Past projects 39
Disney Presents: Release Of The Butterflies
Funded Jan 25, 2013Thank you so much for funding our classroom project, "Disney Presents: Release of the Butterflies." The iPad you helped fund made it possible for all of my students to work in groups of two during our environmental science unit. My students began by observing lady beetles. They used an iPad application called "Paper" to create detailed, labeled drawings of the lady beetles. They then imported these drawing into another application called "Pages," into which they also typed their observations.
My students followed the same process with painted-lady butterflies. They watched them transform from caterpillars, to pupa, to butterflies. As they recorded their observations, they also noted questions that came to their minds.
We have since released the butterflies and lady beetles into our school garden.
Our next step is to take the questions my students came up with and conduct research to answer them.
Your donations have helped bring science to life in my classroom. Thank you!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Alvarez
This classroom project was brought to life by Disney and 13 other donors.Oh, The Place We Will Go With Skype And A Mac Book Air!
Funded May 22, 2012Thank you for your donations! The Mac Air you helped fund has been a great asset to our classroom. My students have been using it at least once a week to assist them with their learning. They use it to type letters and to practice their typing skills on a website called Dance Mat Typing. They also use it to access websites like PBS for Kids, Brain Pop, and Brain Pop Jr. On these websites they are able to watch short videos that help them build their vocabularies and knowledge of a variety of topics. Last, my students use the Mac Air to review math skills on a website called IXL.
Unfortunately, the guest author we hoped to host with the Mac Air was unable to conduct his Skype visit. However, the Mac Air continues to be a great asset to my students.
Thank you so much for helping fund it!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Alvarez
These Are the Seeds From Which Writers Will Grow
Funded Oct 15, 2012Thank you all for your generous donations! The materials you helped fund are insuring that my students thrive as writers. The chart paper, post-its, and sharpies have allowed me to create charts and posters to guide my students in their writing.
The yellow, lined paper has allowed my students to continue to write drafts. We ran out of our own supply of yellow paper during our second writing unit. Thanks to your donations, however, my students have enough yellow paper to last them through the rest of the year.
The books you helped fund will serve as mentor texts. We will study at least two of these books during our third writing unit, which begins this week. This books will provide my students with great examples of writers' craft moves that they can use in their own writing.
Thank you so much for helping us acquire these materials!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Alvarez
This classroom project was brought to life by Kia Motors America and 6 other donors.An Image or a Thousand Words
Funded Aug 15, 2012My students and I are incredibly grateful for all of the tools that you have funded for our classroom, including the Epson Powerlite Projector that was part of this project.
As you will hear about in their letters to you, we use the projector every day to enhance their learning. We begin by connecting it to the document reader (that you also funded) to project, discuss, and correct the previous day's homework.
I then connect the projector to our teaching iPad (funded by you, as well) and project the week's vocabulary words. The combination of the projector and iPad allows everyone to see and discuss the week's words.
Before grammar and writing lessons, we use the iPad and the projector to watch Brain Pop videos on various subjects, including "Writing Friendly Letters." During math, we connect the projector to a laptop and are able to see Envision math videos for the lesson of the day. We then use the document reader and projector to practice writing letters, using the rules of grammar, and solving math problems together. The projector and other tools you donated are an essential part of our learning day.
And in January, they will help with a first in my classroom. We will be hosting a Skype visit by children's book author, Adam Gidwitz. We are all very excited to be using the technology you donated to connect to the world outside our classroom in this way!
For all of the ways that your gifts are making a difference in my students' learning, I thank you!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Alvarez
Oh, the Places We Will Go with Skype and a Few More Tools
Funded May 15, 2012It was very generous of you to fund a speaker system and two balance ball chairs for our classroom.
My students use the balance ball chairs everyday. They love sitting on them while they write, work on math, and complete other tasks. The balance ball chairs help keep even my most energetic students focused. They are also helping my students develop a habit of sharing. After sitting on a balance ball chair for a portion of the day, my students have begun to pass on the balance balls to other students without me prompting them to.
We also use the speaker system daily. During Writers' Workshop, I use the speaker system to play classical music for my students. My students really enjoy hearing music while they write and as a result the room is much more quiet. We also use the speakers to listen to Brain Pop videos and Envision math lessons. Most recently, we watched a Brain Pop video on how to write a friendly letter. My students then used what they learned to help them write thank you letters to Oo.com, which funded our LCD projector. Being able to hear these videos helps my students learn concepts in a more interesting way than if I just explain them.
The speakers will also come in useful when we conduct our first Skype conversation with a Penguin Group author. I have put in requests for authors Adam Gidwitz, C. Alexander London, and Geoff Rodkey to speak our classroom. I am awaiting for them to respond to my request.
The speaker system and balance ball chairs have been a great asset to our classroom. My students and I are very grateful to have them!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Alvarez
Everyday Tools That Make a Huge Difference
Funded Dec 21, 2011800x600
Thank you so much for your generous donations! My students have been using the tools you helped fund on an almost daily basis. They use the Expo Dry Erase Markers to practice spelling and to answer math review questions. Using the dry erase markers they are able to practice multiplying two-digit numbers by one digit numbers; do long division problems; track data on tally charts; and review other important math skills.
The Anansi Read-Along books on CD have enriched our listening center. In teams of four, my students listen to and read along with the interesting narrators on the CD. They then analyze and complete book reports on the stories they have read. With the help of the listening center, my students are improving in their ability to analyze literature.
The balance ball has been an incredible benefit to my students, especially those with shorter attention spans. Those of my students who have a hard time sitting in their seats for more than a few minutes, are now able to stay seated 95% of the time with the aid of the balance ball. Everyone of my students has expressed to me that they find the balance balls to be much more comfortable than the chairs they sit in. "It's great for my posture," explained one student when I asked why he preferred the balance ball to his chair. "ÂÂPlus it doesn't hurt my back. My chair hurts my back and then I want to get up and walk around the room," he added. All of my students would like more balance ball chairs in our classroom.
The kickball and base pads have given my students an additional activity to enjoy will keeping their bodies fit and their minds strong. The drawing paper and the color pencils have allowed them to resume creating art.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Alvarez
This classroom project was brought to life by Wasserman Foundation and 19 other donors.iPADs for Education
Funded Apr 10, 2012My students love our new iPad! We are putting it to some great uses. On a daily basis, we are watching short films on BrainPop to review concepts as diverse as Capitalization, Types of Writing, the Apollo Program, and the life of Cesar Chavez. Using Google images, I have been able to search for and project images of javelinas, the Hoover Dam, and blue thrush to help students better understand their reading. I have also been training students on how to use the new iPad to present content to the rest of the class. I look forward to discovering additional ways to put the new iPad to use in enriching my students' educations. Thank you so much for funding it!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Alvarez
Help Us Bring Science to Life
Funded Jan 25, 2012Thank you so much for your generous donations! The science materials you helped fund have enriched and continue to enrich my students' understanding of third grade science. By studying the lady beetles and painted lady butterflies, my students are learning that animals have structures that serve different functions in growth and survival. By observing how the butterflies use the mallow plants, they are also learning that animals interact with the environments they live in and that those environments affect the animals' chances for survival. My students have been making observations every day and recording them in science journals. So they are learning how to behave like scientists.
We have been using the Class Thermometer to keep track of the daily temperature on a graph. In doing so, my students are learning about how to organize and compare data. They are also using the data we get from the thermometer to learn probability, like how to use temperature data to predict future temperatures.
We will also soon begin using the Inflatable Solar System and telescope to investigate the relationship between the Earth and the other planets in our solar system.
You have helped fund some great learning tools. Thank you!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Alvarez
This classroom project was brought to life by Wasserman Foundation and 24 other donors.Tools for Success, Part III
Funded Dec 10, 2011Thank you so much for your generous donations! My students have been using the tools you funded on an almost daily basis. They use the privacy partitions to take tests and spelling quizzes. They use the Regrouping Activity Chart to practice adding and subtracting two and three-digit numbers. They use the Money Math Activity Kit to count money amounts and to identify different ways of making an amount. The math dice allow them to play math games that reinforce important concepts like multiplication and division. We have also been using the Place Value Practice Board to review place value up to 10,000.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Alvarez
This classroom project was brought to life by Wasserman Foundation and 19 other donors.An AVerVision Document Camera to Focus Student Minds
Funded Mar 20, 2012Thank you so much for helping fund an AVerVision Document Camera for our classroom! It is a wonderful tool and we use it every day to enhance student learning. Thusfar, I have used it to model note-taking, letter writing, and analysis of narrative literature for students. Students have used it to present their own math work to their classmates. We also use the document camera to project images that help students understand the week's vocabulary better. With the help of the document camera every student in the classroom has a clear view of what is presented. It is making a huge difference in helping my students focus, see, and learn.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Alvarez