Past projects 8
Understanding BLM and Why It Matters
Funded Dec 1, 2020Thank you for your generous donation to our class project. After being out of the classroom for almost a year, students who returned this semester were eager and ready to get back to reading. During remote learning, most had access to only a few books from their home collection, so coming back to class meant variety with a wide genre selection and choice.
One of our first Reading and Language Arts lessons focused on class book clubs. Each student was able to select their reading choice and group. The "Dear Martin" and "Dear Jystice" titles were definite favorites. Reading about the lives of boys who are in their age range, but live in a different environment, made for compelling reading and book club discussions.
With this donation, we were also able to complete a class set of "Long Way Down". We read this title as a class novel and my students absolutely LOVED it. It is the first time I've used this title in class and was delighted to see how engaged the students were from start to finish. Upon completion, students created a "One Page" project assignment. They were absolutely wonderful full of insight, character analysis, and artistic creativity. Thank you for helping to complete our class set!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Gonzales
This classroom project was brought to life by Chevron and 2 other donors.Classics to Read and Colored Markers to Create
Funded Dec 9, 2020My students are back in the classroom! After a year away, we are so happy to be back, but the icing on the cupcakes is seeing the kids eager to check out books. They are digging into the "new classics": the Harry Potter set, Lois Lowry series, and CS Lewis's Narnia set. These books are flying off the shelves as students are reading one after another. Many state that they were a little tired of rereading their books from home being that they were distance learning since March 2020. Now they have a choice and to me, that's what reading is all about! Your generous donation has given students a choice in what they read as they return back to the classroom.
Besides our new books, everyone who came back to school received a pack of markers as part of their "Welcome Back" day. Thanks to your donation, it made the first day back a little sweeter. A few students remarked, "Do we really get to keep these?", which I relayed a "Yes, thanks to our Donors Choose project". Their words, "Thank you, thank you very much". You made a difference, so thank you for your donation.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Gonzales
This classroom project was brought to life by FamilyAlbum and 7 other donors.The Power of Partnership in Reading
Funded Dec 4, 2019If you can imagine a classroom where students are given the opportunity to engage in reading a self-selected novel and discuss their findings with a partner, then we hope you can visualize what your gift has provided. The "partner pair" reading books are a big hit! As the year progresses, my eighth graders are becoming more sophisticated readers in that they read for pleasure, for knowledge and to engage with a classmate/s about what they read. No longer is reading an isolated experience, but rather a collaborative one. This has been one of my goals for students this year and thanks to your generous donation, these dreams have come to light!
We are grateful for the reading experience you have provided for our classroom. Every day students begin their two-period core class with the opportunity to engage in an self-selected novel. As our library grows, the number of books that are checked out on a weekly basis has drastically increased. Your gift will not only benefit my 95 students in the current school year, but for many, many more avid readers to come. What a gift!
Thank you for your donation to our class project and know that you have made a difference!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Gonzales
This classroom project was brought to life by An anonymous classroom supporter and 12 other donors.Read, Love, Discuss... Books to Engage 8th Grade Readers.
Funded Oct 4, 2019We are sending an abundance of gratitude for the new books in our classroom library. My students and I were so excited to learn that our grant and been funded and even more excited when the boxes of books started arriving! :)
Since the delivery, many eighth graders have had their hands on these titles and some are now in their second and third round of check out! Each day students begin with ten minutes of "Reading Zone" time where they read their choice selected novel. By adding these titles to our class library, it has piqued the interest in readers across the spectrum, from my avid readers to the reluctant. ALL of these books have been checked out for students to take home and read. My check out board is FULL of student names and the titles they are checking out to read at home. They are "hooked" during "Reading Zone" and then check out books for personal use. It is gratifying to see so many students love to read. This is my goal for all readers and your generosity has certainly helped achieve this goal. You have made a difference, thank you!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Gonzales
This classroom project was brought to life by Chevron Fuel Your School.Creating Engaged Readers One Novel at a Time
Funded Oct 26, 2018On any given day, students in my class may be found spending the first ten minutes of their double block period reading a choice novel. More and more, students find their next "favorite" on our class library book shelf. Thanks to donors like you, these 13 and 14-year-olds have a variety of new books to read. We call this time, "Reading Zone" because so many students are so into their books that they literally "zone out" in reading. It is so rewarding as a teacher to see students engaged in a novel and hear them moan when their reading time comes to an end. With rich content and engaging novels, this happens more often than not!
Beyond "Reading Zone" time, several times a semester students are engaged in book club reading activities. With multiple copies of several titles, they browse through novels and rank their top three on a google form. This allows me to pair the student to a novel and small group. One to two times a week, book clubs meet to discuss their selected novel, character development, and rich plots. Students huddle together writing, reading each other's work and discussing the finer points of their selection. It is true that no two people find the exact same meaning in author's message, and it is evident in these groups. You can see their thinking shift and morph as they engage in conversation. It is a language arts teacher's dream to see her student's engaged in active learning and exploration. Thank you for the opportunity to add multiple titles to our classroom library!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Gonzales
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose.org Community and 6 other donors.Read It! Love It! Next Book, Please! Chevron@Fuelyourschool
Funded Oct 26, 2018On any given day, students in my class may be found spending the first ten minutes of their double block period reading a choice novel. More and more, students find their next "favorite" on our class library book shelf. Thanks to donors like you, these 13 and 14-year-olds have a variety of new books to read. We call this time, "Reading Zone" because so many students are so into their books that they literally "zone out" in reading. It is so rewarding as a teacher to see students engaged in a novel and hear them moan when their reading time comes to an end. With rich content and engaging novels, this happens more often than not!
Beyond "Reading Zone" time, several times a semester students are engaged in book club reading activities. With multiple copies of several titles, they browse through novels and rank their top three on a google form. This allows me to pair the student to a novel and small group. One to two times a week, book clubs meet to discuss their selected novel, character development, and rich plots. Students huddle together writing, reading each other's work and discussing the finer points of their selection. It is true that no two people find the exact same meaning in author's message, and it is evident in these groups. You can see their thinking shift and morph as they engage in conversation. It is a language arts teacher's dream to see her student's engaged in active learning and exploration. Thank you for the opportunity to add multiple titles to our classroom library!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Gonzales
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose.org Community and 8 other donors."What if..." History with a Twist
Funded Oct 31, 2017A classroom filled with rich, relevant and recently published books is key to a quality classroom library. Paired with the classics, our students are exposed to a variety of genre that appeal to every taste. Thanks to your donation, nearly one hundred eighth graders have the opportunity to read a modern historical fiction novel "with a twist" before promoting to high school. This doesn't even cover the numerous students who will have access to our class set for years to come - not to mention other core classes who have asked to "borrow" after we complete our reading unit.
On the day our novels arrived, students eagerly donated their time to help open boxes and preview the new arrivals. Some were so excited that they began reading right away! Fortunately, I had the good sense to limit them to two pages being that we would read this novel as a class. The excitement is evident and we cannot wait to begin reading our new books. As a Core teacher, the eagerness to read is the best gift of all, so thank you for making it possible!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Gonzales
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose.org Community and 3 other donors.Best Book Clubs = Engaged Readers
Funded Oct 19, 2017Greetings from our eighth grade Core classroom and many thanks for your generous donation to our "Best Book Clubs = Engaged Readers" project. This is my first Donors Choose grant and your contribution means more than you can imagine. As a veteran teacher, I love eighth graders and am always searching for ways to engage students in reading rich, high-interest books. As an avid reader, you know the influence a good book can make and how "just the right book" can change a life. Your donation has made an impact that will last for many years to come for current and future students. You have ensured that our kids have contemporary selections from which to choose. We are so eager to get started!
On the day of our first shipment, eager students stayed after school to help unload the treasure from the Amazon boxes. They were excited and ready to read all of these books - and would have right then and there given the chance. Now that we are ready to begin our book clubs, they know which ones they want to read and in which order. All classes have witnessed the unveiling of our new library and cannot wait to make a selection, read and discuss with their peers. The conversations that arise from book talks bring a variety of perspectives and helps to push student thinking. Book alike groups build community and my vision of a classroom full of invested readers has been made possible, thanks to you!
To quote Dr. Seuss , "The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go." We are ready to read, ready to learn and ready to grow. Many thanks for your generous gift. Know that it is truly appreciated.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Gonzales
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose.org Community and 17 other donors.