Past projects 14
Stand Up For Math!!!
Funded Aug 24, 2017The words in my letter will never adequately express my gratitude to you for your generosity to my students and me. My idea to transition my Math classroom from a primarily sedentary environment to one that bustles with purposeful learning activities was simply that...an idea, but through your kindness and benevolence it has become a reality. We now have three Stand-up Stations in my classroom where my students have the opportunity to explore, discover and learn together.
Every day I get to experience afresh the joy and happiness that your gift has brought to my students and into my classroom. The new Stand-up desks somehow seem to give extra verve and energy to my scholars since they've arrived and recently I've had to create a daily rotation schedule because a few students kept opting to use the stand-up stations on a very regular basis which made some of the other kids a bit envious of their frequency of use. I had to find a way to ensure equity of usage since every student wants to "explore" with a buddy at the Stand-up Stations.
I'm also very grateful to you for supporting this project because not only do my students have a legitimate reason to stand up class, they actually get to interact with each other more without distracting and minimizing the flow of learning of their peers who are engaged in other activities. The students seem to benefit from the use of these standing desks both physically and mentally as the amount of time they spend sitting is reduced and their level of engagement is noticeably increased. My students even seem to be getting along much better with each other. They remain focused longer and have demonstrated a marked interest in participating in Math investigations.
Thanks again for not only believing in my project but actually providing the necessary funds to really make it happen.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Marshall
Tablets to Self-Assess
Funded Oct 9, 2017Thank you for providing me with tools that help bring 21 century learning into my classroom!
With the Common Core standards requiring that students explain and justify their answer to a math problem it is important that teachers provide their students with lots of opportunity to practice writing about the strategies and techniques that they utilized to get to the completion of a task. Getting my students to write about their mathematical thinking presented quite a challenge before our tablets arrived. They groaned when it was time for journaling their ideas and strategies....but now they actually look forward to writing and sharing their thoughts with each other on our Kindle tablets. These tablets serve multiple purposes in our classroom. Scholars can now more easily write and edit an explicit explanation of their work, assess the work of their peers, use apps to practice time table facts, and play interactive math games that help to build conceptual skills and number fluency. It is evident that they are learning new skills and having loads of fun doing so.
The students are most excited when they work with a "study buddy" to compare and access each other's work on the tablets. They also eagerly look forward to completing online assessments that I set for them during station work or choice time. A class favorite is using the tablets to complete assignments from the Go Math Personal Math Trainer because they get immediate feedback from the program on whether or not their answer is correct. Another great element that the tablets have added to enhance the learning experience in my classroom comes from the use of a two player multiplication app where two students play against each other in a timed game (using the same tablet). I have seen a marked improvement in their time table skills and also in they way in which they communicate with each other as they assess the work of their peers.
My boys are particularly excited to work on the tablets when using the Personal Math Trainer. The girls seem to prefer to use it for peer analysis. A few days ago, Josh who is an avid reader, asked me to download a Math Mystery book that's available on the Kindle which I did, so we now have another way that we can use the tablets to build up our learning community. These wonderful experiences are possible because of your kind generosity.
I am extremely grateful that you have chosen to fund my project and to help me enrich my classroom with tools that promote teaching and learning.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Marshall
Let's Make Math Workshop Interactive!
Funded Dec 5, 2016Teaching math from a textbook and with no interactive tools is like going to the dentist for an extraction without Novocaine..... because it can be a long and painful process. Thanks to your generosity my math lab is now abuzz with students engaged in exploring mathematics. Your donations have brought life and lots of smiles into my classroom.
My students were so excited to receive and open up our supplies it was a joy to see their wide smiles and shining eyes. They are now able to see how fractions work in everyday life. They now understand how they can be added, subtracted, multiplied and divided in ways that now not only make sense but is also fun and exciting. The kids actually groan out loud when the bell rings signaling the end of our 90 minutes together.
We are especially thankful for the Rods and Fraction Tiles. The Fact Family wipe off boards are now part of our daily routine and have helped the students tremendously in building their number sense and fact fluency. These tools have made my classroom the favorite room in our building.
Once again, please accept our deep and sincere appreciation for your generosity and thoughtfulness.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Marshall
Creating videos using Imovie
Funded Apr 27, 2006I am extremely grateful for your quick response to my request to enrich the lives of my students by enabling us to fulfill our dream of creating our very own movies. I am particularly excited about this project since I am convinced that my students' creativity will greatly be enhanced and also becasue technology is a great compliment to the traditional methods we use in teaching. Once again, Please accept my deepest gratitude for your assistance in educating children who are academically and economically challenged. Together we can make a difference.
Sincerely,
Judy ”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Marshall