Past projects 29
Multicultural Mythological Madness
Funded Sep 29, 2022Thank you for your generous donation of BEAUTIFUL mythological books for our class library! The students absolutely love sitting and looking through the gorgeous illustrations to these fantastic tales of heroes, deities, and spirit creatures. They are also pretty excited about the various choices of mythology they can learn about: Greek, Roman, Chinese, Indian, Caribbean, and so many other places around the world!
They were so happy to see the books arrive and become a part of our classroom library -- they have been asking to borrow and read with a partner during our independent reading time, making observations about the pictures, the stories, and the new characters they are discovering.
Thank you so much for being a part of this literary adventure for my students. I love seeing them so excited to read and learn about cultures all around the world!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Ruth
This classroom project was brought to life by Smarties Candy Company and one other donor.Taking Pride In Our School Garden
Funded Dec 12, 2021Thank you so much for your very generous donation to our gardening and school-beautifying project. Although we had to wait for the weather to cooperate, it has been a HUGE success!!
My students love having gardening gloves of their very own. They were so proud to show them off and to have them fit just right. They enjoyed being able to transplant our flowers and plants to the outdoors, and set up the sturdy fences to guard the tree beds around our school before spreading the different types of mulch around. They worked together to make our school community a more beautiful place for themselves, for their peers, and for our neighbors. It's wonderful to see them work towards a common goal, and see what a big difference they can make when they set their minds to it.
Our school grounds look AMAZING! My students' faces were beaming with pride once they were done with this work. And they are already looking forward to heading outside weekly to water the plants, ensure our fences stay up, and keep the tree beds clean.
Thank you for taking such an interest in my students and their learning environment. We are greatly appreciative for helping us make our vision of a more beautiful school garden come true!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Ruth
Making Beautiful Music in School!
Funded Dec 30, 2021We are so grateful that you chose to fund our project to get piano keyboards for our music class! The students are eager to learn, excited to make music, and happy to work with each other on this new instrument. We've never had the opportunity to learn to play the piano before, even though many students have expressed interest, since we only had the one old piano sitting in our auditorium stage. It's wonderful to see that this has now changed!! I cannot wait to hear them practicing melodies, and playing songs for each other. I know that they will make beautiful music for our school community to enjoy, particularly at a time during which we desperately need to lift everyone's spirits.
Thank you for supporting my students and their interests. They are so appreciative to have their request honored and wish to learn to play the piano fulfilled. I means so much to us!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Ruth
Can't Stop, Won't Stop Reading!
Funded Jan 6, 2022Thank you so much for your generous donation of books to our classroom library. I genuinely believe that every child is a reader -- however, it can be hard for them to find a book that sparks their curiosity, that has a character or story line that they connect with, and that is at an age-appropriate level that they can understand. This is why it's so important to me to have a wide variety of books with diverse characters and storylines within our classroom library!
The students were so excited when the boxes of books came in! Their faces lit up, and they rushed to look at the titles. They immediately asked for certain books, such as "Awkward" and "Miles Morales: Spider-Man." Many others looked at the book covers and saw characters that look like them! Representation is so important -- and it means a lot to me that my students feel seen!
Thank you for being a part of making my classroom a more joyous place to read!! We truly appreciate it!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Ruth
Empower Success with School Supplies
Funded Nov 23, 2020Thank you so much for your generosity and providing us with these supplies! My middle school students have been mostly remote since September. Once we went fully remote in November, it became even more important for students to have school supplies at home to work and follow along with our remote lessons.
I was so happy that when we received this shipment! I was able to go into the school building to sort the supplies so as to get everything ready for the students' families to pick up. The students were so excited to get their bags! They now have notebooks, pencils, highlighters, crayons, and other utensils that they can use at home when we are learning. It's wonderful to see them interested, engaged, and happy about learning at home, even though I know they would rather be at school. It really warms my hear to know that they have everything they need even though we must work far away from each other.
Thank you once again for your generosity. It has made such a difference for me and my class!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Ruth
This classroom project was brought to life by Allstate Foundation.Ignite Imaginations with Percy Jackson
Funded Sep 16, 2020Thank you so much for your generosity and for helping my students start the year on a high note. They love the Percy Jackson books! I was able to include these brand new books in their bags with school workbooks to take home, which made the students get really excited about receiving their supplies.
Most of my students are home on a daily basis, and get quite tired of staring at the computer screen during class. With physical books to hold and read, they say they feel almost as if there were in the classroom with the small group that's here during the day. They can follow along with the reading, and even sneak some peeks at the other chapters -- they can't help letting curiosity get the best of them!
Students are missing a lot from school these days -- but it's the details that help us bridge the distance between us; whether it's listening to our live classes, being able to unmute themselves and comment, or hold their own copy of a book... this school year is quite different! Thank you for helping my students hold a bit of normalcy in their hands while we read. We truly appreciate it!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Ruth
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose 20th Anniversary Fund and one other donor.Historical Figures Come Alive
Funded Mar 27, 2018Thank you so much for choosing to support our classroom! My students were so excited to see these new books arrive -- they could not wait to pick out the books to read. Maybe it's the "new book smell," or the fun illustrated covers, or simply that they now have a different way to learn about some of these amazing individuals.... whatever the reason may be, my students were thrilled to choose one, or two, or even four of these biographies to read!
Getting students to show any kind of enthusiasm for reading nonfiction can be quite a challenge -- yet we know that there are plenty of great people, places, and events that they would love to read and learn about. The trick is to peak their interest and get them started on a journey of discovery. Fortunately, this series -- "Who was...? Who is...?" has such a vast array of books, and now that my students have discovered its existence, they cannot wait to read more! The first couple of students had so much trouble deciding on just one book to read, they asked if they could borrow two... others couldn't narrow it down to just two and ended up borrowing four! They are now reading about Michelle Obama, Dr. Seuss, Aretha Franklyn, and Galileo, just to name a few!
It brings me so much joy to see my students feel this eager to read biographies! Thank you for being a part of that!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Ruth
This classroom project was brought to life by Ripple and one other donor.Mythological Madness
Funded Dec 8, 2016As a teacher, when you can see students' faces light up with curiosity because a brand new box of books has appeared in your classroom... that's when you know you're doing something right with your class! They immediately want to know what kind of books are in there, when they can borrow them, and if they're allowed "dibs!" Of course, I sorted through the box as quickly as I possibly could, making sure to let them know that there would be enough graphic novels for each student to borrow one, and even have some choices about which one to read first!
I could see their legs bouncing up and down with anticipation at their desks.... over something to read! There is such a great feeling in knowing that my students want to delve into the worlds within their imaginations, and that reading is an enjoyable endeavor instead of a chore to simply plow through. They are readers, they are excited about stories, and they love to share their ideas about their books with one another. And I am overjoyed about it all: that I have taught them enough about the subject of mythology to help them understand these modern-day tales of ancient gods and goddesses, to have introduced them to an author and genre they now love to read, to have created the kind of culture within my classroom that encourages students to enjoy learning... it's why I teach!
And thanks to your generous contribution, my students now have graphic novels in their classroom. They can experience reading in a different way, and even the most reluctant of readers can access these tales and share their understanding with their peers. I am very grateful to you for choosing to support my students and this project. It means so much to me, because it opens a new world for them!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Ruth
Malala is Our Hero!
Funded Dec 14, 2015Thank you all so much for your wonderful donation of this memoir! My students have truly been enjoying learning about Malala so much... they have learned to see her as a real life hero, and an example of how an ordinary person (even a very young one) can make a difference in the world.
We started by reading short news articles about her, as well as the legend from which her name originates. But as soon as the beautiful hard-covered memoirs with colorful photographs came in, they were very excited to get their hand on her first-hand account. This memoir has been able to answer so many of the questions that they've had about her: "Where is she from? What is her village like? What does her family think about everything she's done? Do others in her culture agree with her point of view or is she completely different from everyone else?" The more they read, the more they want to know!
The photographs are also a wonderful addition to our learning -- the students can see what Malala looked like growing up... it's important for them to see it with their own eyes, not just try to imagine a completely different country and culture. They see the photographs of her after she was shot by the Taliban and realize how difficult it was for her to recover. But most importantly, they see an ordinary girl... not really much older than them, who is now known worldwide for wanting everyone to get an education and work towards a brighter future.
Thank you for helping inspire my students. I genuinely hope that the more they learn and read and yearn to make a difference, the brighter their own futures will be.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Ruth
This classroom project was brought to life by Dorothy and 6 other donors.We're Mad About Modern-Day Mythology!
Funded Dec 17, 2015My students were so happy to watch all of our new Rick Riordan books show up in our classroom! As I opened each box, they could barely contain their excitement, and immediately started inquiring about the order in which they will be able to borrow, read, share, or simply stare at the beautiful illustrations within these books. They simply love to read... and they love everything about Percy Jackson!
Since we read the first book in this series -- Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief, they have been very interested in Greek mythology and all of the ancient stories that have to do with the Greek gods and heroes. They learned about the symbolism behind Greek myths, their impact on our English language, and about following a hero through his/her journey to see how they change, grow, and learn to make the right decisions.
My students have really enjoyed sitting in small groups or with partners to read the rest of the series. Some students read much faster than others, and so now I have the entire class reading a different book all the way from book 2 to the next part of the series -- Heroes of Olympus -- and a few others who want to hear Percy tell about the gods and heroes. It is so wonderful to watch them get excited about trading in their books, asking questions about the novel they are reading, asking if they can sit quietly with a partner in a corner of the room to read together, or sneaking a few chapters between periods... even as we walk down the hallway!
Thank you so much for being a part of this. I am truly grateful for the part that you have played in providing my students with books that they can get really enthusiastic about. It is beautiful to watch and amazing to witness.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Ruth