Past projects 59
Inspiring Art and Storytelling on the Green Screen
Funded Apr 7, 2022My students and I wish to express our heartfelt thanks and appreciation for your donations that gave our classroom the equipment to create our green screen projects! This year alone, we have been able to shoot dozens of photographs using the green screen to celebrate occasions such as Halloween, Groundhog Day, and St. Patrick's Day, learning about the cultural and historical significance of these holidays while also being able to express ourselves through writing and dramatic arts. We also made a video inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech, which we shared with families and friends in the school community. Oftentimes when people see our green screen projects, they will ask, "How did you do that?" Green screen truly is magical.
It's been such a joy to involve my students in the creation of these projects, putting them in the spotlight in a very fun and dynamic way. I would even go so far as to say that using green screen technology has revolutionized my classroom, because green screen can be integrated into practically any content area. The possibilities are quite endless, and my students and I look forward to further exploration as we continue our green screen journey!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Long
Spell-Binding, Student-Published Books
Funded May 3, 2022This note is way long overdue, but I cannot express how invaluable these book-binding supplies have been to my writing program in the classroom. I have used the book binding machine several times each year, making notebooks for chapter book studies so that students can record their thoughts. Best of all, I've been able to create student anthologies of creative writing. The students feel such a wonderful sense of pride and accomplishment when they hold a book made of their own stories, informational articles, and poetry. Just today, on the very last day of school, I handed one boy a freshly bound book with his best writing from the entire year, and he said, "Thank you, Ms. Long!" He looked at the book in amazement and asked, "How did you do this?" This made me realize how magical it can be to see one's writing appear as an actual book. Binding the students' stories makes them become all the more real and worthy to be shared, and will be beautiful keepsakes for them and their families, hopefully for years to come.
Many, many thanks for helping to fund this project that has supported me and my budding writers - we are truly grateful!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Long
This classroom project was brought to life by SONIC Drive-In and 14 other donors.Graphic Novels Galore
Funded Dec 12, 2023The graphic novels we received some months ago have been loved and read time and time again by my second graders. When I asked them to describe our new collection of books, they used words such as, "awesome," "creative," "fun," "adventurous," "incredible," and "funny." Oftentimes, I often have trouble getting my students to stop reading the books as we transition to other activities! They have become some of the hottest, most popular titles in the classroom, and I could not be more pleased with how they have motivated my students to read.
Thank you for this truly wonderful gift of literature. Your support has expanded our taste in this exciting genre, which has captured my students' imagination and hearts for reading.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Long
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 20 other donors.From Clay to Screen: Stop Motion Animation
Funded Jan 17, 2024All DonorsChoose projects in my classroom have been wonderful, but if I were to rank my favorites, this one would be one of the top five! As the end of the school year approaches and teachers look to filling the last days with activities that are light and fun, this stop motion animation project has been a great way to challenge and motivate my students.
Over the past two weeks, my students and I created some adorable penguins with Crayola Model Magic, waited 24 hours for them to dry before painting them, and then used the iMotion app to create our stop motion animation films. In the process, my students got to practice patience, creativity, critical and evaluative thinking, communication, and collaboration with their peers as they teamed up to make their videos. And what a joy to watch their finished products! The videos each consisted of 30 captures that amounted to only two seconds in length, but the pleasure and excitement that came from assuming the role of little film directors, and watching their penguins come to life through stop motion animation, was priceless.
Thank you for providing us with the materials that made this project possible! It was truly delightful for me and my class to experience the joy and challenge of stop motion animation. We plan to share our videos with others in our school community - they're just too cool not to share with everyone!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Long
Let's Go Green! Dynamic Arts With Green Screen
Funded Mar 29, 2024We are currently on spring break, but I am anticipating the joy and excitement my students will have at the news that we will have new, upgraded equipment for creating our green screen projects! Thank you so much for your kindness, generosity, and belief in the power of the arts in the classroom, and in particular, the dynamic power of the green screen as an artistic, expressive medium. Your support allows my students to grow in their communication skills, imagination, and creativity.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Long
This classroom project was brought to life by LOFT and 18 other donors.It's Cool To Be Kind!
Funded Nov 28, 2023I'm so looking forward to reading these books with my students, hoping they will deepen and expand their understanding of what kindness is. Too often I hear from them, "Kindness is helping someone," or "Kindness is being nice," and yet intuitively I feel they know it is much more than that. I believe these books can show them specific acts of kindness, which will then help them articulate what kindness means to them. Once they have that firmer grasp, we can dive into our STEAM and green screen projects to share our visions of kindness to others. I am truly excited to see how their endeavors might give these children opportunities to use their creative voices, which hopefully can be shared with the greater community!
Thank you for joining us on this journey, and I hope to update you soon.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Long
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 16 other donors.Smart Storage for Backpacks
Funded Aug 6, 2023You will be pleased to know that our backpack storage rack is much used, much loved, and much appreciated these past few months! Oh my goodness, it has greatly changed the way we organize so much of our belongings and materials for the better. My students enjoy hanging up their backpacks in the morning, and taking their homework, books, and lunches out from their backpacks before coming into the classroom. Whenever it rains, I simply roll our backpacks inside to keep them safe and dry.
Having the storage rack has made things so much safer (less clutter and no more tripping over backpacks on the floor!), and we can better focus on the learning that's important. Thank you for your generosity, kindness, and support!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Long
This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 53 other donors.Scholastic Enthusiasm
Funded Jul 19, 2023Every Tuesday morning, the students look forward to diving into each new issue of Scholastic News Magazine. Over the past few months, the magazine has provided us with so much diverse background knowledge to support our work in social studies, science, arts and culture, from learning about leaf litter, to veterans, to nocturnal animals. And it's such a comprehensive magazine, in so many ways! Not only does each child get a paper copy of the magazine, but it's also available online as a digital copy with audio features, such as a read aloud option that's on level or at an easier level, making it easier for students to access the content. We also enjoy watching the short video clips that accompany the text, engaging our class in animated discussion. I also give time for our class to play the online games together, which also help us engage in the content while testing our knowledge of language arts, math, and social-emotional learning.
Thank you so much for opening yet more doors to knowledge for my students with this amazing magazine that has spiced up our learning. Your kindness and support truly makes a difference!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Long
Not So Wimpy Writing
Funded Sep 7, 2023My colleagues and I can't thank you enough for your kindness and support of this 2nd grade writing project! This will benefit three classrooms, which include 80 students at our school. With the TPT gift cards purchased by this project, we will be able to download and print lessons that can motivate, inspire, and provide the structure our students need to learn to write well. We look forward to using these lessons and updating you soon with tidbits of the creativity and literary accomplishments of our budding writers!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Long
This classroom project was brought to life by The SONIC Foundation and 87 other donors.Mad About Reading! (Part 2)
Funded Jan 23, 2023"Mad About Reading, Part 2" had such a profound impact on my students. The materials for this literacy project were used everyday as students read stories together using the highlighter reading strips, making it easier for many of them to focus and "zero in" on important details. They loved using the minute timers to work on their oral reading fluency, and some of the boys got especially competitive when trying to see who could get the highest score! And the Play Doh proved quite popular during our independent work time, as students used it to make letters to spell vocabulary and high frequency words.
But probably what had the deepest impact were the digital materials I was able to purchase from Teachers Pay Teachers, all thanks to you! These included explicit lessons on phonemic awareness and phonics that I taught to my intervention students. One of them was a girl who, at the beginning of the school year, was unable to read or write. Imagine what a beautiful moment it was to listen to her read an entire story to me on the penultimate day of school, without a single mistake! She can now take with her the pride and confidence of being able to read and unlock so much knowledge, and I am immensely grateful that the materials you helped provide made that possible.
This project also allowed me to carry out practicum coursework I was completing for a reading specialist credential. I am humbled to say that I was awarded that credential this past June. Now that I am equipped with these project materials, as well as the new knowledge I acquired on the science of reading through the credential program, I look forward to reaching more students in the coming years.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Long
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 30 other donors.