Past projects 15
Mancala Madness: and Other Mesmerizing Math Games
Funded Jan 27, 2013Thank you all for your generous donations. My children have loved the Mancala boards from the day they arrived. We have had multiple tournaments with the boards and the students are definitely improving their minds.
Regarding the graphing games, the kids love "Where's Wilma" because it helps them to understand how to match ordered pairs with their graph. Finally, the Math24 cards have been tough, which is exactly what the kids needed. Understanding basic operations with integers has long been an issue for my students, but they are now much better at it thanks to the game.
Thank you all again for your kindness and I look forward to getting the pictures posted from some of our Mancala games very soon.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Franklin
Students Gravitate to Graphic Novels
Funded Apr 21, 2012I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your generous donations. I wanted to give the students a chance to read some of the graphic novels before I wrote this, and their popularity has been astonishing. Some of the students who have been reaching for them are children who would not be caught with a book in their hands even if I paid them to. However, the graphic novels really seem to make a connection with them by activating prior knowledge, whether it be about sports or history.
Additionally, the two rocking chairs are the talk of the town, as students from other classes come in to try and sit in them. My students love to sit in them while they read and this has caused me to have to only allow two students to the library at once or else I get a mad dash to the chairs. However, this is not a bad problem to have. Thank you again for the positive impact you have had on my students, my classroom, and myself.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Franklin
Bring Books to Boys- Shrinking the Gap in Reading Scores.
Funded Oct 7, 2011Thank you very much for your generous donations. In my room I now have the beginnings of a great library of books. Students have been racing up to me in the beginning of the day to sign out hits like the Hunger Games series before someone else can get to them. Some of these students are the same children I had never seen with a book prior to this year. The transformation has been amazing and is exactly what I expected. This goes to show you that when students are interested in the material they are reading, they will clamor for more.
When I picked the books, I tried to pick ones that would get the young men in my room interested. This has certainly occurred and I truly thank you for it. Without these books, some of my young men would not be reading at all.
Thank you again.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Franklin
Dry Erase Away Class Participation Issues
Funded May 2, 2011Thank you very much for your generosity. I have been using the markers since the day they arrived in the office and my kids have really enjoyed using the dry erase boards much more in class. Although I feel as though sharing markers and using old socks for erasers adds a certain level of character to my classroom, showing the students that people care about them is definitely a good replacement.
The big reason why this donation is so important is that although individually, dry erase markers are not very expensive, the sheer quantity that a classroom filled with 7th and 8th graders can go through in a year is mind blowing. Often times, I think my students used to just eat my markers because they were nowhere to be found. Now though, the kids know that people spent their hard-earned money on them when they certainly didn't have to, and the students have a certain level of respect for the markers, compared to other things in my room.
As for the primary use of the markers, I have been able to use dry erase boards to do informal polls of my students' knowledge on a topic, play games to keep them interested, and even to brainstorm artistic ideas without wasting paper. These markers have had a big impact on my lesson planning and I once again thank you all for your kind donations. ”
With gratitude,
Mr. Franklin
This classroom project was brought to life by Merck Company Foundation and 6 other donors.Promethean Board Projector Lacks Pop and Gets Punchy
Funded May 5, 2011I would like to sincerely thank all of you for your generous donations, no matter how large or small. Being in a school where technology is present, but sometimes outdated, it is very tough to get new supplies. I have often been told that I already have this thing or that, but they are so old that they no longer function properly. A lot of that has changed with your donations.
As soon as the projector arrived at the school, I hung it in my room and began to use it. I conduct various after school clubs and the projector has been great because now students can use the board without having to have all of the lights out. This allows multiple things to be worked on at once, rather than the Promethean board monopolizing the entire classroom. Similarly, it is much easier to keep my students paying attention on a dreary, rainy day when I can use the board and have the lights on at the same time! The projector is so bright and so sharp that it appears better with the lights on than my old one did with the lights off. This is very important because I use my Promethean board 99 out of 100 days and some of those days happen to be rainy and gross out, making it tough to keep the students focused.
Another big impact that the projector has had is that more students are excited to use the board because they want to use the new projector. It is amazing how something as simple as a new projector-something the students never would have given a second thought to- can have such a positive impact on their outlook on class participation.
Finally, my students greatly appreciate the amount of money that was spent by people they have never met (for the most part) to help them. Sometimes that's all it takes for kids in an urban school to feel like they are something more than just another face in the crowd and I have definitely seen the appreciation on my students' faces.
I thank you from the bottom of my heart and hope that you all gain from this experience like my students and I have. ”
With gratitude,
Mr. Franklin