Past projects 23
More Accessible Books
Funded Sep 23, 2021I cannot thank you enough for the help you gave boosting my classroom library. After over a year of remote learning, I had a great number of students reading at levels that my classroom library did not support. Many students do not use public libraries or have the money to purchase their own books, so my classroom library is all they have.
Before the books arrived, some of my students were picking books that were much too hard for them. They weren't really reading, but rather looking at the words and not understanding what was happening. No wonder their reading stamina was low. No wonder they had no interest in reading. When the appropriately leveled books arrived, you should have seen how my students' eyes lit up. They could finally read the books with ease and talk about the characters meaningfully. They could finally finish a book!
Thank you so much for your generosity. Because of you, my students' reading skills have improved and their confidence has grown tremendously.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Muhammad
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 10 other donors.Engaging Reading & Math Materials
Funded Sep 17, 2021We are absolutely loving our Scholastic News Magazines! They are full of interesting current events from around the world, new scientific discoveries, history, and more! The photographs are spectacular, and the colorful maps, charts, and graphs engage readers even more.
Often times students choose to read fictional books for pleasure. The magazines are great because they give students more opportunities to read nonfiction about fascinating topics. Students need practice reading nonfiction texts for learning in different subject areas, and it is very prominent on standardized tests.
The comprehension questions on the last page are also fun for students. They have practice determining the author's main purpose, making inferences, finding evidence, and sequencing, to name a few skills. Students enjoy going back in the text to locate answers.
Thank you again for helping my students broaden their repertoire of texts!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Muhammad
Help Students Show Off Their Thinking!
Funded Sep 11, 2021I can't thank you enough for helping my students with the ability to share their work with the whole class. My new short-throw projector allows students to project writing, drawings, equations, and anything else they would like their classmates to see. You should see how proud they are to showcase their hard work and creativity. And students love giving each other feedback. They enjoy commenting on what classmates did well, what they can work on, and questions they have about their work.
I am also very grateful to be able to model various strategies and examples while students easily watch from their seats. This is especially important as we try and give each other more space due to Covid.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Muhammad
New Rug Means Better Learning
Funded Sep 24, 2019Wow! What a difference a new rug can make! I used to have an old tattered drab rug that was too small to accommodate all of my students. In contrast, my new multi-colored rug of the United States is very inviting and can hold all of my 4th graders.
The rug is clean and comfortable, but it also sparks many conversations about states. Students announce what state they're sitting on and which states are close by. Students created a came where one student calls out a state and others run to it as fast as they can. The rug is helping students learn the location of the many states in our vast country.
And our new vacuum is fantastic! Students eat their snacks on the rug each day and crumbs are inevitable. The vacuum is keeping our rug clean and keeping mice away!!
Thank you for choosing to help my students!!!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Muhammad
Warm in Uniform
Funded Sep 7, 2019I can't thank everyone enough for their generosity. My students were thrilled when I opened the boxes of navy blue sweatshirts. "Can I have one?" a student called out. "Me, too!" another chimed. "What about me?" wondered another. I assured them that there were plenty of hoodies for all.
Many students used to come in with only a T-shirt in the cold weather. Others wore warmer clothing, but it wasn't the correct color for our dress code. However, with your help, every student can borrow a sweatshirt for the day. All students now have access to our dress code and are staying warm in our chilly building.
Thank you for helping my students. I appreciate it!!!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Muhammad
Chromebooks Needed-911! (Finish Line!)
Funded Feb 9, 2019Thank you to all of our donors for their continued support! My classroom now has a complete set of 25 Chromebooks! Throughout the day, my students have access to technology that makes their assignments much easier. Most recently, we've been working on open response writing in preparation of the MCAS. After reading long MCAS passages, students must write a lengthy essay or story. The process of writing these essays and stories is daunting for most students, but being able to type rather than write by hand has had a huge positive impact. Students are much more enthusiastic about writing because their hands don't hurt from trying to write so much. I've been very impressed with the thoroughness of their responses. Thank you again for helping my students. I appreciate your thoughtfulness and generosity.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Muhammad
Chromebooks Needed-911! (Part 4)
Funded Dec 26, 2018First and foremost, thank you so very much for your generosity and thoughtfulness. There are many organizations in need and I appreciate you choosing my classroom to help.
My goal has been to have one Chromebook available to each student. Otherwise, I must sign out laptops from the library. Often they are unavailable, uncharged from the others using them that day, or worse, dysfunctional. Having most of my own Chromebooks saves quite a bit of time and energy.
We use Chromebooks for many purposes. All of our writing projects are composed on Google Docs, which we use on the Chromebooks. Students are able to brainstorm, research, draft, revise, and edit with ease. They are able to present their final drafts and projects in a professional manner, which brings them great pride. Students also access several mathematics games on the Chromebooks. Prodigy is one such game. It's engaging because it resembles a video game, but meets students at their level and allows them to move up by mastering various skills. Students also enjoy reading books on Tumbleweed and RAZ Kids on the Chromebooks. Read-aloud features and animation draw hesitant readers in.
Thanks you for helping my students become more engaged with their learning. It means the world!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Muhammad
Chromebooks Needed-911! (Part 5)
Funded Dec 13, 2018First and foremost, thank you so very much for your generosity and thoughtfulness. There are many organizations in need and I appreciate you choosing my classroom to help.
My goal has been to have one Chromebook available to each student. Otherwise, I must sign out laptops from the library. Often they are unavailable, uncharged from the others using them that day, or worse, dysfunctional. Having most of my own Chromebooks saves quite a bit of time and energy.
We use Chromebooks for many purposes. All of our writing projects are composed on Google Docs, which we use on the Chromebooks. Students are able to brainstorm, research, draft, revise, and edit with ease. They are able to present their final drafts and projects in a professional manner, which brings them great pride. Students also access several mathematics games on the Chromebooks. Prodigy is one such game. It's engaging because it resembles a video game, but meets students at their level and allows them to move up by mastering various skills. Students also enjoy reading books on Tumbleweed and RAZ Kids on the Chromebooks. Read-aloud features and animation draw hesitant readers in.
Thanks you for helping my students become more engaged with their learning. It means the world!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Muhammad
Chromebooks Needed-911! (Part 3)
Funded Nov 16, 2018Having Chromebooks handy for my students has become essential. We use them for all of our writing assignments. When we begin our writing units with brainstorming and questioning, we do so on the Chromebooks. Opening up a Google doc on a Chromebook keeps their thoughts organized, tidy, and safe. Students can easily share their writing with me so that I may see their progress and suggest revisions and edits. They are so much more willing to make changes when it is something they have typed, rather than laboriously hand written.
Our next writing unit is a report on one animal's adaptations. Students are going to enjoy conducting a lot of their research online using our Chromebooks. They will research using books as well, but the Chromebooks will give my students access to many more sources at varying reading levels. Many of the online resources include videos, as well as text that can be read aloud and translated into other languages. Students will love this!
What my students will love the most in this next writing unit is their ability to present their report in a professional manner using their Chromebook. They can easily insert paragraphs, videos, and use other features in informative texts, like bold and italic words.
Thank you for caring about my students and thank you for your generosity!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Muhammad
iCharge Our Chromebooks
Funded Sep 8, 2018You should have seen my students' reactions to our new charging station – what excitement! They knew that we would now be able to house our 10 chromebooks, saving time and energy from retrieving them from the library on a different floor and different side of the school.
My students love the responsibility of unlocking the cart and charging the chromebooks. They do it with such ease. And I can rest easy that everything is safe and sound. Once I have an entire class set of chromebooks filling the charging cart, I will enjoy the freedom of accessing them whenever necessary.
Currently, students are working on writing personal narratives. After unloading the chromebooks from our new charging station, students use Google docs to brainstorm and draft their stories.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Muhammad
This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 11 other donors.