Past projects 2
Ipads for Intervention
Funded Sep 8, 2020We're thankful for your donation toward our ipad project. These ipads allow students to receive 1-on-1 intervention while working in small groups. The games on the ipad keep them engaged and deliver content relevant to each child's specific learning goals. This allows the teacher to work with an individual student while others are working on their ipads. Then, the student working with the teacher rotates to an ipad and a new student starts working directly with the teacher. This opportunity makes a world of difference for these students that need that little bit of extra 1-on-1 academic interaction.
The students absolutely love playing on the ipad because learning is turned into a game. Whether it's picking all the right letters, making a pattern with colors, or sounding out words to blend them together, the games make it all the more interesting. They love putting their headphones on and "winning" each game. Each level or activity that they succeed at increases their confidence too!
Some of our students don't have access to technology at home, so those students have especially enjoyed utilizing this technology during their intervention time. They love being entrusted with the responsibility of taking care of the ipad and choosing the right task to help them with their academic goals. These students often want to share every "win" with you because they're so proud of what they've accomplished and learned on the ipad. It's such a joy to see this kind of excitement while learning.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Miller
This classroom project was brought to life by Tyson Foods and one other donor.Picture Books are Powerful Books
Funded Nov 21, 2018We are so very thankful for the books that we were able to receive because of your generous donation. We have already used these books multiple times since we received them. The first lesson that we completed using our new books was on utilizing transitions in our writing. We chose one text to read aloud as a group. Then, we identified transition words within the writing and why the author was using specific transitions in each portion of the text. We talked about the purpose of transitions and how each type of transition fulfills a different job within our writing. Next, students chose a picture book to read on their own. They then identified transition words within the text and sorted them into categories. Once everyone was finished reading their book and sorting their transition words, we discussed why certain transition words fit into certain categories and how we could use those same transitions in our writing.
These books are such a great addition to the other types of reading that we already do in our class on a daily basis. We start class off by reading an independently chosen text for 15 minutes. Students read silently and participate in one-on-one conferences with me about what they're reading. Then, when we move on to our lesson, we often see informational texts such as news articles, modern novels such as young adult literature, and other texts like poetry and speeches. My students have really enjoyed adding picture books to the mix of texts that we read and study during class. It has also added a new level of engagement to our writing lessons since the texts are highly accessible.
I'm finding that the majority of my students are really enjoying the picture books once I explained how valuable and challenging they can be. They appreciate the fact that we've been given a new way to learn about author's craft. They have also commented on how they can really understand what we're learning about on a basic level before they apply it to something more challenging. Overall, these books have been a hit with my students, and I can't believe I waited this long to use picture books in my high school classroom. Thank you again for all that you have done for our students.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Miller
This classroom project was brought to life by New Teacher Fund and 6 other donors.