Past projects 9
Small Books with Big Meaning: Picture Books for Allegorical Analysis
Funded Apr 9, 2025The books for this project were curated by our team to use as an introduction to allegorical analysis. The anchor text of this unit is Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, and on of our main focuses is to move beyond basic comprehension and study the novel as an allegory. At the end of the unit, students eventually articulate the allegorical parallels between the novel and a historical, political, psychological, or religious synopsis of sorts.
However, before they can jump into something as complex as understanding a novel on an allegorical level, we use children's book (such as these!) to collaboratively model allegorical parallels in a low-stakes manner. Students enjoy reading together in true "story time", and this serves as a strong foundation to build more sophistication once we begin the novel.
Again, thank you for your generosity in supporting this request that will we will use with students for many years to come!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Dolan
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 3 other donors.Not your Average Knotters!
Funded Dec 30, 2024I would like to extend my gratitude for your support of this project based learning experience for students! Students in the knitting and crochet club were ecstatic to see all of the new materials, and they were anxious to dig in and start creating.
We are currently exploring ideas for projects in order to utilize these new materials and create unique items to share with our community. I am excited to see what the students decide upon!
Again, the students and I greatly appreciate your generosity and support :)”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Dolan
Building a Community of Speakers
Funded Mar 30, 2023Thank you so much for supporting our classroom with these amazing gifts! My Speech students last Spring were beyond excited to use the new podium in lieu of our old, wobbly stand. Students even began to leave sticky notes with words of encouragement on it for the next speaker; it became a beloved piece of furniture in our room!
Additionally, the speaking games were an instant hit! We were able to use these games to warm up each day in class, and especially on formal speech day. Students were able to have some laughs and relax a bit which made them more comfortable when they were tasked with sharing in front of their peers. In turn, I began using these games with my seniors this year for a special team "challenge" day each week, and they, too, have found much joy in the experience!
Thank you again for taking the time to support our classroom. These gifts will keep giving back to the kids for many years ahead. I sincerely appreciate you!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Dolan
Creating a Connected Community
Funded Aug 10, 2022Thank you SO much for donating to our Pirate Time group! The students were excited to dig through the new materials and start creating. We have had a lot of new students join our group this semester as word of mouth has spread, and it has been awesome to have the materials on hand to support their learning.
I think one my favorite things about this whole process is that crochet is something that is near and dear to me, passed down from my family members and now it is something I can share back to students. It is a really neat thing to watch students in class teach each other, trouble shoot, test some creative ideas, and all while simply having a good time. Some students have even started to ask if they can take a skein and hook with them for the weekend simply because it is relaxing.
Thank you again for helping me support students and their creativity in our Pirate Time. I am incredibly grateful for your generosity, as are the students! :)”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Dolan
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill Gates and 4 other donors.Inspiring Divergent Thinkers
Funded Dec 1, 2021Thank you so much for assisting us in raising the funds for new classroom materials! The legos and dry erase board materials have been fun additions to our classroom, and they have encouraged students to close the screens and re-engage with their natural creativity.
Even though we often associate free play and building with younger students, my high school students were THRILLED to see legos as part of our World Building Unit in Creative Writing. They created innovative creatures and developed unique backstories as a means to practice presentation skills that would return in their unit assessment. Students from other class and Pirate Time have also benefited from having the legos for fun and relaxation.
The dry erase boards and tools have been useful in ALL classes. Students have enjoyed using them for race-style review games, collaborate brainstorming, and even mindful doodling.
We are appreciative of all that you've done to support our class!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Dolan
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and one other donor.Lively Learning: Let's Get Rolling!
Funded Feb 14, 2019I cannot begin to thank you for supporting our classroom in acquiring these podiums! Students typically spend much time in their desks during the day, so this has become a nice change a pace for some to stand as needed and wanted during class.
My students were excited about the change in seating and have used the podiums regularly during work time. I have also enjoyed using them because it allows me to relocate my "workspace" to other areas of the room while students draft and collaborate.
Thank you again for your generosity!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Dolan
This classroom project was brought to life by Herb Kohl Philanthropies and one other donor.Creativity on Display
Funded Jul 17, 2018The bulletins in our classroom have been such a positive addition to our classroom environment. One of my most significant goals as a teacher is to make sure that students feel comfortable and at home when they enter my room. With this in mind, I love to have their work on the walls so they feel more connected to the work we are doing as a class.
At first students were a bit nervous about having their work posted for others to see, but after a few rotations of adding new work, students began to take pride in displaying their work!
Even better, students have begun to engage in reading through the writing of other students more often out of curiosity; one of the best moments was when a student asked "hey, who is Ben??" Ben slowly raised his hand looking confused, and the other student said, "You flash fiction on the board, man. That was really cool!" These types of conversations occur more often now that students can casually view other students' work in a low stress environment.
My students and I are grateful for this opportunity to better our learning community!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Dolan
The Teacher is ALWAYS a Learner
Funded May 7, 2018Thank you for giving me this opportunity to better myself as an educator through the study of these texts. I feel as though I am located in a fairly progressive district, and I feel lucky to be part of a department who is already implementing most of the strategies I read about; however, I still had many takeaways and "ah-ha!" moments while I was reading.
These texts helped me approach teaching literature and writing with a fresh lens. After teaching many of the same materials for the past few years, I needed a curriculum facelift, and these books helped me with just that.
I look forward to implementing my findings this year, and I am beyond grateful for you to make this possible!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Dolan
This classroom project was brought to life by Google.org and one other donor.Hidden Treasures: A Community Outreach Project
Funded May 6, 2018Thank you for your contributions to our "Hidden Treasures" project! The end of the school year can be a difficult time to maintain student engagement, especially when half the class has already graduated and others (Juniors) are left behind to finish the school year. This activity was a ray of sunshine in their day, and they were grateful to come to class the last few days knowing that they could relax and make something that would brighten the day of someone else in the community,
My students were SO excited when I told them what our final activity would be; a few students have completed rock paintings on their own prior to this, but for many of my students this was their first exposure to the create and hide concept. We spend a few days in class looking at inspiration in the purchased book as well as pins in Pinterest, and then we started painting! Many students wanted to decorate more than one because they simply enjoyed it so much.
The day we went walking in the community to hide the rocks was easily my favorite. As we walked, I noticed that students who might have not talked with each other all semester suddenly began conversations about their rocks (how they created them, where they were going to hide them, etc). One student who had a particularly difficult year walked with me on the way back to school and said, "Mrs. D, this was really cool. I'm not just saying that. This was the best day." I loved that something so simple, could shed a little light on this student's day; my hope is that others in the community found these rocks and were inspired to create their own and continue this pay it forward movement.
My students and I are incredibly appreciative of your generosity; this project would not have been possible on such short notice without your help! Thank you again for continuing to support our efforts!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Dolan