Past projects 13
Literature Circles - 5th Grade - High Poverty School
Funded Mar 3, 2010One of my students said this year, "I have only finished two whole books before I read James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl. I actually liked reading this book!
Thank you so much for these books. We used the reading books during a literature circle time for 45 minutes almost every single day. On top of that, we ended up reading the book Holes together as an entire class. The students were transfixed by the book and begged for us to read just one more chapter most days.
Not only that, another classroom also used these books during their reading time. Given how successful the books were, and how much the students grew as readers, I plan on using them again next year from the beginning of the year. Actually, I plan on started out the year with James and the Giant Peach because everyone in the class who read the book loved reading it and wanted to read more from the same author.
Thank you so much!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Luria
Science Kits = Fun! ** 5th Grade Science ** High Poverty **
Funded Mar 7, 2010Thank you so much for the science kits. The students have used the science kits and games every single week since we received them! They have learned all about the solar system. We made a solar oven and cooked nachos and baked apples in the oven. Students learned about why the moon has phases and about the orbits of planets. Students learned so many things. They came with such a basic understanding of science and learned a tremendous amount. Here are some of the things students told me: "I never knew that the Earth went around the sun." Another student said, "I always thought the sun was smaller than the moon."
The students loved the force and motion kit and the simple machines kit as well. One group of boys spent a whole week during science kit time manipulating variables to make their car launcher make their car go the furthest. They were engaged, excited and learning the scientific method at the same time.
Outside of the kits, the games have been wonderful. The students love the science quiz show game and would study the flash cards that came along with the games on their own time, so their team would have a better chance of winning!
I can't wait to use these kits next year too!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Luria
Math Learning Centers
Funded Dec 25, 2009When I arrived at my class this year and looked at my test scores, I was a bit overwhelmed. Only around 50% of my students had passed the math test the previous year. Also, half of my students were native speakers of languages other than English. I had a big challenge ahead of me to get them excited about learning math!
I started by teaching math 90 minutes a day every day. All of the games you supplied made it much for fun for students to work on math. The students used the timers to study the times tables and chart their progress. The students used the white boards to do practice problems and share their work.
Over the year, their confidence has grown. We have improved from 50% passing to 70% passing the test, and the year is not yet over. Also, my class has one of the highest exceed rates in our school, with 24% of my students now scoring above the 75th percentile! I am very proud of them and very appreciative of all of your supplies!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Luria