Past projects 15
Science & Engineering Fun
Funded Oct 15, 2023Thank you so much for your donations of Science and Engineering kits! My students were so excited when they arrived. We started with the Forces & Motion materials to enhance our understanding of force and motion with hands-on experiences. We also chose the Car STEAM kit for our first engineering project. The students learned about how wheels work and they worked in small groups to design a car they thought would travel fast. They tried different strategies for how to use the force of air from the balloons to make the cars move. They learned a lot about the engineering process as they revised their plans to improve the results, and they are looking forward to using the remaining STEAM kits.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Moogan
This classroom project was brought to life by United Airlines and 4 other donors.Help Us Grow as Readers
Funded May 5, 2023Thank you so much for your generous donations to this project! The materials are helping my students develop their foundational reading skills.
They get so excited to play the games and are having so much fun as they grow in their word reading and sentence reading abilities. They also love the books and are eager to take a turn reading to a partner. We examine the phonics patterns and practice reading fluently with expression.
I am so appreciative of your generous donations that helped me provide my students with these great resources!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Moogan
This classroom project was brought to life by General Motors and 2 other donors.Centers for Foundational Reading Skills
Funded Jan 17, 2022Thank you so much for the donation of phonics games for my students. As emergent readers, learning to read can pose a challenge that doesn't always seem enjoyable. These games give my students an opportunity to have fun while practicing their new skills and reviewing their foundational reading skills.
The games progress from foundational phonemic awareness skills through basic phonics skills, and even include some syllable types and more advanced spelling patterns. I am able to select the best game for each group to play that will reinforce their current skill level and move them on to the next stages of learning to read.
I also use the games to incentivize consistent student attendance, and several students' absences have decreased because they enjoy the games so much and don't want to miss out on "game day."
Thank you again so much for your generosity in providing these supplies for my students!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Moogan
This classroom project was brought to life by Panda Cares and 4 other donors.Student Whiteboards for Success
Funded Jan 10, 2022Thank you so much for the donation of student whiteboards and dry erase markers. My students were so excited to receive them, and they are always engaged when we do our reading and writing activities on the whiteboards. Some of my students struggle with their penmanship, so the side with lines is helpful for them to keep their words and sentences straight. On the blank side, we can write individual words and play word games.
It is also really helpful that the whiteboards are magnetic so our phonics manipulatives will stick to it, making it easy for me to model the sound and spelling patterns. I also appreciate the large magnetic dry-erase poster. It makes modeling for the students so much easier, so they can clearly visualize an example of what their journal page or student whiteboard should have on it.
These student whiteboards are so strong and durable that they will be put to good use for many years to come. Thank you again for your generosity!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Moogan
This classroom project was brought to life by Panda Cares and 2 other donors.Journals for Distance Learning
Funded Oct 22, 2020I am so grateful for your generous donations towards these student journals and math whiteboards. I cannot express how important journaling has been this year as my students and I navigate 2nd grade through distance learning. Every morning, we start the day with journal prompts for our writing and math journals. It helps my students engage in the learning of the day, and connect with each other as they share out their answers. So much of our learning this year has been digital, but it is so important for my young learners to practice expressing themselves with pencil and paper. Some students have even been able to turn in completed journals so I can review their work and provide feedback. I believe this will help my students when it is time to transition back to in-person learning.
The whiteboards have also been and integral part of our math lessons, as they allow the students to show their work and hold it up to the camera so I can evaluate their understanding of the concepts we are learning.
I am so appreciative to have these tools to help us through the challenge of distance learning!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Moogan
This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 11 other donors.A Document Camera for Distance Learning
Funded Aug 7, 2020Thank you so much for your generous donations to this project! The school year is more than half over, and my school continues distance learning for the foreseeable future. I would like to tell you just how much this project has enhanced the distance learning experience for me and my students.
First, I am able to use the iPad for communicating with parents and managing our school's learning management system. This way, I can be available during and outside of our school day without being tethered to my laptop. During our Zoom classes, I sign in on the iPad as a co-host, so we do not have to worry about our session closing unexpectedly if my laptop temporarily loses connectivity. I can "be in two places at once" during small group and independent work time by using the iPad as a second device to visit breakout rooms. But most of the time, I have the iPad mounted on the flexible tablet stand that was included in this project request. In this way, I am able to project my workspace (journal, book, or manipulatives, etc) for the students to see on their screen as clearly as if they were in the same room with me.
I cannot imagine navigating distance learning without the materials this project, and your donations, provided. With these materials, our distance learning experience has been more dynamic, engaging, and interactive than it might otherwise have been. I am so grateful for your generosity in contributing to this project.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Moogan
This classroom project was brought to life by A Generous Donor and 9 other donors.Diverse Reading to Learn About Kindness
Funded Dec 4, 2019Thank you so much for your generous donations that provided my students with literature and games for learning about kindness and social skills! We received the materials in January and read several of the stories together over the next couple of months. In particular, we studied Theme and made connections between several of the stories with similar themes. My students appreciated the diversity represented in the books we received.
We also received a set of games for reinforcing social skills including friendship, fairness, self control, and trustworthiness. Students were able to play in small groups, considering potential real-life scenarios, practicing their skills, and giving each other feedback about their responses. These skills will be so important for my students as they head into middle school next year!
Well, as you know, our school campus was closed in the Spring, and we continued our studies online for the remainder of the school year. The skills we had practiced using these materials had a positive impact on our success with online learning, and the bonds we had built through the book discussions and small group games were instrumental in having a connection that we could maintain even when we were apart. I am so grateful for the important role your donations played in helping us make the most of our time together in the classroom and build relationships that extended beyond the classroom walls.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Moogan
This classroom project was brought to life by An anonymous classroom supporter and 12 other donors.Scholastic News for Fifth Grade Readers
Funded Apr 13, 2018Thank you so much for your generous contributions to a subscription of Scholastic News for my students! I am thrilled to let you know that due to the timing of the completion of this project, not only one, but TWO of my classes have benefited from your donation! We received a set of Scholastic News magazines before the end of the 2017-2018 school year which my students were able to enjoy and learn from in the last few weeks of school. My students felt that it was a welcome change from the textbooks we had been reading all year, though the Scholastic News still provided them with rigorous non-fiction reading on a variety of topics, including some that we had been studying in Science and Social Studies during the course of the year. The classroom was abuzz with activity as the students worked together with a partner to read the articles and complete the activities together.
The students in my 2018-2019 class are also thrilled to be receiving the Scholastic News magazines. Like the students in my previous class, they have never received these materials before, and they enjoy reading the articles and discussing with their teammates what they have learned. Since we are just starting the school year, I am excited to see them previewing topics that I know we will be covering later in the year, and developing their own "Unanswered Questions" lists that we will be able to draw from in guiding our learning throughout the year.
These materials would not have been available to my students without your generous support, and I am deeply appreciative of your donation to make this project come to life!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Moogan
What Time Is It?
Funded Apr 1, 2014Thank you so much for your thoughtful donations that provided our class with a new magnetic calendar and math centers about measurement and time!
The magnetic calendar is so bright and colorful, and is very easy to use. Our calendar managers were able to change the calendar daily to reflect the current date, day, and weather, and I also found it very quick and easy to change from one month to the next. As a class, we were then able to use the calendar as a helpful reference tool for backwards planning our projects and completing math problems that referenced the dates or days of the week!
The math centers are amazing and so much fun! The initial set-up of sorting the materials in each box was so easy, so the students could start using them right away. They took turns working with different groups of students at the various centers about time and measurement. The games were easy for the students to learn, and I wish you could have seen the excitement in the room as they played! The rich discussion they had about the tasks and procedures for determining their answers was invaluable!
Thank you so much for your gifts! I look forward to using them with my future students as well!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Moogan
Help Us Keep It All Together!
Funded Mar 25, 2014Thank you so much for your generous donation of staplers to our classroom!
Throughout the school year, I sought to teach my students valuable organization skills to help them understand and remember all that we have been learning in our content areas. Being able to create journals and workbooks using the staplers and hole-punch you provided to our class has been an essential part of this endeavor. Towards the end of the year, I was able to use the staplers to bind my students' autobiographies and writing portfolios, and the students were so excited to see their finished products and take them home to share with their parents!
It was also exciting to teach my students about the different types of staplers your donation provided, and how each would be used for different purposes. They were so excited to get their hands on the staplers and participate in this part of the publishing process! We truly appreciate your gift, and I know it will continue to serve my future students as well! Thank you very much!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Moogan