Past projects 4
Cashing In On Good Character
Funded Oct 28, 2021Research and experts have always taught teachers that "reading to kids" is the best way to help them become better readers. At the same time, as a Math teacher, I also have to address Math skills and standards. Your support for this project allowed me to do both, by providing books that supported Math as well as offering high interest reading choices for students.
Motivating students to do their best is always a challenge especially for students who don't have that internal drive. The rewards used for the classroom store offered tangible motivators for students and the best part was they never knew when they would get rewarded. The "money" was randomly handed out when students were seen going above and beyond which required students to give their best always. They loved the visual "vault" that showed how much money they earned and they especially enjoyed the Friday "shopping" days when they were allowed to spend their money.
My students and I want to say how much we appreciate the donors to our project. The support made this program possible which in turn had a huge impact on the growth of the 5th and 6th grade students at my school!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Lisa Young
Meaningful Math Manipulatives at your Seat
Funded Oct 23, 2020When the year started, the idea of trying to teach Math while students were at home was a bit overwhelming. The usual plans for the year included many hands-on experiences, interactive investigations, and students being able to "feel" and "touch" the Math through exploration. Figuring out how that would happen while students were learning from their "home classroom" was my challenge.
Thanks to donations from caring people like you, I was able to put together tool bags for each child. Over a period of three days, parents were asked to "drive thru" the carline at Delmae to pick up a tool bag for their child. Once they were in the hands of students, I first had them open and plunder to see all the tools they had. Watching them open the tool bags online was just as exciting as watching children open gifts on Christmas morning. And of course we had to take some time to let them use the tools and explore how we would use them in class. One student shared that she would be able to use it "in her classroom" which I found out later was her being the teacher and her younger sibling being the student! Student becoming the teacher!
The study of fractions, decimals, and place value are three major units in 5th grade and the tools provided by this grant including the write-on number line and base ten sets were essential to help students interact with me during those lessons just as they would have face to face. Thank you again for helping support my students and making this "special" year even more special (in a good way)!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Lisa Young
This classroom project was brought to life by OshKosh B'gosh and 9 other donors.Positive Behavior Deserves Positive Rewards
Funded Oct 14, 2018The staff and students at Delmae Elementary want to send a huge thank you to the sponsors of our "Positive Behavior Deserves Positive Rewards" grant through Donors Choose. The Junior BETA Club began opening the store daily and have seen a steady increase in the number of customers earning "Delmae Dollars" to spend. They have been particularly excited to see some of the new items we were able to add to the store thanks to YOUR donations.
Thanks to your generosity, the Delmae Dollar Store has been very busy rewarding students for displaying our core character traits. In the first quarter of being open, our students earned over 700 "Delmae Dollars" they were able to use to purchase items YOU helped provide. If you consider we have about that many total students in the school, we are seeing the impact of this PBIS system in all areas. There are students who have set their sights on certain items in the store and are working harder to earn the "dollars" to shop.
In addition to your donations to our rewards program, parents and other community members have seen the impact our store has had on student behavior and are offering to help out too. Even teachers were motivated to go the extra mile and spend their own money to pick up items to donate. The Junior BETA Club has begun keeping track of the number of "Delmae dollars" for each of our five character traits to see which one students are being rewarded for most. It has been exciting and motivating for students to see grade levels shopping each morning and seeing all the great products made possible by this grant!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Lisa Young
How Does Your Garden Grow?
Funded Jan 29, 2017The students were really engaged in the lessons centered around our "How Does Your Garden Grow? plan! One of the students said he couldn't wait to eat some of the food his plants would grow. Although many of the students were aware that plants grow outdoors or from seeds, most of them had not experienced the actually growth process. When they first saw the "moisture gage", most of them thought it was a thermometer, "It's like what the nurse uses to take my temperature".
As the lessons progressed, students were able to more accurately identify conditions that were appropriate for certain types of seeds and several of them investigated plants they were interested in using research tools they had learned this year.
As we focused more on sunflowers, students began to see how certain plants were more adapted to certain environments. They used this to discuss their own habitats at home and the types of plants that would grow in certain areas of their yard. As students left with their plants, the discussion focused on "I'm gonna get my mom to buy some tomato plants" and "I love cucumbers, I want to try those."
What a great way to end the year with these types of ideas and thoughts going on in the minds of such young children who are in a position to change the mindset of their family and the people they care about.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Lisa Young
This classroom project was brought to life by Duke Energy and 5 other donors.