Mrs. Wallace's Classroom Edit display name

Past projects 7

• Whiteboard Upgrade

  Funded Nov 8, 2023

  My students and I use our rolling whiteboards almost every day. Students gather in small groups to solve math problems or to work on science stations. The addition of the rolling whiteboards has helped spread out students throughout my room.

  The magnetic erasers and plastic page protectors have been very helpful when sharing information on the whiteboards in the room. I have multiple classes a day and having the plastic page protectors at each board station ensures that I only need one copy that multiple students can write on each day. Just use a dry erase marker and then erase it to reuse!

  Thanks to you my whiteboard setup and stations run much more smoothly than they used to.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Wallace

  This classroom project was brought to life by General Motors & Young Sheldon on CBS and 6 other donors.

• Exploring Climate and Weather

  Funded Aug 2, 2023

  We have been thoroughly enjoying our new resources this year. We use our whiteboards every day in both of our math and science classes. Students use these whiteboards as a group work location and for science labs and experiments.

  We have also enjoyed using our weather reading instruments. Students had fun using the sling psychrometers to measure the humidity in our courtyard and the wind vane and anemometer to measure the wind speed and directions.

  Overall, these materials have transformed my classroom experience and allowed for students to experience weather data collection in real time. Thank you so much!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Wallace

  This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 15 other donors.

• Diverse Books For a Diverse Class

  Funded Dec 4, 2019

  Thank you so much for your generosity and for contributing to this project. We have already read one of the novels, Esperanza Rising, as a whole class. It was important to me to include novels featuring main characters who more accurately represented the students in my classroom. Our main curriculum has novels that mostly portray a white, male experience. Esperanza Rising, and the other novels in this project, feature main characters of color.

  My students loved reading Esperanza Rising. While the novel is historical fiction, the political climate and themes are still relevant to today. We had rich and passionate class discussions about: racism, immigration, family separation, classism, workers rights, unions, and the American Dream. We are continuing to find connections and talking about the novel a month after reading it, it was that impactful.

  The biggest celebration has been seeing the joy and pride of my Spanish speaking and other immigrant community of students. They are seeing themselves and their heritages represented in a major novel in our curriculum and I am grateful for being able to connect them to school in that way.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Wallace

  This classroom project was brought to life by An anonymous classroom supporter and 12 other donors.

• Engaging Books and Math Supplies

  Funded Jan 25, 2018

  What an honor it has been to have these new supplies in our class. My students a thrilled about the new books. The texts are engaging and inspiring for them to read. There are many graphic texts that students flock to. There are also books featuring students of color which is reflected in my classroom. One student noticed a character in the book wearing a hijab and was so excited that that character looked like a fellow student in our class. Representation matters and my students noticed it right away.

  The new whiteboards are some of their favorites. My previous ones were old and scratched. My students are much more inclined to want to use these whiteboards for math which highly increases their level of engagement.

  Finally, the kick bands are a hit. I have many students with ADHD or who need a lot of sensory breaks. These kick bands provide an energy release to help them focus throughout the day.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Wallace

  This classroom project was brought to life by The First Million Fund and 4 other donors.

• Engaged Readers With Current Events

  Funded Jun 1, 2017

  Thank you for your generous gift. Scholastic News and Time for Kids brings another level of engagement to my reading instruction. Students are very excited about current events, but often have a hard time accessing them in kid friendly language. These resources help them discover news worthy topics in a way that is at their instruction and age level.

  I mostly use these current events news magazines for partner reading. Students of different reading abilities can access the text in different ways and by reading it to each other, it makes it accessible to all. They are also thrilled with the online applications and resources that are available including the videos and pictures.

  I have many students who are learning English as a second language and they seem to enjoy the visuals and videos more. It is another way to make learning more engaging for them and provides some context for their lives. These resources make learning more achievable for all students.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Wallace

  This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Funder and 2 other donors.

• Let's Get Researching!

  Funded Oct 23, 2016

  I wanted to sincerely thank you for your donation to my classroom. BrainPop, Scholastic News, Time for Kids and the Nearpod subscriptions have been wonderful additions in our class. Students have been more engaged when learning about current events and reading informational texts. They have also learned to consider multiple sources and form opinions.

  My students are the most excited for BrainPop videos. There are a wide range of engaging and educational videos for them to learn from. They have discovered important information for multiple subjects and assignments. BrainPop does a nice job of explaining concepts in a way that is visually engaging to students. They are always excited to watch a video.

  All of my students love the new resources we received, but there are some in particular that use them more often. Students who are learning English as a second language love watching videos because it gives them a visual to go along with the new vocabulary they are learning. We use BrainPop in our English Language Development (ELD) time to help differentiate for all levels of English language learners.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Wallace

• Teaching Computer Literacy for the 21st Century Learner

  Funded Oct 15, 2013

  The recent influx of technology into my classroom has truly been an inspiration. My students couldn't wait to start working with them. Most of my students have never used a personal sized computer before and many have very little or no Internet or computer access at home. With our school districts recent switch to Common Core State Standards, the need for modern technology has risen tenfold. As 4th grade students the end of year goal is for students to be typing a 1-page composition in a 45 min. setting. Because of the limitations to access to technology that is reliable and very little time to teach, my students started at a major deficit. These Chromebooks are helping close this gap in many ways. I use them as a motivator, activity extension and extra practice for increasing our basic technology skills.

  I had been yearning for some sort of motivator that would inspire my students to produce quick and quality work as well as provide some sort of meaningful reward. Using the Chromebooks as an incentive for work production has helped increase my class productivity. Now students who turn in their work on time get to use a Chromebook to practice many important technology skills and activities. They have also been incorporated into our daily reading and math center rotations.

  Some activities my students use are online typing applications, IXL math and XtraMath.org. These help increase students math and typing fluency. Additionally, I have used the Chromebooks to modify lessons for students that need extra support in writing. Using a dictation app as well as google docs has helped students in my class compose writing that they may have not otherwise been able to accomplish. I have noticed a significant increase in student participation, motivation and technology skills with the addition of Chromebooks in our class. Thanks again for making this a reality for my students.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Wallace