Past projects 18
Project Lit in Full Swing!
Funded Mar 3, 2020I am so grateful for the support of donors like you. Without your generosity, there is no way I would be able to run a program like Project LIT at our school.
Project LIT is all about building a school-wide reading culture and bringing the joy to reading. In our Project LIT meetings so far, I think the seeds of this have been planted. It's been so inspiring to listen to students talk about why they want a place to talk about books and then see them get so passionate about their opinions. Cover art has come up as a hugely important factor. Publishing companies should listen to what my students are saying!
Your donation arrived just as our school was being closed due to COVID-19 which means we have not been able to move forward with these books as anticipated. But, now that we know what our school year is going to look like for a while, we are working to make these books available to students and hold our Project LIT meetings virtually. My students are excited to get their hands on these books that they had a say in selecting. I think having a great book to sink into might be more important now than ever before. Thanks to your donation this is possible.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Gunn
This classroom project was brought to life by A group of anonymous donors and 14 other donors.Growing Our Community of Readers With Project Lit
Funded Nov 20, 2019I can honestly say that our school library would not be the same without the support of donors like you. Because of you we can keep momentum building for our Project LIT book club.
In mid-December we had our wrap meeting for our first book. Each student shared why they wanted to participate in Project LIT and so many of them said they really liked to read books but don't have people to talk to about reading. I'm so excited that we are starting to build a space that meets that need for students. It was also so fun to listen to them talk with each other about the book, debate ideas, identify with characters, argue about the cover art choices and so on. I helped developed some basic discussion questions, but the students led the small group conversations themselves. For our first attempt, I think they did a great job.
At this meeting students also got to open the boxes of books we received because of your generous donations! They were so excited to see these new books. They could barely decide which one to read first. Ultimately, they landed on Barely Missing Everything as our next book and then will read Nyxia to close out the school year. I think word on the street is building because even without formal advertisement for our next book, I've had new students coming to the library asking if they can join Project LIT. So exciting and this would not be possible without the help you provided. Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Gunn
Project LIT Comes to the Pirate Ship
Funded May 3, 2019I am incredibly grateful to the support of donors like you for helping me get Project LIT off the ground at our school. We are working hard to build a school-wide reading culture and this is one method we are trying on. I learned about Project LIT last year and felt like its mission and values match our school goals. We want students to find joy in reading. We want to elevate diverse voices so students see themselves reflected in the books they are reading. And, ultimately we want to build student leadership and voice.
We had our first Project Lit meeting in early October and although turn out wasn't huge, the students who came were excited. They loved the idea of getting to choose the book they wanted to read and getting a say in the activities we do with the book. I was excited that they had a hard time choosing which book they wanted to read first because all the choices looked interesting. Ultimately, we landed on Opposite of Always with Anger is a Gift a close second. Students were especially happy they get to keep the book they chose. There is something special about knowing you own the book that changes how students approach a text. I would not have been able to gift these books without your help.
Our first book discussion is scheduled for next week and I can't wait to see how it goes. My hope is that Project LIT will inspire students to connect with books and each other in new ways and that our small group will continue to grow this year and beyond. Thank you for your role in making this possible.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Gunn
Graphic Novels Make for Great Reading
Funded Nov 3, 2018I am so grateful to the generous donors who funded this project. It is only through this type of support that I have been able to build a nice graphic novel section for the students at my school. This is by far the most used area of the library with students coming in multiple times a week to return and check out new books. They were thrilled to see the pile of new manga and graphic novels when they arrived.
Graphic novels and manga really are my students' favorite choices for pleasure reading. I love that they appeal to a huge range of readers. I see upper level students checking them out along with their AP books and I have beginning level English Language Learners using them as a way to build vocabulary. The art brings the stories alive for everyone.
I have a student this year working his way through every manga series we have. I see him every morning before school. He returns the books he checked out the previous day and checks out a new stack. He's going to have read through our entire collection by the end of the year! I have another student who is not a strong reader, but loves graphic novels. He specifically requested the Alex Rider series that we received as part of this grant. His smile was huge when I told him we'd received them.
I say this a lot, but I really believe it takes a village to educate young people. I know I can't do it alone. Thank you for helping to play a part in my students' life-long reading journey.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Gunn
Help ELL Students Have a Nice DNA!
Funded Dec 29, 2017Thank you so much for making it possible for our ELL Science students to have access to Have a Nice DNA. In this class our students are working not only on understanding science topics, but also on the literacy skills of reading, writing and speaking. Having access to this text allowed us to create a unit that covered all of these areas.
We started the unit by reading the book aloud together. Because we had enough copies for each student to have one, they were able to read along and take turns reading out loud for their classmates. This verbal practice is very helpful as students continue to improve their English proficiency. Because the science concepts are complicated, we absolutely relied on the diagrams throughout the text. They were very helpful in giving students access to the difficult material.
Once we worked through the text together, the class was divided into small groups and tasked with focusing on a single concept from the book. Students were to become "experts" on their topic and then present their findings to the rest of the class. Each group had specific questions they needed to be able to answer and understand. For example, the mitosis group needed to explain what chromosomes are and how they connect to DNA. Students answered the questions individually, then brought their work to the small group. Together they created a visual representation of their topic and prepared an oral presentation. Each group presented their work to the class and answered follow up questions from classmates.
Have a Nice DNA was the perfect text to guide the work for this unit. Its accessible reading level and clear visuals eliminated some barriers that often face ELL students in their content area classes. This unit would not have been possible without your generous support! Thank you for caring about our students and helping to support their growth as readers and thinkers.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Gunn
Manga Makes Reading Fun!
Funded Oct 19, 2017I am continually astounded by the generosity donors' exhibit toward my students. Over the past few years, thanks to donors like you, I have been able to work on building a nice graphic novel section in my library. This grant added so many new books we had to relocate our graphic novels to a different part of the library. Students were at first shocked, thinking the books they loved were gone, but then super excited to see the new options.
Graphic novels and manga really are my students' favorite choices for pleasure reading. I have upper level students checking them out along with their AP books and I have beginning level English Language Learners flocking to them as well. The art brings the stories alive for ELL students, and at the same time helps their understanding of the English words.
I have one very shy student who has been checking out manga since he was a 9th grader. He has told me that his favorite part of the school day is independent reading in class because that's when he can dive into a new manga. I make sure to let him know each time a grant is funded so he has something to look forward to. Another student is new to us this year. He sometimes exhibits behavior challenges in his classrooms, but he rarely has problems in the library. I think this is in part due to his love of super hero graphic novels. Through those books he's made a connection with me and that's making a difference in how he manages himself in this space.
I say this a lot, but I really believe it takes a village to educate young people. I know I can't do it alone. Thank you for helping to play a part in my students' life-long reading journey.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Gunn
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose.org Community and 6 other donors.Books Enable Empathy and Critical Thinking
Funded Oct 19, 2017Thank you so much for making it possible for my students to read All American Boys. Our 9th grade team is in the middle of the unit right now and I am very excited about the experience our students are having with the novel. Some of the skills we are practicing are: building reading fluency and stamina, analyzing character development and conflict throughout the novel, and practicing discussing literature. Today in class we focused on using text evidence to infer a character's mixed emotions about his deceased father. Students had to think about and explain why they think the character feels conflicted and tie it back to evidence in the novel.
To support the many English Language Learners we have in our classes, we are pairing the text copies of All American Boys with the audiobook. This is helping to remove some of the barriers struggling readers face and is allowing all students to fully participate in discussing the complex ideas this story raises. Students are enthusiastically talking about the themes of the story and making connections to their own lives.
In order to practice the types of skills we want our students to master, it is essential for them to be engaged with the text we are using. If they don't care about the characters, it is all too easy for them to give up on the work. As anticipated, All American Boys is particularly appealing to our 9th grade boys, a group that often exhibits disinterest in reading. Collectively our students are saying they like the book. At least three students have said "Wow! I've never made it this far in a book before." An African-American student told me he doesn't usually like reading books in school because they are only about white people. But, he's liking All American Boys because it gives the perspective of both black and white characters.
We would not have been able to do this unit without your generous support. Thank you for caring about our students and helping to support their growth as readers and thinkers.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Gunn
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose.org Community and 3 other donors.Graphic Novels Grab Reluctant Readers
Funded Oct 31, 2016I am continually astounded by the generosity donors' exhibit towards my students. We reached our goal for this grant in less than 24 hours, incredible! Over the past few years, thanks to donors like you, I have been able to build a nice graphic novel section in my library. In fact, because of the new books from this grant, we actually had to move it to a different area so we could expand. Students were at first shocked, thinking the books they loved were gone, but then super excited to see the new options.
Graphic novels and manga really are my students' favorite choices for pleasure reading. I have upper level students checking them out along with their AP books and I have beginning level English Language Learners flocking to them as well. The art brings the stories alive for ELL students, and at the same time helps their understanding of the English words.
I say this a lot, but I really believe it takes a village to educate young people. I know I can't do it alone. Thank you for helping to play a part in my students' life-long reading journey.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Gunn
Manga Mania: Readers Are Devouring These Books!
Funded Feb 28, 2016I am amazed at the generosity of everyone who gave to this grant. We reached our goal in less than 24 hours which is amazing. I wrote this grant because every time we get new manga & graphic novels they fly off our shelves. Currently these are our most popular pleasure reading items not just for struggling readers, but for advanced readers as well. Something about the combination of great stories and fascinating art makes these really come alive and I love how accessible they are. It is awesome to see an English Language Learner be able to talk to an AP student about a book they both read and enjoyed.
Because of our growing selection, I also now have teachers interested in using graphic novels with their classes in targeted ways. Just this morning I helped a Language Arts teacher select five graphic novels that illustrate memoir in different ways. She is going to use these as a launching point with her creative writing class as they move in to a narrative non-fiction unit. What a great pairing!
It is truly a group effort to educate young people. Thank you for being a part of that process and supporting my students' growth as readers!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Gunn
Mad for Manga
Funded Oct 23, 2015I cannot say enough how grateful I am for your generous donation to our school library. The new manga & graphic novels have been flying off our shelves. Many of my most avid manga readers come in Monday to check out five books and are back by Wednesday ready to trade them for five new ones. I see students talking to each other about reading and recommending new series to one another. Knowing how hard it can be to get teenagers enthusiastic about reading, this kind of pro-reading behavior fills me with such joy.
Having these books has also helped me to build positive relationships with many students – particularly one class of 9th grade boys. What a great foundation for me to build from. They are more likely to trust me when I recommend other types of books for them to try or even when working with them on research skills. Relationships truly are key when working with students and I appreciate any help I can get in that area.
It is truly a group effort to educate young people. Thank you for being a part of that process and supporting my students' growth as readers!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Gunn