Past projects 20
Books, Books, Books!
Funded Aug 23, 2017Thank you so much for your donations! The generosity is amazing and our class is loving our new texts! Many of the titles were chosen because they help introduce new concepts to students. For example, some of them are great examples of excellent narratives and are great examples for the students when they write their own narrative stories.
Many of the books are also some that children LOVE to read. I have a few students who have a difficult time finding books they enjoy, but they love Dork Diaries and are much more motivated to read now that they have texts they love!
Finally, I believe in having a huge classroom library for.children so they are able to read many titles all year long. We go book "shopping" once a week and students choose between 5 to 10 books to read all week. They love having so many variety of books to choose from!
Thank you again so much for this generous donation..we will treasure these books for years to come!
Sincerely, Ms. Drews”
With gratitude,
Ms. Drews
This classroom project was brought to life by Sergey Brin Family Foundation and 4 other donors.Making Reading Fun!
Funded Oct 26, 2016Thank you so much for your contribution to our classroom! We are absolutely loving our new couch and bookshelf and comfy chairs!
Students don't usually get a chance for uninterrupted reading at home, so it is our classroom goal to provide multiple opportunities throughout the day for extended reading time. Children love to go "book shopping" and they each have their own individual baskets where they collect books for the weeks. They now have a special place on our new shelf to place their books. Then, throughout the week, students are able to read their books, practice their reading stamina, and enjoy all their books on their own. Children are all unique so some love to sit on the bouncy chairs as they read, some to love to relax in the comfy chair, and others like to partner read on the couch. All this available seating makes reading time a much anticipated time in our classroom!
Because of your contributions, my students LOVE to read and are reading constantly -- thank you so much!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Drews
Books, Book, Excitement for Books!
Funded Aug 25, 2016We have had our book collection now for over a month...and needless to say our class is in love with these books! First of all, just the excitement and "new book smell" created so much excitement in my fairly new readers! They are learning that books are awesome presents and as one of my students said," so awesome because I can read it over and over again!" Many of the books have been used as models to help with students writing and some are great Jumpstart to lessons on adjectives, verbs, and vocabulary. Most of all our students have simply enjoyed quietly reading all the wonderful books we were afforded. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts...books last so long and your generous contribution will have an impact on so many kids. We are so grateful..THANK YOU!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Drews
This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and one other donor.Art Smart!
Funded Mar 9, 2016My students were SO excited to receive these art supplies! The timing could not have been better. We have an art teacher that comes to our school six weeks out of the year and were able to immediately put our materials to use. Otherwise we would have been using very old supplies or I would have had to.purchase them myself. It has been so gratifying to be able to have my students use such wonderful materials-the art teacher even stayed he'd never seen such beautiful products.
We have been making colleges, murals, posters, and projects home. The students have been able to support their literary and science projects with art and make brochures about endangered animals. And they have even lent themselves to amazing academic discussions about paintings and primary vs.secondary colors.
Most of all, your generosity will be felt for years to come. Our art supplies should last for at least three years and if this project had not been funded we would not have been able to participate in future art projects. Our class is extremely grateful and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Drews
This classroom project was brought to life by an anonymous donor and 2 other donors.Helping Students Read by Listening!
Funded Sep 24, 2015Thank you so much for our listening center! The kids were so excited when they got them! Listening center is part of our daily routine so they were thrilled!
They love sitting on the cushions as well and it gives them the opportunity to sit anywhere they want! They are always ready to select a book, get comfy, and enjoy reading-just what I was hoping!
They also the love the literature you were able to support. We are planning on doing an extensive fairy tale unit and so these books are going to be so helpful. They often choose these books over all the others!
I can't thank you enough for your help and support. Your donation will not.only help these.children,but those for years to come and your impact will drastically help improve not only their reading skills but love of reading.
Thank you!!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Drews
2nd Grade Tekkies!
Funded Sep 15, 2014Thank you do much for your generous donation to our classroom. With our new MacBook Air we have been able to participate on daily writing activities, enhance our knowledge of dinosaurs in our dinosaur unit, and practice our reading skills using research based programs on the Internet. We are looking forward to also using our computer to create Power Point presentations soon on different animals we are researching. We plan to use the Internet for research, learn to type out our reports and print them, then present our report orally using a Power Point presentation.We love our new computer! Thank you so much!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Drews
iPad Fever!
Funded May 4, 2013Thank you so much for your generous contribution to my classroom! The students love the iPad and use it regularly for all subject areas. For example, there is a math app that tests students' knowledge about angles, velocity, and force where students are required to create a roller coaster. Students love to use this and are often successful, while at the same time are able to learn concepts way above their grade level. We love to read stories on the iPad as well as create our own using storytelling apps and games. It is an enormous value to my students' education and I cannot thank you enough!!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Drews
Kindle The "Fire" In My Students!
Funded Feb 3, 2012I want to thank you so much for your donations to our classroom project! My students were beyond excited to receive the Kindle Fire, and have loved using it in our classroom! So far, they have been able to download books they enjoy, read along with them, play reading and math games to enhance classroom instruction, and do research for animal reports using the Internet. I'm especially glad to have it for the students that are unable to have access to any sort of technological equipment at their own home. One student loves to use the Oxford dictionary app on the Kindle to look up words! As a teacher, this is an invaluable resource and I am so grateful for your donation. Thank you again so much!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Drews
This classroom project was brought to life by Wasserman Foundation and 12 other donors.Student Scientists
Funded Dec 14, 2011Thank you so much for your generous donation to our classroom! As soon as we received our science tubs, we dove right in! The first unit we have completed is matter. As we were already learning about liquids, gases, and solids -- this tub fit right in. Students are able to use the materials in the tub to conduct experiences using liquids, gases, and solids -- including creating their own volcanoes! They have had a great time, and these tubs assist them so much in their learning because of the hands-on materials they provide. Moreover, I put the tubs in our science center and students are able to use the materials on their own time as well.
The tubs come with excellent posters, vocabulary and writing activities that assist me in teaching these concepts and scaffold the student's learning. They also are able to use the materials to aid them on standards that are addressed in the curriculum.
Next up: The Solar System! The students are extremely excited about this one! Thank you again so much for your contribution. Not only is it helping the students in my classroom this year, but will help students in my future classrooms for many more years to come.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Drews
This classroom project was brought to life by Wasserman Foundation and 12 other donors.Becoming Voracious Readers Through Listening Centers!
Funded Jan 14, 2012I want to thank you so much for your contribution to my literacy project. First of all, soon we should be receiving our magazines in the mail. The students are VERY excited to get them! Current events are an excellent way to teach social studies, science, and literacy concepts and they become much more engaged when they are learning about events that are happening in the present.
We are loving our CD players! The students are able to choose a book on CD during center time and go to a quiet corner of the classroom to listen to it. These CD players are especially helping students who are struggling with their reading skills. Research shows that when students are reading the same selection repeatedly, they are able to learn words faster and with more ease. Moreover, listening to the books on CD gives them an example of a fluent readers and models for them phrasing and expression. Finally, they are able to become engaged in books they might not have before. One student became hooked on the "Junie B. Jones" series through listening to it on CD. Now she wants to read all the books in the series! She, (and I), couldn't be happier!
Thank you so much again for your contribution. These should last for so long and your generous donation will make a lasting impact in this classroom and in the future. Thank you!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Drews
This classroom project was brought to life by Wasserman Foundation and 11 other donors.