Past projects 7
Practice, Practice, Practice!
Funded Jul 29, 2021My students came into 1st grade lacking a lot of basic knowledge. Many of them could not even hold a pencil! Using these practice folders every morning has helped them drastically improve writing skills, phonemic awareness, and basic math skills.
"Morning folders" has been so amazing for them. They look forward to it every morning, they settle down quickly and quietly, and they have gained both skills and confidence! I wish that you could see the magic happen every morning.
Thank you so much for your generous donation. You are helping make an impact on my first graders every day!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Riss
This classroom project was brought to life by Kleenex® Brand and one other donor.Practice Makes Perfect
Funded Aug 18, 2020Thank-you so much for fulfilling my project. The students love this simple tool! The folders are filled with protective sheets, and in the protective sheets are practical worksheets- handwriting practice, number lines, 100s charts, and other math aides. The students are able to use them as wipe offs in this way.
My students are using the supplies daily. Their "orange folders" are used for "down time" during the day when the students have finished an assignment. The students are also actively using them during our math lessons.
My class is fully remote, but the parents were able to stop at our school building and pick up the supplies for their children. I was able to see some of the students as they came to pick up the folders and markers, and they were SO EXCITED! They love showing me their handwriting and math work on our google meets. The tools are immensely helpful! You have really made a difference in their education.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Riss
The Basics!
Funded Apr 27, 2020This year, due to COVID, my class is a remote learning class. They have been struggling with supplies so far this year- pencils, erasers, sharpeners, etc- some of my students have been sharing with their siblings!
Today was supply pick up day! My students braved a very rainy morning to come to our school yard and pick up beautiful new pencil cases, filled with supplies! They jumped up and down when they opened them up and saw the many supplies inside. One kid exclaimed, "This is all for me and myself!"
I wish you could have seen how something so many of us take for granted, a pencil case full of supplies- made such a huge difference in the lives of my students! Pure bliss!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Riss
Reading, Writing, and Phonics, Oh My!
Funded Nov 22, 2019Thank-you so very much for donating to my classroom! My students were so excited to receive all of the packages. They all pitched in to take out the items, organize them, and help decide where to put them in the classroom. The kids loved having a say in what to do with our new items!
We used the bags to organize our reading, writing, and phonics centers. We even had enough to use a few bags for our math centers!
A few students helped me organize our "center activities" by category (CVC words, sight words, fluency, etc). We hung the bags in the closet, allowing for easy access. I am finding that since we have done this, we have more time for centers because it is quick and easy to get started when the activities are more accessible!
We have used the green shelves for our ENL students. The class decided to put them in the back of the room, by the ENL corner. Now, the differentiated activities for the ENL students are more accessible and more organized.
The baskets have also helped immensely with our organization! We are using them for our portfolio work, for our special books, and for various other things in our classroom. Students have easy and quick access to the tools they need, the folders they need, and the worksheets and writing paper they need. Class is flowing so smoothly!
Thank-you again for your donation. I wish you could see the happiness and joy you have brought to Class 102!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Riss
Active Engagement
Funded Jan 10, 2018Class 102 is so very thankful for your generous donation. They were beyond excited to see all of the new learning active engagement games. They were thrilled! Furthermore, they felt so important that someone wanted to donate something just for them!
We use the new active engagement activities at least twice weekly during "center time". Students are learning so much from these resources. The ENL students are able to work with native English speakers during the more flexible social-learning setting that is generated through use of the active engagement learning games that were donated by you. I have seen improvement in their speaking skills, as well as in their writing skills. Students who were struggling with basic math concepts are loving the tactile math games that are helping them make sense of numbers. High achieving students are also benefiting from these learning games, as they are being challenged with the harder games (such as synonyms and antonyms). As a result, those students have shown improved writing and reading skills.
Thank-you so much for putting smiles on the faces of 29 first graders, for giving them a sense of importance, and for putting learning right into their hands.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Riss
Comfy, Cozy Reading Carpet
Funded Nov 30, 2016I wish that you could have seen the faces of my students when they walked into the classroom for the first time after the carpet was delivered and placed on our floor. Each and every student was purely delighted and excited, thanks to your generous donation. Students squealed, jumped up and down, hugged, screamed, and even rolled around a little! It was a beautiful moment that I will never forget.
Every morning, I walk my students up to the classroom, welcome them and wish them a happy day in the hallway, and as they begin to walk into the room, the first student on the line always yells, "Don't step on the carpet and check your shoes!" The children are worried that their shoes may be wet or dirty from just having come from outside. Nobody dares step on the carpet until they have walked around the regular floor for a bit and checked the bottoms of their shoes. They really feel like the carpet is their precious gift to take care of, and it is. Your lovely gift, which was meant to invite children to read in a warm environment, inadvertently also taught the children a bit about responsibility. It is lovely!
After unpacking and getting ready for the day, we start our learning by sitting on the carpet for "calendar time". The rug serves as an inviting and cozy space for the children to learn about the calendar, the events of the day, and to sing our morning songs. We continue the day doing our math, reading, and writing mini-lessons on the rug. Reading time, which was once dreaded, is now a favorite part of the day for students. They love to find a space on the rug and read with their partner. Our reading time consists of students reading "back to back" for quiet independent learning, and then "face to face" for a share-out. This was very hard to do on a cold floor or with students sitting in desks. Now, however, it is a comfortable, natural, and warm part of the day.
We will continue to learn on our carpet every day. We will continue to take care of our carpet, and we will continue to be grateful and gracious. We are now learning more about the words "giving" and "generous". We are working on a "be giving and generous" classroom experience, in honor of your donation, and we are practicing how to be those things with our words and daily actions. Thank-you for inspiring that in my students.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Riss
Books For Class 102!
Funded Mar 9, 2016Dear Donors,
Thank-you so much for the donation for "Books for Class 102". You have donated more than just books to my class of 28 eager to learn children.
A few of my students are not eager to read; reading does not come easy to them and they have to work harder than the other students. It is hard to encourage them. A good, "fun" book can do just that. The Clifford Book Series is particularly helping these few students. They want to read these bright, colorful, eye-pleasing books. One student told me that he likes Clifford the most because, like Clifford, he is bigger than the other kids. He feels connected to Clifford, and it has helped him to read. And his reading fluency has improved with these books! His reading log is now filled in with a new book every day of the week. Before this, he maybe read two books a week.
I am using these books for "Book Baggies", "Guided Reading Groups", and "Back to Back" reading. Each week, students take home a book baggy filled with about five books on their reading level. Various students are on various levels, so the book baggies are personalized and the students move through the levels. For example, a student might be on level H for a few weeks, and through practice with these books, he will then be able to read a more challenging level I book. The donated books have helped fill these book baggies. The students are more excited to fill out their reading logs each day with these new titles. Some students have expressed how exciting it is to hold a brand new book in their hands, that has not been read by any one else yet. They feel special!
I was also lucky enough to get multiple copies of a few of the donated books. These books are used for guided reading. I sit in the back of the classroom with a small group of students and we focus on a particular reading goal/skill. And the group reads with that skill in mind. For example, we might focus on "reading with adherence to punctuation" with a Clifford book. I will model for students how we read differently with a period, an exclamation point, and a question mark. I will model how we pause when we see a comma. The students will then read to themselves first, and then each student will take a turn reading aloud. Guided reading has never been more exciting with these new books! The students are now eager to come to the back and read with me.
I think the most exciting thing for the students is the use of these books during our Independent Reading Time, in an activity called "Back to Back" reading. In this activity, student read independently, but also have a partner. They read for 5 minutes while sitting "back to back", then 5 minutes of reading "side to side", and then 5 minutes of reading "face to face", where they take turns reading one page aloud to their partners. Students can choose a book from their book baggy for this activity. Students now love this activity. They cannot wait to show their partner which "new donated book" they are reading in their book baggy. It has been so successful, that I have had to add 5 more minutes of "face to face" time so that the students can show their books to their partner and talk about their favorite part/picture in the book. They actually shout "oh no!" when I announce that time is up. That is the absolute best feeling that I have ever had while teaching. Thank-you so very much for that!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Riss