and they will be doing a lot of their research using this new technology. They will be writing their final draft of their reports using the tablets, and making them into bound books - using clip art, maps, and diagrams found on the Internet to add text features to their work. In addition to the things we've learned how to do, there are also things we are hoping to learn how to do this year using the tablets. I am very excited to learn how to use them to create PowerPoint presentations and to create photo slideshows. Having them has opened up such possibilities!
Of note is the impact these tablets have had on a student this year who has recently arrived to the United States. She is able to access lessons on the tablet in order to practice English and to find pictures of things she doesn't the words for in order to communicate effectively. She has only been here 4 months and she is already understanding so much! I truly can't tell you how amazing it is to have these tablets in the room, easily accessible by all the students. You have made such an impact on my classroom and we are all incredibly grateful. Thank you again so very much.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Utke
I Think There's An App For That!
Funded Jan 25, 2012It is from the bottom of my heart that I thank you again for your generous donation to our class!
We received the Kindle Fires with such excitement! Most of my students have limited access to the Internet and usually access it only from school. Because of your kindness you've doubled the amount of internet capable computers in our classroom!
Because the Kindles are portable the students use them so easily. If they need quiet - when they take their Accelerated Reader quizzes, for example, they can move to a private spot in the room. When they want to work on group activities they can sit at the class tables and use and share the Kindle easily. We've also been able to use it to enhance our lessons. When we read the book Grandfather's Dream we googled pictures of the Sarus Crane because it was so difficult to visualize a bird whose wings are so much wider than their teacher is tall! It was incredibly meaningful to see photos of the real birds and compare them to the illustrations. The Kindles have also been of help in other ways. There are so many applications that the students use, the favorite academic one being a multiplication game. And when the children have earned free time by being extra good in line they get to do the one thing that sets little eight year-old hearts afire.... play Angry Birds!
Your generosity and kindness will have lasting consequences and I thank you.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Utke
This classroom project was brought to life by Wasserman Foundation and 17 other donors.Who In The World Is Picasso & Why Are Her Eyes On Her Chin??
Funded Jan 20, 2012There are no words to describe the magnitude of my gratefulness. The fact that you all took the time, energy and money necessary to improve the lives of my students overwhelms me. I think of you every time I plan for an art lesson, knowing that these lessons will be richer and more meaningful because we have the necessary materials and background knowledge - all because of you.
We began our series of lessons focusing on the elements of art: line, shape, color, value, texture, form and space. Then we used the books you donated to us to show us how real artists used these elements in their work. The students loved reading about them and they really loved looking at the pictures. We tried to create art just like those real artists. For our shape lesson we took the book you bought us on Matisse and looked at the beautiful art he made when he cut shapes out of paper. Then we took our scissors to paper and tried our best to make our work as wonderful as his. When we studied texture, we took many of the books you bought us, like the ones on Van Gogh, Monet, and Hopper, and we saw how they used different kinds of lines to make texture in their paintings. Then we used oil pastels and tried to show what we learned by making clouds and sand and a picnic basket. How happy we were when those pictures turned out to be so pretty!
I have seen first hand how much these lessons in art have added to our curriculum. With so many of my students struggling at reading and writing, yet then excelling at art, it is possible to watch them gaining pride and confidence. And every time they realize there are things they CAN do, they begin to work harder on the things they thought they COULDN'T do.
I am forever in your debt.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Utke
This classroom project was brought to life by Wasserman Foundation and 7 other donors.