Past projects 12
STEM Kits for Smart Science Students
Funded Oct 22, 2024I can't thank you enough for your generosity! I am extremely grateful, and my students are going to be very excited about this addition to our classroom. My students love science and are curious about our world. I can't wait to see how they interact and problem solve together as they solve each STEM Challenge. These new science activities will be in high demand and will be well loved and cared for. Plus, they will practice their communication skills and utilize their nonfiction reading skills to understand and solve the science STEM Challenges. Thank you for your help in this mission!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Yee
This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Supporter and 5 other donors.Seat Sacks Keeps Us Safe
Funded Jul 5, 2022Thank you very much for making it possible for my students to have their own Seat Sacks that will keep my students safer. My students were thrilled to receive their new Seat Sacks. They couldn't wait to open it and to have their names written on the nametag section. Some of my student's comments were, "Now I have a place to put my stuff." It's nice to be able to keep my books close by and I can take them out whenever I want to read." "I don't have to get out of my seat to get my supplies. So I can get started on my work faster." "I don't have to worry about someone accidentally taking my stuff." "I am more organized." "We don't have to get stuck by the cubbies to get our materials." "We are not touching someone else's stuff so no more sharing germs."
The Seat Sacks hang over the back of the student's seats. They are personalized with their names. They store their current work in work folders in the largest section of their Seat Sacks. Their work folders contain current Time for Kids magazine, Math conversion charts, their reading/writing/math assignments. There's also space for them to keep 2 picture books. On the smaller sections, they keep their pencils, pens, crayon, scissors, glue, bookmarks, and highlighters. The red and blue really perk the room up and it's made our classroom a cheerful place to learn. Plus, I have peace of mind, that my students are safer because they are not sharing supplies and materials.
This project has helped so much with our transitions from one subject area to another. We have cut down on time looking for materials and can start on our lesson quicker. The kids are much more efficient and quickly gather their materials. They do not spend time standing behind somebody who is looking for their materials in their cubby. In the past, there would be a backup and it would take several minutes just to get to their own cubbies. My students like working together at their team tables but they didn't really have a place to put their personal belongings, and now they do. Thanks for making it possible!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Yee
This classroom project was brought to life by General Motors and 2 other donors.Power Charge our Charging Station
Funded Jan 6, 2023Thank you so much for your support and believing in our classroom! The students will really benefit from having an organized and efficient charging station to store our Chromebooks. They love to read books online and code programs. Now they will have the opportunity to do it over and over again electronically. We are eager for their arrival and we can't wait to start using them. Donors like you make it possible for me to do my job effectively. Thank you for your contribution and making the world a better place!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Yee
This classroom project was brought to life by LOFT and 2 other donors.Emotions + Heart Matter!
Funded Nov 23, 2020Thank you for supporting our students with our Emotions+Heart Matter Project. We used these resources daily during our Class Morning Meeting and in their Seesaw Activities. Students learned about self management, mindfulness, empathy, peer pressure, conflict resolution, growth mindset, SMART Goals, friendships and relationships. Student Seesaw Activities helped deepen their understanding about these important topics and allowed them to personalize their responses.
Students enjoyed being able to build our class community through our daily morning meeting discussions. They appreciated the important information shared, colorful Google Slides designs, real life student pictures and interesting student questions.
Our next steps would be to build on what they have already learned and to utilize more of the paper assignments and art bulletin boards that we were not able to do due to our remote learning limitations. I plan to use these resources again next year with my new 4th grade students. Your donation will impact many many more students in the years to come. Thank you for making this possible and supporting our students emotional and mental health.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Yee
This classroom project was brought to life by Allstate Foundation and 3 other donors.iPads for Learning
Funded Dec 25, 2016The iPad for Learning has contributed much to my student's academic progress this year. We have used the iPads for STEM Challenge, ST Math, Lexia, MyOn and Coding. This past February, students used the iPads to research what is a catapult, what are the types of simple machines and how to design and modify catapults to accomplish the project task. St Math is a visual math problem solving program that teaches new math concepts to students as well as have them practice the concepts and skills they have already learned. Our class has the highest percentage of students who have passed the Grade 4 curriculum in the whole school at 76%. Usually at this time of year, our class average would be at around 50% due to the shortage of technology access. At the pace my students are going, we will be at least 90% or higher by the end of the year.
Students also use MyOn which is an online reading library. They select books and put them on their favorites list, read and listen to books, click on new vocabulary words for definitions and answer questions and book reviews about the books they have read. Another reading program my students use is Lexia, where they learn and practice phonics skills, new academic vocabulary, idioms, read short passages and answer questions about it as well as learn and practice spelling and grammar. Last, my students also use the iPads to work on coding. We have a class account on Code.org and they use visual block coding to solve puzzles. They enjoy working in partners as they solve the problems together.
My students are excited to have more access to technology, use them when they finish work early, or during their recess. Some even try to sneak them while I am teaching math or reading. They love the ease of having information readily available, definition of words, pictures of animals, facts about famous people and events, etc. We set up a schedule so that all of our students have access to the iPads at least once a week.
My highly capable students have really warmed up to this technology. With the ST Math Program, when students finish the grade level curriculum, they have an additional module, "Challenge". My students have embraced these Challenges, determined to solve them. They work on it independently, discuss the problems with friends and classmates, collaborate and teach each other how to conquer that level. They love to take the iPads and gather on the carpet area, shoulder to shoulder so that they can look over each other's work and help one another. Thank you for making this possible for our class.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Yee
This classroom project was brought to life by Inspirus Credit Union and 7 other donors.iPads for the 21st Century Learners
Funded Nov 20, 2015The addition of iPads in our classroom has helped my students improve their learning in reading, math and sciences. They use reading programs such as MyOn and Lexia. MyOn is an online reading library with thousands of book choices. They also have the option of having the books read aloud to them or even read books in Spanish. Lexia helps them with reading fluency, vocabulary, grammar, synonyms, antonyms, prefixes and suffixes. Some of my students also use Duolingo which helps them learn other languages. Several of my students are learning how to read and speak Spanish. Our class also uses the iPads for Math Problem Solving using the ST Math Program and SplashMath. Our school encourages our students to finish the ST Math Curriculum before the end of the year and because of the iPads, I already have at least 8 students who have finished the curriculum and are better prepared for the upcoming math concepts I will be teaching. I expect the number to be much higher this year because of your generosity. Several of my students are continuing their progress in Code.org and getting practice in visual coding. Last, we used the iPads for STEM Challenges. Our last challenge was the Catapult Challenge. They had to research and learn about catapults and their function, how to build a catapult and follow directions to build their own group catapults. After their research, students built their catapults, tested, modified and retested them again. Last, we had a 2 measurement trials to identify which catapults designs were able to fling their payload the farthest.
My students were super excited when we received our iPads. They can't wait to have a turn. They couldn't believe that we have some wonderful people who care about their education that they donated iPads to our classroom. We now have enough iPads for a table team to use for the day. We use them for independent work, partner work, Group work, and several students choose to work on them during their recess.
This project impacted my female students who were very hesitant about computer programming. By the end of the quarter, many were more confident and excited to work on their Hour of Code levels. I am also finding the same results with our ST Math Program. Initially, I had more boys swarm the computers for the ST Math Games but my girls are also just as excited now. Some of my students also do not have access to iPads and computers at home. This allowed them the opportunity to try computer programming in a safe and fun way. My students learned that two heads are better than one and many students volunteered to help other student who was stuck. It improved their communication skills as well as their problem solving skills and emphasized cooperative skills. Most importantly, they got the opportunity to try computer programming. I had several students share that they wanted to become a computer programmer in the future. Thanks for making this possible for us.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Yee
Teaching for the 21st Century
Funded May 19, 2015Thank you again for your donation. My Surface Pro 3 has helped me incorporate more technology in my classroom, allowed me to grow as an educator and helped me become more efficient with grading and assessment.
First, it has helped me learn more about Technology that my students use in our classroom. For example, in the past, we have participated in The Hour of Code. My students have enjoyed it but we only spent about 1 class period on it. This year, I've used the Surface Pro 3 to learn more about the Student Courses The Hour of Code offers. I've set up a classroom, provided students their own private username and password so they can access their computer programming courses offered from the Hour of Code. My students are spending more than 1 hour on computer programming this year. I already have 2 students who have finished Course 1 and are now working on Course 2. Some of the work is done during our technology time but they also independently work on it at home. It's exciting for me to see my students dive deeper into computer programming. They are learning how to problem solve, how to work cooperatively, as well as learn the value of persistence. Earlier in the year, my female students were very intimidated but now, they are more confident and take the initiative to help other students who are stuck. It's also opened up conversations about the kinds of jobs that would use the ability to code and I truly believe that many more of my students are considering computer science as a possible career opportunity in the future.
Next, I am using my Surface Pro 3 to continue my professional growth as an educator. I am learning and improving my skills as a reading teacher through the class, "Teaching Reading in Small Groups K-6". I'm implementing what I've learned by taking running records of student's oral reading fluency. I am learning how to better assess, plan, and teach small groups of readers to meet increasing demands and challenges, while still holding tight to the joy and love of literature. I am learning how to analyze student data in order to form small groups and discover a new repertoire for helping readers find increased skill and independence. I've also enrolled in Twitter for Educators, Grades K-12. I am excited to learn how to use the power of Twitter to connect, chat, learn, and build our community of educational professionals.
Last, I am able to use my Surface Pro 3's scanner to create assessments and immediately correct student work. We tried to use the same technology with my desktop computer in the classroom but it did not work because the scanner was out of date. The Surface's technology is current and able to use the newest software program that allowed me to correct a class set of math work in about 10 minutes. It has allowed me to efficiently assess my student's understanding and I can now provide my students feedback quicker. I am very grateful to have the tools I need to improve my professional growth as an educator. Thank you for making it possible.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Yee
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 8 other donors.Exciting Electric Circuits
Funded Apr 20, 2015My students were very excited to use our new Snap Circuits. They immediately opened the manual to choose their project to build. They worked together, made suggestions, helped each other read the design manual, and found the correct parts to complete their projects. They were very thankful that you cared enough to provide these wonderful Snap Circuits for them to investigate and build.
My students used the Snap Circuits to practice their Nonfiction reading (Manuals). They continue to build science models such as an adjustable siren, motion detector, FM radio, flying saucer, and a music box, just to name a few. They are learning to work together as well as problem solve when things don't go as expected. They have also increased their background knowledge about electricity and electric circuits through the fantastic science books that you donated. We have read them as a class and they continue to read them with their partners.
My students (especially my girls) were initially intimated at first and didn't believe that they could build the models. After successfully building their models, their confidence and ability to follow directions and build models have increased tremendously. They were so proud of themselves and so was I. Overall, my student's understanding of circuits, reading of science diagrams and directions and their ability to troubleshoot has improved. Last, this project continued to bolster my student's interest and love of science. Thank you for making this possible!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Yee
This classroom project was brought to life by South King County STEM Network and 2 other donors.iPads for the 21st Century Learners
Funded Apr 20, 2015My students were super excited to receive our mini iPads. They couldn't wait to have their turn. They were so impressed that we have some wonderful people who cared about their education, who donated 3 mini Ipads for our classroom.
We used the iPads to work on our computer programming and ST Math. We recently signed up as a class to Code.org. They were so enthusiastic to solve the computer puzzles and were very proud when they figured out the solution. The Code.org Challenges taught my students persistence and cooperation as they discussed problems, shared strategies and improved their solutions. We rotated the students to work on the iPads. They also chose to stay in their recess to continue working on their Code.org puzzles as well as use it during our blended technology time.
This project made a positive impact on all my students, especially my girls. Some were very hesitant about computer programming. By the end of the quarter, many were more confident and excited to work on their Code.org levels. Some of my students also do not have access to iPads and computers at home. This allowed them the opportunity to try computer programming in a safe and fun way. Our class learned that two heads are better than one and many students volunteered to help other student who was stuck. It improved their communication skills as well as their problem solving skills and emphasized cooperative skills. Most importantly, they got the opportunity to try computer programming. At the end of the year, I had several students share that they wanted to become a computer programmer in the future. Thanks for making it possible for us.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Yee
This classroom project was brought to life by South King County STEM Network and 2 other donors.Microphones and Clickers for Book Commercials
Funded Mar 3, 2015My students appreciated the Microphone and PowerPoint Clicker that was donated through your generosity. They were excited that they didn't have to talk very loud anymore due to the help of the microphone and that they could hear their classmate's presentations better. My students with soft voices can be easily heard and they didn't have to keep repeating what they said. Some of their comments were "This is great! I can hear them much better." "It's nice that I don't have to keep repeating myself. The microphone helps my voice get stronger." "I like using the PowerPoint Clicker to move my slides along. It's helpful and I love being able to use the laser pointer to show which part I'm talking about."
My students are using the PowerPoint Clicker and microphones to share their Book Commercials. They need to include the title, author, genre, subject or plot and the best features of the book. They also include interesting words that describe the book and who should read their book. They create a PowerPoint Presentation that includes the previously mentioned requirements. Students are learning to be critical thinkers, how to review books, and how to use PowerPoint to create a visual presentation. In addition, they present their Book Commercial to the class and get feedback from their classmates. They are practicing their oral presentation skills.
This project has helped boost my teaching because I am also able to use both resources in my daily teaching. The Microphone and PowerPoint clicker allows me to catch and keep their attention. I also don't need to be tied to my computer to move the slides along. My students have also been able to get similar results when they present their Book Commercials. Their peers are able to hear them better and they have control over their slides instead of relying on me to reverse or continue on. Thank you so much for making this project possible for us.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Yee