Past projects 5
Read, Learn, Repeat!
Funded Jun 24, 2019Thank you for your generous donations and for making a difference in my students lives.
These magazines are the perfect component for many of the subjects that I teach. They learn so much from each weekly reader. I am so excited to continue using them in my classroom.
I hope you realize how much of a positive impact you have made in our community”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Thebodo
This classroom project was brought to life by Google.org and 3 other donors.School Supplies for Success!
Funded Sep 5, 2018I understand that it might be hard to believe that a class set of markers can change a child's outlook on learning... but it truly helps. As you know, a lot of my students come to school with little to no supplies in September. The look on their faces when they went to their desks and saw brand new schools supplies was amazing. They were so excited and so happy to have their own markers to write, draw, and create!
Between the new markers, freshly sharpened pencils, sharp scissors, and engaging teacher made activities you could say we started the year with a BANG! They jumped right into the curriculum and were able to utilize their new supplies immediately. I am so grateful for those moments of gratitude and happiness that strike my students faces when they use something we've received from the generous doners.
Thank you all so much for taking the time to get to know the needs of these children... For funding this project that continues to be utilized through the year...”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Thebodo
This classroom project was brought to life by Neukom Family Foundation and 4 other donors.Becoming Scholars with Scholastic!
Funded Apr 17, 2018Thank you so much for generous donations and support. We have been working so hard in class reading our Scholastic Magazines and learning about many different topics. The students have thoroughly enjoyed reading with a buddy or independently. The vivid photographs and real world connections in the scholastic magazines keep the students interested in reading. Students often use their magazine as a choice book, meaning they prefer to read these instead of books from our library. Fine with me as long as they are loving reading!!
Their love for non fiction text is growing each and every day. Students truly do enjoy using them during whole group time while I utilize the larger version and they follow along on the rug. We work as a team to find new words and learn vocabulary. Our favorite issue so far has been the Pumpkin magazine from the October collection. The students reread this over and over and we even had the opportunity to use the magazine in our own pumpkin observation and experiment. We used them against to gage our knowledge of pumpkins; how to they grow, what are the different parts, what can we do with them? The magazine explained that there are many different types of pumpkins which then motivated the children to find some in our community. Parents even donated pumpkins to our classroom due to all of the buzz that the October issue caused in our classroom! We were so surprised and excited to extend our learning.
These magazines are more than just reading tools. We are learning how to become scientists and historians. We are building community and fostering our curiosities. The opportunities truly are endless.
I am so thankful for your thoughtful donations which led to incredible text available to my students. Thank you again.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Thebodo
New Technology Needed to Support First Grade Learning Adventures!
Funded Jul 18, 2017It has been incredible having the interactive document camera in my classroom! In just a few short weeks my classroom went from 10-30 students! We have been able to keep organized and focused while using the camera. The students love showing their work to the class and we are even able to project short science films and documentaries for all to learn from. I don't know how we have survived this long without this amazing technology! Thank you to all of the donors who took the time to read my project, shared my project and of course donated your own money! I am forever grateful for your generosity.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Thebodo
This classroom project was brought to life by Sergey Brin Family Foundation and 15 other donors.Wanted: Classic Book Sets to Enhance Our Love for Reading!
Funded Aug 23, 2016Speechless does not even begin to describe how I felt on the day I received my box of books from the generous donors of Donors Choose! I carried the box into my classroom, opened it up and instantly felt motivated and excited to prepare lessons using these classic stories. Many of my students are just learning to read on their own, however it is very important to me that I expose them to rich and meaningful texts that they will someday learn to read independently.
It was still just the beginning of the school year when I received my package and I thought Junie B. Jones would be the perfect character to introduce my students to. She is new to first grade, smart, witty and silly; just like my students. This series is made up of chapter books; too difficult for my young readers to enjoy alone. However, the text is very kid-friendly, engaging and funny. My students have really enjoyed listening to me read these chapter books aloud to them daily. We are able to share thoughts and discuss rule following and manners (some of the themes in the series). We even compare Junie B's classroom to our own. They love the characters in the series so I am even able to incorporate lessons on character traits and friendship.
When my 24 first graders walked in to our classroom to discover a plethora of new, colorful, eye-catching books displayed neatly on a brand new shelf, they weren't as speechless as I was. Instead, a few students ran to the shelf, yelling, "Look! Clifford! We read this in Kindergarten. Miss Salerno can I read this right now!?". Clifford, Elephant & Piggie and Arthur were some of the top choices that day. It didn't take long for the rest of my students to dive in an discover a new book or character. One specific student has become quite fond of the Elephant & Piggie books. He chooses to read these books during free time almost everyday. When he finishes his work, he walks to the shelf and always chooses one of the seventeen Elephant & Piggies books. At first, I thought he was just enjoying the illustrations...then realized; he was actually READING! He is now a confident reader and reading on grade level. That is just one small victory of many that these books have brought to our classroom.
We cannot thank Donors Choose and all of the wonderfully generous people who donated to our project. We are so thankful to have a wide variety of books to read and enjoy all year-round!
THANK YOU!!!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Thebodo