Mrs. Anderson's Classroom Edit display name

Past projects 22

• Texts to Inspire Young Leaders

  Funded Oct 22, 2020

  For this project, I requested a variety of books, some of which we were able to use as read-alouds during our virtual classroom this past year. Each book allowed us to discuss topics covered across the curriculum - specifically in the areas of science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM). For example, when reading Ada's Violin: The Story of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay, we discussed recycling materials and the properties of sound. We paired it with articles and videos from the internet about the orchestra, and also a Magic School Bus video about sound. The addition of this beautiful book gave us a great foundation for further exploration and discovery surrounding our state science standards.

  Since these books really reflect the growing diversity my students will encounter as global citizens, model problem solving from beyond our community, and redefine the image of leadership, I am excited that students returning to the classroom this year will have hands-on access to these books in our classroom library. They will be able to reread books shared in our whole group and will see images depicting women, minorities, and people with disabilities as being successful, overcoming adversity, leading in their chosen fields, and reaching their dreams. The people represented in these stories are role models I cannot wait for all my students to learn about and admire. I still believe adding these titles to our class library will impact their developing perceptions about STEAM careers and who can be successful leaders in those jobs in the future. I am beyond grateful for your support in making this happen.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Anderson

  This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Donor and one other donor.

• Old-School Science Tools

  Funded Oct 3, 2020

  I am so filled with gratitude and excitement, I am almost at a loss for words! These materials will reach students who are excited about learning this school year, even though they are not physically back in classrooms (yet). Virtual learning is our new normal and it has its challenges, but we are learning through baby steps how to make the most of each less lesson every day. Thank you for providing these materials, which will go directly to students wherever they are learning, so that they may explore, investigate, wonder, and enjoy science. It may seem like your gift was small, but it is a huge blessing for our class.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Anderson

  This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 9 other donors.

• STREAM Projects With Inclusive Inspirations

  Funded Jul 11, 2020

  I am overwhelmed by your support and by how quickly this project was funded. I know there are many pressing matters all-around these days, and I am beyond thankful that you thought to share your resources to provide us with new resources going into this school year. The students will be excited, inspired, and "makers" thanks to your gifts.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Anderson

  This classroom project was brought to life by Google.org and 9 other donors.

• Making Virtual Reality a Classroom Reality

  Funded Mar 2, 2020

  Thank you very much for helping to make our project about exploring virtual reality an actual reality for our classroom. In the weeks just before our schools were closed for this year, all of our materials arrived. The students were so excited when we unboxed the VR headsets and Merge Cubes, which we were able to explore just a little using an app on my phone. There were so many "ooohhs" and "aaahhhs" as they crowded around to see a variety of 3D objects from different museum collections. Being able to rotate and manipulate animals, like elephants and tigers, in the palms of our hands had them mesmerized (and it was deemed to be "sick" and " very cool").

  We also had a few chances to try the Space, Animal, and Food 4D Flashcards. Again, students were in awe as they viewed the items pop off the cards like holograms - especially animals they had previously studied in the begining of the year. They were really looking forward to using the Space 4D Flashcard set to get a closer look at those models during our last science unit of the year.

  Sadly, we did not get the chance to open or try out the View-Master Deluxe VR Viewer with the Experience Packs (Discovery Underwater, Smithsonian, and Destinations). Similar to the red, old-school View-Masters with the wheel of miniture pictures I enjoyed as a child, students would have had the opportunity to explore in greater detail and manipulate virtual destinations - and use this as a springboard for their research and writing in the last marking period. While I am sad to know that they missed these opportunities, I feel very blessed, thankful, and excited knowing that these items await students coming to class in the future. Thank you, again, for making this all possible.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Anderson

• Seeking Understanding Through Storyworks Magazine

  Funded Oct 5, 2019

  Thank you very much for supplying each student in my homeroom class with their own Scholastic Storyworks copy every month! Storyworks is a great resources because it is a current events "magazine." It has current, nonfiction articles written at our reading levels. We have already read an article about last year's fires in California while we were studying natural disasters for our science unit and watching this years fires on the Weather Channel). Then we read an article about refugees in Somalia and Ethiopia which connected to our fiction Global Read Aloud story, The Bridge Home. Every time we do this, our connections to and comprehension of the skills and concepts is enhanced. Every time we do this, we also make connections to other people and places around the globe. We can compare those stories to our life stories and then expand our understanding of what it means to be a "global citizen."

  Storyworks also has fiction stories, poems, and persuasive articles. Students use these mentor text as a basis for grammar lessons and writing assignments. We look to these stories to examine plot development and identify character traits. We analyze rhyme scheme and figurative language. We identify well placed adjectives, or try to utilize the way an author is uses quotations in dialog in our stories. The persuasive articles allow us to take sides, debate, and write opinion pieces using our voices and arguments.

  It is a rich resource which we are using every week in our class, thanks to you!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Anderson

• "If You Build It..."

  Funded Aug 13, 2019

  Thank you very much for making our STEAM project time "the coolest!" Our new materials are so engaging that it is sometimes hard to pull us away for the next subject. Our class has been able to use our materials in a variety of ways and at a variety of times throughout the day.

  STREAM time is one of our favorite ways to start our school day, usually 2-3 mornings a week. Early arrivals get a head start building whatever they can imagine with the Magnatiles, or designing patterns with the dominoes. Even though it seems so simple, the building planks provide the most skill and imagination to convert into towers, buildings, forts, boats, etc.

  Another time of the day we use the materials is during our math class. The planks, dominoes, and tiles become manipulatives for our math centers during rotations. Students are able to work collaboratively to solve problems, race to complete challenges, and use their imagination and creative skills to complete different tasks. These new materials are being used frequently, but all of the students continue to be excited and curious every time they are a choice. We could not be more grateful!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Anderson

• Diverse Inspiration

  Funded Jul 28, 2019

  For this project, the requested books are being used in a variety of different ways in our classroom. First, the students are already digging into them during free choice reading in station rotations. There is even a waiting list for the popular books! The students have been very excited by these beautiful, interesting titles about topics that interest them - especially the technology books that include activities.

  Another way these books are being used is in my planning for whole group content instruction. During whole group reading, these stories are shared with every student in the class as examples of good literature that I use to models reading skills and strategies. For example, we used The Brilliant Deep and Shark Lady as examples of nonfiction text organization, and to also expand upon our background knowledge for our study of oceans in science. During science, we expanded on this with a STREAM project making clay models of the layers in the ocean.

  I'm most excited by the fact that when we use these titles, my students are presented with strong, positive, main characters that reflect the diversity in the world that my students will see in their futures. As I prepare them to be global citizens, they are being prepared to work with a variety of people - people like those in our books that have redefined the image of leadership. With these books, my students are reading about problem solvers who look like them. Small moments like these can make a big difference to a student's future. I still believe adding these titles to our class library will continue to impact the developing perceptions my students have about STEAM careers and who can be successful leaders in those jobs in the future. Thanks to your donations, I also believe my students will be those leaders.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Anderson

  This classroom project was brought to life by Google.org and 2 other donors.

• Learning and Leadership Through Good Literature

  Funded Dec 31, 2018

  Thank you very much for funding our project and having such great books delivered to our classroom! We jumped right in and utilized these new resources in a variety of ways. I introduced the book, The Red Pencil, to my class by reading the first several chapters aloud, and we had great class discussions while working on reading skills like prediction and character comparisons. Several of my students were hook from the start, so having extra copies in the classroom allowed for them get their own copies in hand quickly. They were able to read through the text at their own pace. They also created a mini book club where they read and discussed the book together. Next year, I look forward to using the book again, and in a small group setting to incorporating skills like figurative language and hope to build upon their comprehension with various writing activities.

  The other collection sets/packs were used throughout the year during direct instruction (whole group reading) as "expert models" of what good writers do, but they also drove our conversations regarding our 7 Habits curriculum, growth mindset, and leadership. For example, during February and our poetry unit, Brown Girl Dreaming was a huge foundation during instruction. Another title, The Wall Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain, reach a couple of very artistically talented, but reluctant readers. I could tell they were intrigued by the interesting use of illustrations to tell this story. Finally, the nonfiction texts, The Earth and the Role of Water and Global Warming, supported my instruction of text features as I read them to the class during science SOL instruction. Having these resources available to me - and for student use - in the classroom has been a true gift. Thank you for supporting our learning!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Anderson

• Children's Engineering Challenges

  Funded Aug 9, 2016

  Thank you very much for choosing to support our class with these AMAZING supplies. This donation has already helped my students with challenging opportunities to explore our Virginia Science Standards of Learning unit on animals. The tools like the rolling trimmer, the paper cutter, and hot glue gun have, so far, enable the students to address two specific STEAM assignments in fun, collaborative ways.

  For our first project, students were able to use a variety of recycled materials in order to build a self-selected animal. Each animal also needed to then be presented within a student designed and built model habitat. Using supplies like plastic bottles, paper towel rolls, wiggly eyes, and pipe cleaners with our new tools made the projects stronger and allowed the students to actually construct what they had researched and imagined they could build. Our second follow-up project included creating endangered animal puzzles inspired by the website http://species-in-pieces.com/. As they thoughtful created their puzzles, they were able to use the cutters – and safety goggles - to cut the heavy paper safely and easily.

  The best part is that these gifts will keep on giving. Our class has projects on the horizon for inventions during our simple machines unit and for a famous African American inspired construction during February, both of which will utilize our new tools. Also this year, student from other classes can access these resources as needed for their projects. My hope is that classes in future years will see these tools as a normal part of learning, and not as a novelty. I know these tools will teach my students valuable lessons that go beyond state standards and will better prepare them for success in the future. It is exciting to know they have more resources at their disposal as they realize that real learning comes from trial and error, from taking risks, and from persistence at creative tasks.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Anderson

• Making "K'NEX"-tions With The Invention Of Hugo Cabret

  Funded Jan 22, 2016

  Dear Donor's,

  I again cannot fully express my joy and thanks for your donation to this project. It has been wonderful to see these exciting materials used in multiple lessons for my students. Before, I noted that we use abstract explanations to explain abstract things, and that it can be hard to make real-world connections, but now, in our class, I have seen these books, clocks, and K-nex kits assist students in making those connections between our science, math, and reading lessons in a really fun way!

  Materials that you have funded for science and math have enable my students to explore, design, question, research, and imagine their own concepts with concrete tools and meaningful practice including a literary connection. Whole class, we read the Invention of Hugo Cabret and enjoyed using this text to discuss many reading objectives including character traits, story elements, and summarizing. Students at all levels were able to engage with the text and also make comparisons to the film. While reading the book during the reading block, we practice telling time and calculating elapse time during math. The time puzzle and wipe-on/wipe-off clocks made the tasks more engaging, concrete, and practical. During science time in the afternoons, we studied simple and compound machines, connecting it to the clocks and automaton from the Hugo books. Students read the nonfiction science books, complete the machine sort game, and designed their own Rube Goldberg machines. They were also able to build machines with the K-nex Blocks. It really was amazing to see them excited and engaged everyday with concepts and skills that connected across all subject areas.

  I have also been able to share these materials with my colleagues on my grade level team, and am still look forward to adding and expanding on these lessons with my future classes. Thank you again for the difference you have made for my students!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Anderson