Past projects 1
Help a First-Year High School Teacher Design a Student-Centered Classroom
Funded Aug 9, 2022I am so grateful for the impact you've made on my students through donating to my project at the beginning of this school year! As a first-year teacher, I wouldn't have been able to cultivate such a warm, inspiring, and student-centered classroom without your support.
First of all, thank you for the books you helped me purchase to start my classroom library. These books are on display on my bookshelf for any student to check out at any point during the school year, and at least half of the students in each of my classes have continually checked out books from my little library. To encourage students to read every day and to cultivate a love of reading, we begin every class with fifteen minutes of silent independent reading. If a student has trouble figuring out what type of book interests them, I take them to my bookshelf, where we look at each genre and talk about them. Every student walks away from this conversation with a book to try! On Fridays, students answer a journal prompt about their current book, which helps them reflect on what they are reading and provide evidence from their book to support their ideas. Every book you helped provide for my library has been checked out by one of my students at some point this past semester!
Additionally, thank you so much for providing vital materials for in-class activities. The colorful post-it notes, large easel pad, and bulletin board paper have made possible many hands-on activities and have enabled me to create more engaging lesson plans for students. We use the easel pad at least once a week for stations, group work, silent discussions, and generating ideas about the texts we are reading. Students use the post-it notes to analyze texts and to share their ideas with classmates, and I used the bulletin board paper to create a space for students to share book recommendations with one another.
Finally, thank you for the materials that aid in classroom procedures and environment. I am so appreciative of both of the lamps that you've helped provide! Their warm and welcoming lighting has helped make my classroom a safe and inviting space for students. The teal rolling cart has also been especially useful as a place for students to turn in classwork, pick up handouts for in-class activities, and find supplies they may need, such as highlighters, pens, glue, scissors, and sticky notes.
Once again, I'm overwhelmed with thankfulness for your generosity in donating to my project! My students have already benefitted greatly from these books and materials, and I am so excited to see how these items continue to impact my future students as well. Thank you so much for helping me get started with my first year of teaching!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Rhodes