Past projects 27
Ordinary People Can Change the World!
Funded Jul 14, 2021Thank you so so much for helping me to bring more of this amazing book series to my classroom. My students love to read these books which represent people who look like them. I love these books because they focus on more than just famous actors, singers, athletes. While those people are important, we must also recognize and celebrate the contributions of people in all areas.
I keep the books in a basket for students to access during independent reading. In addition, we do a project near the end of the year in which students can choose a person/ book to create a project about. It is awesome that this year they will have so many more choices!!!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Barnes
This classroom project was brought to life by Google.org and 3 other donors.Everything In Its Place!!
Funded Jul 12, 2021I cannot begin to thank you enough for funding this project to help me organize the materials for my small group instruction. Each group has a basket in which to keep their materials and once my groups start (we just started school), they will run smoothly because of the organizational pocket chart provided by this project.
The students love the baskets and they're so excited to use them and begin our small group instruction. For now, I use the desk top dry erase board to leave them morning messages which they love to see each day.
Small groups are essential to my instruction and having recently moved to a smaller classroom, the storage for these materials helps my students learning environment be clutter free.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Barnes
This classroom project was brought to life by Clorox.A Calm Classroom Oasis
Funded May 3, 2021Thank you so much for funding this project!! After a year and a half away from in person schooling, my students were in awe when they walked in my classroom on the first day of school. The soft glow of lights, the calming effect of the plants and natural colors has set the tone for our return and allows us to leave the world behind while we do what we do best- LEARN!!
In addition, I made the move to a much smaller classroom with less storage. The storage materials in this project provides a home for everything so students are not bogged down with the clutter of everyday school life. The materials are all tucked neatly away waiting for the time we need them.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Barnes
This classroom project was brought to life by Ford Drive 4 UR School and 10 other donors.Language Learning Labratory
Funded Feb 10, 2021I cannot find the words to tell you how much this project will help my students!! I have so many students who are new to the country and still learning English and another bunch who are struggling readers. Using these materials will help build confidence and skills so that these students can become the kind of readers they want to be.
The materials are meant to be used in small guided reading groups, however, due to Covid, those can't take place this year. We have adapted the materials into a whole group activity where I display the items we're using under the ELMO and we make a game of it. The students are so engaged and enthusiastic. They are making progress every day.
The best news is that I am looping with my students so IF we get to gather close together again and have our reading groups, the materials will be in the hands of my students every day as they strive to build the language and reading skills necessary to become confident readers.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Barnes
A Tisket a Tasket a Covid Free Basket
Funded Jan 31, 2021My students and I send a heartfelt thank you for funding this project!! We were all nervous about returning to in person instruction and giving the students their own basket in which to store their items addressed at least one concern. The speed at which this project was funded was amazing and goes to show that I have the best tribe around!! My students can now safely have supplies at school that only they use. After Group A's two days at school, they leave their baskets in a designated spot in the classroom and then the B group comes in and gets their own supply baskets. It works like a dream!! Thank you for keeping my students safe and healthy!!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Barnes
Creating Critical Thinkers
Funded Aug 22, 2018I wanted to take a moment to describe what your donations to this project meant to my class. I am instituting Interactive Notebooks this year which are a way for students to make personal and creative connections to the content being taught in class. It is through these types of connections that long term learning occurs. This project provided both sets of my students with all the supplies they need to be as creative and colorful as they want to be. In fact, where normally we'd have to share boxes of crayons and colored pencils, my students can have their own box of EACH!! That is a luxury they're not used to!! We were also able to get two huge sets of gel pens for them to use and they LOVE using gel pens. I have never been able to provide such a variety of supplies. I cannot put into words what it means to children to have access to so many supplies to help them show their learning. They were so excited when I introduced the notebooks and couldn't wait to apply color to the pages. What's so important about color you ask? The brain makes connections where it can and when my students use color in their notebooks, their brains will easily recall that information thus creating learning that will stay with them forever. Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for showing my students that the world is a good place full of good people who care about them. It makes the biggest difference!!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Barnes
This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 2 other donors.For the Love of Literacy!!
Funded Apr 29, 2018It is hard for me to find the words to properly thank you for your donations to fund this book project. Teaching students in an inner city, high poverty school, my students and I often feel left out and unimportant. Making this project a reality let my students know that indeed people do care about them.
Although I spend a lot of money to stock our classroom library, I am not able to purchase new books and I don't have any books published within the last five years. My students make due with what we have and I often go to the library to check out books for them, but it's not the same as having the shiny books in our classroom day after day to choose during reading time.
With this project, I was able to purchase a great variety of books that appeal to the diverse nature of my class. Some of their favorites are the Jacqueline Woodson books like "This is the Rope", "The Other Side" and "Brown Girl Dreaming". In addition, a few of the boys in my class were intrigued by the history books like, "Moses" which is a story about Harriet Tubman, "The Story of Ruby Bridges" and "Dave, the Potter". Another group of students was fascinated by all of the "I Am" books.
I will use each of the books in this project to teach about genre, language, and reading skills like plot, theme and nonfiction text structures. In particular, I will be using the books "The Back of the Bus and "If a Bus Could Talk" to teach about perspective. Both of these books chronicle the Rosa Parks' arrest on the bus, but they do it through the perspective of a boy who couldn't see everything that was happening and through the perspective of the bus that Rosa was on the day she got arrested.
The students are able to grasp concepts so much more easily when presented in the form of a beautiful book. I can find passages from the Internet and teach them that way, but they always see black and white text through their exposure to digital media. The joy of holding a beautiful book in one's hand and turning the pages is lost on this generation. I am so thankful that in my class that joy can be found every day. Additionally, I'm thrilled that I could show my students that they are not forgotten or unimportant. People do care about them and what an example you have set for them with your selfless donations to children you don't even know. I don't have the words to properly express our appreciation, but believe me, I have seen it in my fourth graders' eyes every day since we unpacked those boxes.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Barnes
Writing SOS!
Funded Aug 22, 2018I just wanted to take this opportunity to describe to you how much your donations for these books have meant to my students. I teach in an inner city, high poverty school and there is no money in the budget to buy books for the classroom. I have some books in my classroom library that I've purchased myself, but they're old and not so engaging.
The books that I do have are used by the students during independent reading time. They find a comfortable spot to read and they work on reading- because as everyone knows- you become a better reader by reading more!! In addition to using picture books in the classroom for independent reading, I use them as mentor texts. A mentor text is used to inspire student writing. A mentor text can be used for many aspects of the writing process. I especially like to choose texts with beautiful or clever language that create vivid images for my students. They're so inundated with digital images that they rarely have the chance to visualize in their own minds. Visualization is a good reader strategy that I teach my students to use to bolster their comprehension.
I cannot begin to describe the excitement and awe when I pulled out each of the books funded by this project and explained each title to the students. They have never seen so many new books at one time. They were so excited for the time that I allowed them to choose a book from the new stack to read. "They loved the Word Collector" and "Do Not Open This Book". They begged me to read both of those first.
I will, at different points of the year, pull out each of the new books to read to them and to inspire them so they can produce writing that is organized, clear, well voiced and full of images sure to inspire others. I know that each time I pull out a new book, they will remember the feeling they felt the day we first unpacked them and they will know that someone cared enough about them to donate so generously that they could have all of those beautiful new books!!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Barnes
This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 3 other donors.