Past projects 71
Salvaged Pages Of Holocaust Diaries
Funded Jan 29, 2024Words can barely describe the impact your donation has had on our students.
Because "Salvaged Pages" was not available, we were fortunate to substitute the purchase with two other Holocaust Memoirs: "The Mascot," by Mark Kurzem, and "Storm in the Land of Rain," by Silvia Foti. Both of these memoirs are genuine Holocaust memoirs, but told from opposite perspectives. Mark Kurzem writes a first-person account of helping his father Alex solve a mystery of his identity as a Jewish child survivor who was secret given an Aryan identity and used as a military mascot, which saved his life but robbed him of his past.
Silvia Foti, on the other hand, grows up believing that her grandfather, Jonas Noreika, is a Lithuanian war hero. Growing up in America, she was treated as a princess because of her grandfather's fame, and it wasn't until her mother's deathbed confession that Silvia discovers that the Lithuanian government has rewritten the truth of its involvement during the Holocaust, which had the highest rate of death of Jews anywhere in Europe.
The students in this class just finished reading "The Mascot" today, and have unanimously voted to include this same book in next year's course. They look forward to reading "Storm in the Land of Rain" when they return from spring break. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Leserman
This classroom project was brought to life by Center for Disaster Philanthropy and 2 other donors.Honoring Jewish-American Heritage in May
Funded Apr 7, 2022Thank you for generously supporting students of all ethnic, religious, cultural, and ethnoreligious backgrounds. When students find positive and intriguing characters who share important characteristics, they are able to see themselves with more valuable opportunities and options in life. Frequently, Jewish and Israeli-immigrant students find that their very existence or ethno-religious identity is portrayed as problematic in literature. These wonderful books have helped them enjoy and appreciate their identity as realistic and multi-dimensional, which all students deserve and should expect.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Leserman
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose community & an Anonymous Partner and 2 other donors.Thirteen Great Stories For Thirteen Year Olds
Funded Sep 4, 2016Thank you so much for providing this wonderful book of clever, interesting, witty and age-appropriate books for my students, to supplement the otherwise boring material provided by the school district.
Of course, the students have used these stories to studies the fundamentals of literacy, including basic reading, listening, speaking and writing skills. They learned character analysis, suspense, humor, vocabulary, drama, etc. But more than that, they learned to appreciate interesting stories about realistic young teenagers, just their age (as the title "Thirteen About Being Thirteen" suggests). At a time when young people are compelled to read mostly-dull "informational texts" that could make your eyeballs dry up into crusty balls of dust with boredom, my students have had the chance to read the kind of stories that make you laugh, make you cry, make you curl up and wish the story would go on and on and on.
More importantly, the students have learned that compassion is more than a vocabulary word, it is an action practiced by caring adults who provide wonderful opportunities for young people. Even young people who once went to their very same school, and sat in the very same seats! What a joy to have this generosity provided by friends of the teacher, friends of the school, and friends of truly enriched learning.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Leserman
Thirteen Great Stories About Being Thirteen, Part 3
Funded Aug 10, 2016Thank you so much for providing this wonderful book of clever, interesting, witty and age-appropriate books for my students, to supplement the otherwise boring material provided by the school district.
Of course, the students have used these stories to studies the fundamentals of literacy, including basic reading, listening, speaking and writing skills. They learned character analysis, suspense, humor, vocabulary, drama, etc. But more than that, they learned to appreciate interesting stories about realistic young teenagers, just their age (as the title "Thirteen About Being Thirteen" suggests). At a time when young people are compelled to read mostly-dull "informational texts" that could make your eyeballs dry up into crusty balls of dust with boredom, my students have had the chance to read the kind of stories that make you laugh, make you cry, make you curl up and wish the story would go on and on and on.
More importantly, the students have learned that compassion is more than a vocabulary word, it is an action practiced by caring adults who provide wonderful opportunities for young people. Even young people who once went to their very same school, and sat in the very same seats! What a joy to have this generosity provided by friends of the teacher, friends of the school, and friends of truly enriched learning.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Leserman
Thirteen Great Stories About Being Thirteen, Part 2
Funded Aug 2, 2016Thank you so much for providing this wonderful book of clever, interesting, witty and age-appropriate books for my students, to supplement the otherwise boring material provided by the school district.
Of course, the students have used these stories to studies the fundamentals of literacy, including basic reading, listening, speaking and writing skills. They learned character analysis, suspense, humor, vocabulary, drama, etc. But more than that, they learned to appreciate interesting stories about realistic young teenagers, just their age (as the title "Thirteen About Being Thirteen" suggests). At a time when young people are compelled to read mostly-dull "informational texts" that could make your eyeballs dry up into crusty balls of dust with boredom, my students have had the chance to read the kind of stories that make you laugh, make you cry, make you curl up and wish the story would go on and on and on.
More importantly, the students have learned that compassion is more than a vocabulary word, it is an action practiced by caring adults who provide wonderful opportunities for young people. Even young people who once went to their very same school, and sat in the very same seats! What a joy to have this generosity provided by friends of the teacher, friends of the school, and friends of truly enriched learning.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Leserman
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Teaches Middle School English
Funded Feb 18, 2016Thank you for the extraordinary gift of high-quality reading for my middle-school English-language-learners. This novel, The Wizard of Oz, speaks directly to the hearts of my students, while engaging their minds and their imaginations with magnificent language and true-to-spirit fictional characters. The charming illustrations have really helped them understand the story line and gain confidence in their ability to comprehend the timeless tale of adventure and personal discovery.
My students and I deeply appreciate your generosity in providing this invaluable resource, which they otherwise would never have been able to enjoy.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Leserman
Alice in Wonderland Teaches English in Middle School
Funded Jan 31, 2016For the first time EVER, my squirrelly English-language learners sat in rapt attention listening to a novel, following along word-for-word, and fully engaged. They were astonished that anyone would give them a book that they really did want to read.
This book was a hit for three other important reasons:
1) It really, truly is grade- and maturity-level- appropriate, unlike some of the other materials that are given to students these days;
2) Pictures! Heavenly, interesting, lovely, relevant illustrations that make the story fascinating and understandable; indeed many students were able to comment on the story specifically because of the illustrations;
3) This is a story that most of the students are at least somewhat familiar with, even if they weren't born in this country, and this makes the novel much easier to follow.
I can't wait to send you photos of the students with the books. They are delighted, and so am I. Thank you so much for participating in the great good deed of bringing this novel to my students.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Leserman
Charting Our Literary Genius Pt 2
Funded Dec 30, 2015Thank you so much for your generous contribution of giant adhesive-backed poster paper and markers for my 11th grade English students. We used these materials today so that students could chart their understanding of their reading.
This may sound like a simple thing, but here is what the students had to do: 1. Closely read and annotate two health-related op-ed pieces from the New York Times; 2. Synthesize the data and be able to present it for the entire school in a hallway museum, from the perspective of a profession/career (such as doctor, data analyst, legislator, moral leader, set designer, social media director, etc.). Using the materials you provided, four high school classes (a total of more than 140 students) generated a text- and research-based museum about health-related issues that are relevant to adolescents -- and presented it to the entire school.
What a wonderful New Years gift for us all. Thank you!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Leserman
Charting Our Literary Genius Pt 1
Funded Dec 2, 2015Our students were thrilled to be able to put these materials to use right away, working on a literature project and analyzing multiple works at the same time. The students were able to work both individually, and in groups, later presenting their works to the entire class.
How can I convey the importance of being able to have, in class, a simple tool like this for poster-making? Giant adhesive-backed blank sheets of paper, with markers, are really the one true best way to let students think-in-pictures, sharing their visualizations and understandings with one another. As you can see from the photos, students were able to make T-charts, graphs, pie-charts, lists, and illustrations, while writing about literature. How cool is that?
Your generosity rocks our classroom. Thank you for thinking of us, and for helping my students grow into thoughtful readers, writers, speakers, listeners, and thinkers.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Leserman
Spirograph: Beautiful Skills for Beautiful Writing, Part 1
Funded Jul 23, 2015Thank you so much for this extraordinary contribution to my class of English language learners, who also are learning to write and form legible words for the first time, in eighth grade. They were baffled, at first, and could not imagine that a non-technological toy could be either useful or fun. It was difficult for them to follow instructions because the language was difficult.
But very soon, they were completely enthralled with Spirograph, making the most complicated and exquisite designs, not realizing that the toy had helped them build strong hands until they were kind of tired, an hour later. It was astonishing to watch them cultivate more careful writing habits, and realize that beauty can come from their hands, whether artwork or writing. The students could not remember the last time they had played in school, which was tragic, funny, and wonderful all at the same time.
Thank you, from all of us, for this generous and wondrous gift. You have made a remarkable contribution to education, while helping the students have fun, and to realize true joy.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Leserman