Mrs. Dye's Classroom Edit display name

Past projects 26

• Going Green with Poetry

  Funded Nov 13, 2009

  Thank you so much for providing my students with high quality poetry books about the environment. It was so fun to read from these books and then have the students use them for models to write their own poetry. I was amazed at the poems that my students were able to write! The models made all the difference and we all enjoyed the fantastic illustrations. We are now preparing for an end of the year poetry exhibit where students will be displaying their nature inspired poetry. Parents and fellow classmates are invited to come and meet the authors in our library and enjoy cookies with lemonade. ”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Dye

• Environmental Art Lessons

  Funded Mar 25, 2010

  Thank you so much for the art lessons and supplies. My students are thrilled to be learning about art principles using different art materials. I have put examples in the front display case at school and was surprised at how excited the teachers were about "the incredible art." It was so simple and yet turned out so good. Many teachers have asked to borrow the lessons.

  Because I want to emphasize the environment, students have been using nature as the inspiration for all their art. One warm day we even went outside in our school garden and had art class outside. From the pictures you will see what incredible artists I have.

  We are now preparing for a special exhibit of their art. Students selected their favorite pieces which were then framed. The children filled out a display tag for each piece like in an art exhibit. During the last week of school, students will be displaying their art in a Environmental Art Exhibit. ”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Dye

  This classroom project was brought to life by Pershing Square Foundation and 5 other donors.

• Waste-Free Lunches: A Hands-On Environmental Project

  Funded Nov 26, 2009

  This year my class took on the challenge of turning our elementary school into a green school. We started out slowly by finding recycling bins for every classroom and picking up the recycling one day a week. As students/teachers started recycling more, we found that we needed large recycling bins for collection and dumping. We tried many sources, but were unable to find any free resources to use.

  In the meantime, students in the school continued to recycle more and more. My students gave presentations in the classrooms and made posters to hang around the school encouraging recycling. The program was building momentum quickly and we were struggling to keep up. At this point two mothers wanted to start a recycling program in the lunchroom. Again we were faced with no supplies so we turned to Donors Choose.

  Through your donation to Donors Choose, I was able to buy three large recycling bins. These bins will last for years and years and are easy for my little guys to use. We are so thankful for your help in turning our school into a green school.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Dye

  This classroom project was brought to life by Disney's Planet Challenge and 3 other donors.

• Let's Go Green

  Funded Jul 2, 2009

  The last few months have been an inspiration to me as I watch my students learn about the carbon cycle and what we need to do to protect our environment. We watched the series Planet Earth and marveled at the incredible world we live in. Students learned about reusing, reducing and recycling and then taught their own lessons to other classrooms in the school. We set up and are maintaining two school worm bins. Using leftover lunch waste, we cut and feed our worms seven pounds of food each week. Our worms have traveled around to classrooms and my students have taught other students about worm composting. For Halloween we had a Green Costume Contest. This was fun and drove home the reusing message.

  The momentum continues to build as we take on the lunchroom. My students are now supervising the recycling and reusing of waste in the lunchroom. Our school alone gives a local pig farmer 100 pounds of food each day. Our district calculated that our school is saving $8,000 a year on trash pick up. It's not surprising that we've been asked to share our program with the other schools in the district.

  Thank you so much for supporting this project. You have motivated not only my students, but all the students in our school and district. We have all changed--there's no going back now.

  ”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Dye

• Puget Sound: Our Fragile Ecosystem

  Funded May 12, 2009

  Studying the Puget Sound ecosystem has been a wonderful learning opportunity for my students. We went on learning trips to the dock, estuary, wetland and the Puget Sound itself aboard the Adventuress. Students not only gained an appreciation for where they live, but also a passion for protecting their environment.

  I knew the students would get excited about the flip cameras, but I had no idea how much they would love them. Each group researched a pollution/water issue and then wrote their own public service announcement. As a teacher I found this to be an easy and motivating method of incorporating research, writing and speech into the curriculum.

  This project was one the students will remember for years to come. Thank you so much for supporting it. You have made a difference in the lives of some very special children. Who knows what seeds have been planted?

  ”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Dye

• We Are Not Alone

  Funded Apr 23, 2009

  We Are Not Alone was by far the most popular unit I taught this year. My highly capable students really enjoyed learning about different countries and geographic landforms. Many students, on their own, decided to learn all the countries of each continent! The atlases were outstanding and used constantly. I was especially pleased to see students gathering on the rug to just enjoy the wonderful pictures together.

  One major component of this unit was to introduce my students to what life is like in other parts of the world. The picture books were an excellent way to expose my homogeneous classroom to other cultures and world issues. They were moved by what they learned. My students even wrote to The World Affairs Council suggesting ways to address issues of poverty, education and health. I know that what they learned through this unit will impact their lives.

  These materials have become the center of my unit and I will repeatedly use them year-after-year.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Dye