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Ms. Secrest's Classroom

  • Granby High School
  • Norfolk, VA
  • Nearly all students from low‑income households Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more

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Norfolk, VA
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Past projects 52

  • Brain Rot? I Think NOT!

    Funded Jan 16, 2025

    Thank you so much for supporting my students by funding this project through DonorsChoose. I'm really excitied about the dictionaries, writing style books, supplies and snacks. I kept my students in mind when I selected the books. I imagine they will enjoy looking through the books and partnering up to share the books to learn new vocabulary words. The dictionaries and writing style books will become a part of my classroom library, so they will be used by students for many years.”

    With gratitude,

    Ms. Secrest

  • Poetry Workshop: Finding the Poet Within

    Funded Aug 8, 2023

    Thank you for supporting my students in our poetry unit. Studens enjoyed studying poems with students from different classes. I really enjoyed the excitement that this type of collaboration brought to the study of poety.

    In terms of the workshop, the posters were placed around the room and then kept up in the classroom for the rest of the unit. Students looked over the poems and annoated the poems. Then, students shared their notes. Students wrote poems with similar themes and shared those poems in their groups.

    Thank you again for supporting my students with this project from DonorsChoose.”

    With gratitude,

    Ms. Secrest

    This classroom project was brought to life by Kleenex and 4 other donors.
  • Healthy Habits: Happy Parents and Teens

    Funded May 5, 2020

    Thank you for supporting my project for healthy habits themed books. I've shared these books with students by turning chapters into pdfs. This is because we are in a virtual setting, so students do not have access to the books themselves. Students surveyed the books by looking at the books covers and table of contents as a way to select their books. Then, I gave them the pdfs to read on their laptops. After reading the chapters, students worked in groups via Zoom breakout rooms to talk about the books. Building good habits is a timely topic whether we work in a virtual setting or the classroom. Thank you for supporting my students.”

    With gratitude,

    Ms. Secrest

    This classroom project was brought to life by SONIC Drive-In and one other donor.
  • Dreaming of Careers in the Medical Field

    Funded Jul 24, 2020

    Thank you so much for the medical career books. Prior to sharing these books with my students, I had them view a video made by our guidance department about numerous options for post-secondary careers. The video mentioned careers in the medical field. One student expressed an interest in becoming a travelling nurse and another student wanted to learn more about a certificate program to become a receptionist in a doctor's office.

    After discussing the video, students read through the books from this project to learn more about study skills and career options. Since we are fully virtual, I scanned chapters from the books a that students requested and students read those chapters online. Students worked in pairs in Zoom breakout rooms to talk about what they read and how to plan for life after graduation.

    When we are once again in the classroom, these books will become part of my classroom library and will be available for current and future students. Thank you again for thinking of us with this donation.”

    With gratitude,

    Ms. Secrest

  • Using History and Current Events to Explore Freedom and Democracy

    Funded Jul 27, 2019

    Thank you for supporting my students. I often use current events as part of the lesson in English 11, and many topics, such as those related to refugees, are deeply important to my students. Because of these texts, I know our discussions are rooted in facts. The 50 Famous Speeches enrich the discussions because we can look to history for examples of how leaders have addressed similar situations.

    As you can see by one of the photos, students took notes from an assigned text and then shared those notes with other classmates. They wrote their comments in an agree/disagree format.

    In terms of the books as part of the classroom library, I have different levels of readers and the variety of books offered something for everyone. The poetry book was a favorite of one of my students who relies on visuals as a way to understand information. It was nice to see him find a book he liked - a rarity indeed!”

    With gratitude,

    Ms. Secrest

  • The Struggle is Real: Reading, Writing and Discussing Life Stories

    Funded Jul 5, 2019

    Thank you for supporting my students. The books you donated were on the shelves when we started book groups and silent reading at the start of the year.

    A few students were drawn immediately to Hey Kiddo because they can relate to the ups and downs of that life. One student is reading The New Jim Crow and never wants to put it away at the end of silent reading time. Reading time can be noisy because students like to talk about their books, but these books are so personal that it's pretty quiet.

    The budget books turned out to be a perfect fit for a group of 12th graders who are learning about different careers.”

    With gratitude,

    Ms. Secrest

    This classroom project was brought to life by Google.org and 2 other donors.
  • High Tech Memoirs: Creating Podcasts of Memorable Moments

    Funded Dec 29, 2018

    Thank you for supporting my students. The digital recorders you donated to the classroom have taken our daily activities to a higher level. One of our first activities was to use the recorders to create podcasts of our families and friends talking about their favorite foods and the connection between food and family traditions. Next, we used the recorders to record our memoirs, which included details about struggles individuals or families overcame. Our most recent activity has been to record students brainstorming as they practice with prompts for the upcoming state and AP exams. Just like they did when creating the podcasts of family traditions, students can playback their conversations and make revisions. This is a high tech approach that brings revision into today's modern classroom.”

    With gratitude,

    Ms. Secrest

    This classroom project was brought to life by Amy Hayes & Sophie Leake Memorial Fund and one other donor.
  • Big Impact: Supplies for Small Groups

    Funded Dec 19, 2018

    Thank you for donating the easel whiteboards, dry erase markers and erasers. Students gravitate to those supplies more than anything else in the room. For example, students made a list of pros and cons, and each student wrote a different idea in a different color marker. Another activity was for students to connect current events to ideas in a writing prompt. Students taped the current event, which was cut from a newspaper, to the whiteboard and drew a line from the current event to their idea. In addition to practical use in the classroom, the whiteboards are also a lot of fun to use! Students put the whiteboards all around the room and spread out while they work. Thank you for thinking of my students!”

    With gratitude,

    Ms. Secrest

    This classroom project was brought to life by Amy Hayes & Sophie Leake Memorial Fund and 4 other donors.
  • Using Technology to Improve Discussion and Debate Skills

    Funded Sep 8, 2018

    Thank you for supporting this project. Students used the voice recorders to record their group discussions. At first students laughed and said "um," but with practice, their recordings became professional in tone and manner. I used a rubric when listening to the recordings and gave students suggestions on how to strengthen their discussions with such things as more text evidence and using transitions. We've used the recorders on a regular basis. Thank you for adding such a fun element to our daily routine.”

    With gratitude,

    Ms. Secrest

    This classroom project was brought to life by Amy Hayes & Sophie Leake Memorial Fund and 2 other donors.
  • Technology for Public Service Announcements, Blogs, Tweets and Research

    Funded Mar 24, 2018

    Thank you for supporting my students with materials that will help them achieve their goals. Students used the Samsung tablets for a variety of assignments. During our nonfiction unit, students used the tablet to create Public Service Announcements about different topics, such as safety during natural disasters or safe driving tips. The tablets were also used for other purposes. One group used the tablet to create a comic strip that showed the main ideas from their research project. Another group used the tablet to create a video compilation to reflect the main ideas from their independent reading book. I created a blog feature on a website and students used the tablet to access the blog. Thank you again for supporting my students.”

    With gratitude,

    Ms. Secrest

    This classroom project was brought to life by Amy Hayes & Sophie Leake Memorial Fund and one other donor.
I teach 9th grade students at a large high school in an urban setting. My students are hardworking and have big plans for the future. Many participate in extra-curricular activities in hopes of earning college scholarships, and some help take care of younger family members after school. Others are in a junior USN program because they plan to serve our country by joining the military. The projects I post support my students in achieving both their short term and long term goals. Please consider donating to my classroom.

About my class

I teach 9th grade students at a large high school in an urban setting. My students are hardworking and have big plans for the future. Many participate in extra-curricular activities in hopes of earning college scholarships, and some help take care of younger family members after school. Others are in a junior USN program because they plan to serve our country by joining the military. The projects I post support my students in achieving both their short term and long term goals. Please consider donating to my classroom.

About my class

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