Past projects 43
Help Preserve Young Archaeologists' Amazing Discoveries!
Funded Dec 23, 2015Thank you, everyone, for your generous contribution to our ongoing archaeological explorations! As you know, my students have been excavating old artifacts from under our school closets for over a year now. Even though the students who initiated this project have moved on to the next grade, many of them still return every week during their lunch periods to help continue digging and now, to help organize our artifacts in the archival containers, sleeves, and boxes that you provided.
Now that we have these materials, the kids are able to transfer our artifacts from plastic bags and shoeboxes into the storage containers that best suit them. As the students work, they are keeping a list of each artifact with its description, date and classroom of discovery, and other information. They are also organizing the artifacts into categories like candy wrappers, schoolwork, buttons, and so on.
Soon, we will have all of our artifacts safely stowed in archival containers that will preserve them as long as possible. We are also anticipating the arrival of a museum-quality wall case that was recently donated and will allow us to display many artifacts to our school community. Thank you so much for helping us to preserve our artifacts and share our discoveries within our school and beyond!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Sicherman
This classroom project was brought to life by Disney and 15 other donors.Native American History for City Kids
Funded Aug 14, 2015Thank you again for your gift of these books, which are so important to our curriculum focusing on the traditional life ways of the Lenape people, who were the first inhabitants of our area.
Unlike some more well-known groups like the Iroquois or Sioux, there are few books about the Lenapes for children. The books you funded are two of the best. Having multiple copies allows my students to do research on the Lenapes much more easily.
So far, the kids have worked with partners to study specific topics (like hunting, clothing, family life, etc.), and we are also using the books to supplement the information provided in the historical fiction book that I am reading aloud to them. Recently my students used a combination of book chapters to create a Lenape daily menu. These books also include highly detailed and clear drawings, from which my students glean a lot of information.
We are very grateful for this extremely helpful gift!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Sicherman
Flash Cards To Empower Young Mathematicians
Funded Sep 19, 2015Thank you so much for your generous gift of multiplication flash cards for my students. We have been using them for several months now, and I see a real difference in my students' knowledge of the times tables. In the fall, each week, kids were responsible for learning a new times table. They would sort those cards from their box and focus on those, while also reviewing the previously learned facts. Now, they are responsible for all of them and we have review quizzes every week. Many students carry the cards back and forth in their backpacks every day so that they can study them during free moments at school, as well as during their commutes. My students are doing better on their weekly quizzes than past classes have done, and I'm sure that the flash cards play an important part in this. They apply this knowledge not only to multiplication problems, but also to division, and now to fractions. Knowing their times tables will give them a leg up on more advanced math and contribute to greater success in the future. Thank you!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Sicherman
Atlases to Find Our Place in the World
Funded Aug 15, 2014Thank you so much for funding this project! We have been using our atlases frequently all year. For example, students were able to follow Christopher Columbus and Henry Hudson's routes during our study of the Age of Exploration. They could see the actual geography of the world and compare it to what Columbus and Hudson expected to find. More recently, they used their atlases to fill in blank outline maps to help learn where the continents and oceans are, as well as particular countries and cities that relate to our curriculum. We also began the tricky work of learning how to use scale on maps. They are highly motivated to remember and understand this information, in part because they can always go get their own personal atlas to double check or find out more. During some free time recently, I noticed that one group of students had gotten their atlases and created a game in which they asked geographical questions to find a mystery location that one student had in mind.
In the spring semester, we will continue to consult the atlases frequently for information relating to our immigration curriculum, and to practice more map-reading skills. Thank you again for this valuable educational gift!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Sicherman
Help My Students Learn to Spell!
Funded Oct 29, 2013Thank you for funding these spelling dictionaries for my 3rd graders! We have been using them since early in the year, and as I expected, the dictionaries have been very helpful in many ways. The kids are much more independent in finding the correct spelling of words, they are more motivated to do so, and they have been remembering the correct spelling of words that they look up. Third graders are often inexperienced with dictionaries and it can take them quite some time to get the hang of looking up words--especially when the words are probably spelled wrong in the first place. But by this point in the year, it usually takes them only a few moments to find what they are looking for. All of my students, even those who struggle with reading, are now adept at using the dictionaries and use them both at school and for homework every day. Thank you so much for making this valuable tool available to my eager students!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Sicherman
Spruce Up A Wilting Classroom!
Funded Oct 28, 2013Thank you so very much for funding this project, which has been a great help in creating a welcoming and organized learning environment for my students this year. From the kids' point of view, the bean bags are definitely the highlight of these supplies! They have worked out ways to share the bean bags during reading and other quiet times, and I can see how they benefit from the relaxed comfort the bean bags provide--especially in a year with a very harsh winter and other stresses. I was also pleased to see that the kids really love the flash cards. They find something very satisfying in doing a quick math problem and getting immediate feedback on their answer. I can see that this practice is helping them with basic math facts. From my own point of view, having the new book bins and other organizing tools has been very helpful. I no longer have to use broken bins or cardboard boxes to display books and the students' own work. These supplies will all be used for years to come. Thank you again!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Sicherman
New Books to Inspire and Enthrall Young Readers
Funded Oct 27, 2013Thank you so much for funding this project! We have had these books in our classroom for several months now, and most of them have already been read--often by more than one reader. Some highlights have been the Humphrey series (told from the point of view of a class's pet hamster) and the books by Grace Lin--both were completely new to my students and have been passed from child to child with no need for extra encouragement from me. New copies of old favorites like the Magic Tree House and Judy Moody series have greatly helped fill the gaps in our classroom library. One student in particular, who started the year well below grade level in reading, is making rapid progress especially by reading the Marvin Redpost and Judy Moody books. It has been very heartening to see kids of all reading levels so excited about a stack of new books. Thank you again!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Sicherman
Origami Builds Community
Funded Mar 11, 2013It has been wonderful having all of this origami paper available for my students for the past few weeks. They have loved experimenting with the different colors and patterns as they learn and teach each other more and more new origami projects. It is fascinating to see kids push themselves to figure out a tough project without giving up, and to give each other just the right amount of help without taking over someone else's project. Several students who struggle with academics have become the "origami stars" of the class, giving them a much-needed confidence boost. We will definitely have left-over paper at the end of the year, and I look forward to giving my new students the chance to work with it in September. Thank you so much for your generous gift!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Sicherman
Explore Immortality with Tuck Everlasting
Funded Sep 7, 2012Thank you so much for your gift of individual copies of Tuck Everlasting to my class. We spent several weeks reading the book together, and the kids really loved it. We had many fascinating discussions about life and death and the cycles of nature... deep stuff, and kids really enjoy and get a lot out of these discussions.
Having their own individual copies was essential for the vocabulary work that we did. Tuck Everlasting includes a lot of sophisticated vocabulary, and in each chapter, children chose words to focus on and study. This has led them to be more aware of language in their own independent reading, and they have gained a much better ability to infer the meanings of words from their context. Having their own copies to underline and jot notes in made all the difference. Thank you!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Sicherman
This classroom project was brought to life by Kia Motors America and 2 other donors.Help My Students Learn to Spell!
Funded Nov 2, 2012Thank you so much for your gift of spelling dictionaries to my class. The kids use them every day for both classwork and homework. Although looking words up can go slowly at first as kids learn their way around the dictionary, by now they are much more capable and it only takes a moment to find what they're looking for. They are also much more aware of alternate spelling patterns that they can use to try to find their words. They have also discovered the other sections of the dictionary, such as lists of common spelling rules and a "misspellers' dictionary," and they use these tools as well. I'm so grateful to be able to offer this invaluable resource to my students, thanks to your generosity.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Sicherman