Ms. Ancell's Classroom Edit display name

Past projects 11

• Rewards for My Rock Stars!

  Funded Sep 24, 2024

  Thank you so very much for your generous donation. My students will be thrilled! I look forward to recognizing their outstanding behavior. I know this will improve morale and inspire other students to do great things. The goodies in this grant will allow them to feel like the kids they are!

  Again, I appreciate your thoughtfulness.”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Ancell

  This classroom project was brought to life by Unilever and one other donor.

• Cut Down Paper Use, Not Trees

  Funded May 7, 2024

  I am so humbled by your generosity. My students have throughly enjoyed the fun, learning activities that I have been able to purchase thus far. Escape rooms are a huge hit and a fantastic way to learn! The ablilty to introduce standards-based materials that feel like a game to my students is simply priceless.

  In additon, I have been able to add newer novels to our classroom this year. Having engaging learning handouts and online resources assists in keeping my kiddos engaged.

  Again, thank you so very much for your kindness!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Ancell

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

• "Mac" ELA More Fun!

  Funded May 8, 2023

  This MacBook has made lesson planning a joy!

  It is compatible with our class iPad. It has been a breeze to create standards-based, engaging lessons with Google Docs, Google Slides, PDFs, and more. The laptop allows me to offer immediate feedback.

  In addition, my school has a large number of multilingual learners. For students learning English, studies show language acquisition is less challenging the stronger the student is in their native language. MacBooks are far better equipped to add accents and diacritical marks that are found in many languages. This process is very tedious with the Chromebooks and other PC computers that the students and faculty use.

  Thank you so very much for your generous support of my classroom.”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Ancell

  This classroom project was brought to life by General Motors Corporation and 5 other donors.

• Restocking the Rewards!

  Funded Nov 29, 2022

  Your generosity never ceases to amaze me! The photos show how many reward cards have been redeemed by deserving students. They receive punches on their cards when they show over and above kindness and helpfulness. In addition, they receive punches for completing i-Ready lessons making above an 80 and after winning academic competitions in class.

  You donations stocked our "prize" cabinet giving our students the ability to choose their rewards. They may save their punches for larger prizes or spend lesser punches on smaller items if they so choose.

  Again, thank you for your generosity!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Ancell

  This classroom project was brought to life by an Anonymous Classroom Supporter and 3 other donors.

• Publish Like a Pro!

  Funded Nov 29, 2022

  My students are finishing up with their poetry projects. Each student was to select from the following 4 endangered animals: lemurs, African wild dogs, Okapis, or Vaquitas. They were then to research their chosen animal and create an original poem. As they are finishing, I am printing their final copies in color.

  Even my reluctant writers, who really felt this assignment was surely some sort of punishment, were clearly pleased and proud upon seeing their hard work printed in color or carefully written on a colorful page that they digitally created.

  The TeachersPayTeachers gift certificates are worth their weight in gold. The most recent purchases supplied my students with graphic organizers tailored to the type of poem they chose to compose. In addition, the doodle notes that I purchased were very engaging and really helped nail down their understanding of the elements of poetry.”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Ancell

  This classroom project was brought to life by an Anonymous Classroom Supporter and 4 other donors.

• Clipboards, Pencil, & Paper: The Original Mobile Workstation

  Funded Dec 28, 2022

  My students feel very "official" when they are walking around with a clipboard. Having enough for everyone in the classroom to use is simply amazing. The option to move around the room, school, outside, etc. and to enjoy flexible seating while working makes learning more fun.

  Recently, my students completed a poetry gallery walk and the clipboards made visiting each poster and taking notes as easy as pie. In addition, the clipboards allowed us the freedom to move small groups anywhere we wished to go.

  The basic tools of clipboards, pencils, and paper seem such trivial items; however, their impact is huge!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Ancell

  This classroom project was brought to life by an Anonymous Classroom Supporter and 3 other donors.

• More Folders, Paper, & Tissues - Oh My!

  Funded Nov 2, 2022

  Thank you so very much for your kind donations! You have provided amazing

  resources to my students.

  Having the proper supplies makes learning more fun! My students have enjoyed working with colored paper. It gives new life to projects when I am able to color code and they are able to add color to their work. Pencils of course are always needed. We do a good bit of writing in my classroom. Studies have shown that writing things down helps the brain process and retain information. Lastly, ALL of the supplies make the classroom more enjoyable. Simply having tissues and cleaning wipes available, colorful anchor charts that the students create, and access to the basic supplies needed to be successful, make the classroom a warm comfortable place to be.

  Thank you!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Ancell

  This classroom project was brought to life by Panda Cares and 4 other donors.

• Rewarding Kindness and Questions

  Funded Sep 20, 2022

  I am so very humbled by your kindness! Please know that it has helped spread kindness and motivation throughout my classroom and into the school at large.

  The "goodies" that were made possible by your generous donations have spurred my students to "get caught" being kind and going that extra mile in their daily work. In addition, each student is responsible for their punch cards. If it is lost, so are the punches they have already earned. This has had a bonus of growing personal accountability.

  Students earn punches by going above and beyond in class, scoring an 80% or greater on i-Ready lessons, kindnesses that are observed, and any other "great" thing they do. There are prizes for various amounts of punches, so the program also encourages students to wait and save up for a bigger prize.

  All around it has increased engagement, student confidence and kindness, not only in the classroom, but beyond. Thank you!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Ancell

  This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 3 other donors.

• Slow Down and Read: Notable Annotation and Flexible Study Videos

  Funded Apr 8, 2022

  The addition to the Apple iPad, Apple Pencil, and the Notability app has been a game changer in my ELA classroom. I teach at a Title I school with a very high ESOL and SPED population. Many of my students are two or more grade levels behind in their reading levels.The ability to broadcast notes and text on the board while being able to walk around to assist my students as they work is wonderful!

  Guided notes and annotating text are proven best practices for all groups of students. Coming out of the pandemic, students are in need of more support and guidance than ever. All of my classes have responded very positively to being able to watch in real time as I annotate text and share my thinking as I read. Believe it or not this is a skill that is not natural to many, but is easily learned through practice. Being able to model this skill in annotating and note taking has already improved student confidence and knowledge.

  Thank you from the bottom of my heart for making this technology possible.”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Ancell

  This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose community & an Anonymous Partner and 3 other donors.

• Growing Empathy in a Socially Distanced World

  Funded Jan 15, 2021

  Mere words cannot express how much your generous gift meant in a year such as this. With so many unknowns and unpredictable events in their lives this year, the books you provided gave my students a respite from reality. The classroom set of Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling was a HIT!

  I was able to address many skills with these books. Even though they had lost time with the lockdown, the novel pulled them in and helped them regain skills. I was able to grow my students in the areas of comprehension, characterization, and theme. They were so excited to also respond in writing and illustrations.

  The reason I wanted to use this particular book is because of the powerful theme of resilience in the face of adversity. Each of my students enjoyed meeting Aven and Connor, the main characters. One of their favorite quotes was, "I am an entirely insignificant event in the life of this cactus. I try to remember that as the sky darkens and the lights of Scottsdale and Phoenix brighten the earth--millions of lights for millions of people. And then there's just me, sitting here in the dirt on a mighty hill being circled by a poor old donkey and a tired camel" (p.46). Dear Donors, let me give you some context. Aven is coming to the realization that though she has problems, the universe is huge and that all of us have a place and a purpose in it. That is one powerful message just when we needed it most.”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Ancell