Ms. Madden's Classroom Edit display name

Current requests

Past projects 72

• Becoming Stronger Readers and Writers in 1st Grade!

  Funded Oct 29, 2024

  Thank you so very much for your generous donations! We are so fortunate to have so many amazing people supporting us and the work we do with our students. Your help is so greatly appreciated!!!

  We cannot wait to get these amazing resources into our classroom and in the hands of our students!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Madden

• Learning About Asian Countries & Cultures!

  Funded Apr 7, 2022

  Thank you all so much for your generous contributions to my 3rd graders! I cannot thank you enough for helping to enhance their learning and support my teaching! These nonfiction books about different countries in Asia were incredibly useful for our social studies unit on Asia. My students are a very inquisitive bunch and absolutely loved having the opportunity to discover new places in the world and learn more about different cultures.

  The students were able to use these books as research tools to enhance our social studies unit. The students worked hard to learn more about different places in Asia and study the land, animals, people, and cultures in these different places in the world.

  Having these resources was integral to my student being able to complete this work and learn more in our unit! We have worked extensively this school year on supporting our ideas and work with evidence from the texts we read, so being able to give my students more books to use to research with and draw information from was incredibly helpful!

  My students were so excited to learn about more different countries in Asia and their diverse cultures and histories! Thank you so much for helping to enhance their learning and make it exciting!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Madden

  This classroom project was brought to life by Olga Graham Inspiring Teachers Fund and 6 other donors.

• Diversifying Our Classroom Library!

  Funded Feb 18, 2022

  Thank you all so much for your generous contributions to my 3rd graders! I cannot thank you enough for helping to enhance their learning and support my teaching! These picture books representing the stories of different Asian and Asian American characters truly brought our study of Asia to life. My 3rd graders are a very inquisitive bunch and absolutely loved having the opportunity to learn more about different Asian cultures through these stories with beautiful illustrations and powerful central messages. We do a big social studies unit on Asia every year in 3rd grade and having these books helped to connect and deepen my students' learning!

  We used these amazing books for class book clubs as this grant provided multiple copies of each book for my students to study. They loved sharing their ideas about the stories and what they learned about different Asian and Asian American experiences. Being able to have their own copies of the books to reference enhanced their book club discussions and also allowed them to work on citing specific text evidence to back up their ideas and theories, which was a central focus of our reading work this year in 3rd grade!

  Additionally, we also used these books to help enhance our writing unit. My students studied the author's craft and illustrations in each book in order to help inspire them to plan and write their own picture books with powerful messages. It was wonderful to see my students study these books as not only readers working to learn more about the characters and their struggles and lessons learned, but also as writers looking for inspiration for their own pieces!

  Thank you so much for helping to enhance my students; learning and make it exciting with these incredible books! I cannot wait to use them again year after year!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Madden

  This classroom project was brought to life by Olga Graham Inspiring Teachers Fund and 3 other donors.

• Readers Hungry for Diverse Characters!

  Funded Nov 17, 2021

  Thank you all so much for your generous contributions to my 3rd graders! I cannot thank you enough for helping to enhance their learning and support my teaching! These books with characters of all races, abilities, religions, and backgrounds have truly enhanced my classroom library. This year, my students have and I have been discussing the lack of diverse characters featured in the books in our classroom library and have been passionate about changing that. My students were so invested in learning more about this issue and were intrigued by the research we did around the problem of a lack of diversity in books and the impact it can have on children.

  After these books arrived, my students could not keep their hands off of them! I have never seen books in such high demand! I created special baskets for the books and throughout the first few weeks of having them in our class, there was rarely a moment of free time when there wasn't a handful of students shuffling through the many reading options. These books connected perfectly to the topics we have been learning about, while also exposing my students to stories with different characters' perspectives, which has helped to expand their worldview. My students have not stopped talking about these amazing new characters and are asking for more books like these featuring characters who captivate and excite them!

  These books have truly enhanced my students' learning and growth not only as readers but as empathetic humans. Having the opportunity to read books with a diverse range of characters has been wonderfully exciting for my students and has ignited their passion for learning more about people who are different from them, while also celebrating what unites us all as people. I love having students who not only constantly ask questions about the world around them and how things came to be, but also use this knowledge of the past to analyze the world we live in today! Thank you for allowing my students the opportunity to take their learning to such exciting new heights!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Madden

• Reading Rockstars in Need of Books!

  Funded Dec 4, 2019

  Thank you so very much for your generous donation! What wonderful news! My students were thrilled to hear about all of the exciting, new books that are headed to our classroom library.

  I have a truly amazing group of students this year who deserve nothing but the best educational experience. They come to school everyday ready, and most importantly, excited to learn. I am continually inspired by their hard work and impressed by the responsibility they take for their own learning. They have each internalized the importance of their education and know that they need to continue to work hard each day towards achieving their goals. Thank you for helping them do so by providing them with these important resources.

  Thank you again for contributing on behalf of my amazing group of 3rd graders. I truly feel so fortunate as a teacher to have a class full of such eager and enthusiastic learners.”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Madden

  This classroom project was brought to life by An anonymous classroom supporter and 8 other donors.

• Readers Hungry for Diverse Characters!

  Funded Mar 27, 2018

  Thank you all so much for your generous contributions to my 3rd graders! I cannot thank you enough for helping to enhance their learning and support my teaching! These books with characters of all races, abilities, religions, and backgrounds have truly enhanced my classroom library. This year, my students recognized the lack of diverse characters featured in the books they were reading and were incredibly committed to changing that, not just in our classroom but for other students as well. In addition to collaboratively writing this Donors Choose grant, we also wrote a class letter to publishing houses arguing the need for voices in our books that mirror the members of our class community, as well as reflect those we see in the world around us.

  My students were so invested in learning more about this issue and were intrigued by the research we did around the problem of a lack of diversity in books and the impact it can have on children. I was so incredibly proud of the work my students did to address this problem and bring about a change not only for themselves, but also for others.

  After these books arrived, my students could not keep their hands off of them! I have never seen books in such high demand! I created special baskets for the books and throughout the first few weeks of having them in our class there was rarely a moment of free time when there was not a handful students shuffling through the many reading options. These books connected perfectly to the topics we were learning about, while also exposing my students to other important people and events and told stories through unique characters' perspectives that have helped to expand their worldview. They have not stopped talking about these amazing new characters and are asking for more books like these featuring characters that captivate and excited them so much!

  These books have truly enhanced my students' learning and growth not only as students, but as empathetic humans. Having the opportunity to read books with a diverse range of characters has been wonderfully exciting for my students and has ignited their passion for learning more about people who are different from them, while also celebrating what unites us all as people. I love having students who not only constantly ask questions about the world around them and how things came to be, but also use this knowledge of the past to analyze the world we live in today! Thank you for allowing my students the opportunity to take their learning to such exciting new heights!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Madden

  This classroom project was brought to life by Ripple and 6 other donors.

• Readers Hungry for Diverse Characters!

  Funded Feb 3, 2018

  Thank you all so much for your generous contributions to my 3rd graders! I cannot thank you enough for helping to enhance their learning and support my teaching! These books with characters of all races, abilities, religions, and backgrounds have truly enhanced my classroom library. This year, my students recognized the lack of diverse characters featured in the books they were reading and were incredibly committed to changing that, not just in our classroom but for other students as well. In addition to collaboratively writing this Donors Choose grant, we also wrote a class letter to publishing houses arguing the need for voices in our books that mirror the members of our class community, as well as reflect those we see in the world around us.

  My students were so invested in learning more about this issue and were intrigued by the research we did around the problem of a lack of diversity in books and the impact it can have on children. I was so incredibly proud of the work my students did to address this problem and bring about a change not only for themselves, but also for others.

  After these books arrived, my students could not keep their hands off of them! I have never seen books in such high demand! I created special baskets for the books and throughout the first few weeks of having them in our class there was rarely a moment of free time when there was not a handful students shuffling through the many reading options. These books connected perfectly to the topics we were learning about, while also exposing my students to other important people and events and told stories through unique characters' perspectives that have helped to expand their worldview. They have not stopped talking about these amazing new characters and are asking for more books like these featuring characters that captivate and excited them so much!

  These books have truly enhanced my students' learning and growth not only as students, but as empathetic humans. Having the opportunity to read books with a diverse range of characters has been wonderfully exciting for my students and has ignited their passion for learning more about people who are different from them, while also celebrating what unites us all as people. I love having students who not only constantly ask questions about the world around them and how things came to be, but also use this knowledge of the past to analyze the world we live in today! Thank you for allowing my students the opportunity to take their learning to such exciting new heights!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Madden

• Reading Machines in Need of Books!

  Funded Mar 27, 2018

  Thank you so much for your generous donation. My students have been so excited to visit the library every day and explore all the different books in the series they are reading. They read independently (and oh so silently) everyday for 50 minutes to an hour and even ask for additional reading time. It's so wonderful when students look at extra reading time as a treat, so thank you for helping to build my students' love of and motivation for reading.

  These collections of different series on a wide range of reading levels have had such a wonderful impact on my students' learning and reading development. My students are not only avidly reading during our daily independent reading block, but they are also much more engaged in our lessons. During Reading Workshop, my students have the opportunity to practice reading comprehension strategies independently in books on their level. It can be difficult to motivate students to practice these strategies in books they have already read many times over. However, my students are taking full advantage of these new books to practice the different skills we have been working on.

  Additionally, the books we received have aligned so well with our 3rd grade units of study. We recently completed a Character Study unit. Having various series improved the students' learning greatly because they were able to track and study a character's growth throughout one series, therefore more deeply understanding the material we were learning in class. My students now understand and relate to many of these characters so well that they think of them as friends that they want to get to know better.

  Thank you for supporting our classroom by donating this rich collection of books! My students are incredibly invested in their own learning and are so thrilled and inspired to hear when others believe in their ability to succeed as well. I am working my hardest to ensure that each and every one of my students leaves my class this year having developed a strong and lasting love of reading, so thank you so much for helping me to achieve this goal!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Madden

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

• 3rd Grade Historians!

  Funded Jan 8, 2018

  Thank you all so much for your generous contributions to my 3rd graders! I cannot thank you enough for helping to enhance their learning and support my teaching! These history books and biographies have truly brought history to life for my students. My 3rd graders are a very inquisitive bunch and have absolutely loved having the opportunity to study history and make connections to the past!

  My students were so invested in learning about the past through the interesting lives of the very people who helped to shape it. I have never seen books in such high demand! I created a special basket for the books and throughout the first few weeks of having them in our class there was rarely a moment of free time when there was not a handful students shuffling through the many reading options. These books connected perfectly to the topics we were learning about, while also exposing my students to other important people and events that they had not learned about. They have not stopped talking about these amazing figures in history and asking about the time periods they lived in and the ways in which they helped to change the world! In addition, having these books was a wonderful asset for my students because they were able to use them to deepen their understanding of the diverse voices who have made an impact on our world, which has been a strong focus for us in our learning throughout this school year.

  These books have truly enhanced my students' learning. Having the opportunity to further research the topics we have studied in class has been wonderfully exciting for my students and has ignited their passion for learning. I love having students who not only constantly ask questions about the world around them and how things came to be, but also use this knowledge of the past to analyze the world we live in today! Thank you for allowing my students the opportunity to take their learning to such exciting new heights!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Madden