Past projects 42
Understanding the Human Body Requires Computers, Part 2
Funded Oct 21, 2014Thank you donors!
I'm so grateful that great and generous people like you are making our science, technology, engineering, mathematical, and medicine (STEMM) classes a reality. Our students were getting discouraged that we would not have a enough resources to make these classes run, but then you came through. When our students received the computers, they cheered. They were so amazed people truly do care about their learning, people they don't even know. It made them feel like their learning environment mattered to the outside world.
Since the materials arrived, they have been in constant use. We research and write up our lab reports about the human body using these computers. As the pictures show, these computers are as vital to our learning as the organs we are learning about.
Thank you for your generosity and for all the ways you support public education, students, and teachers. Your donation has made a difference every day to these young scholars.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kight Witham
Gripping Books Make for Compelling Literature Circles
Funded Jan 7, 2015Hello Book Angels! Thank you so much for infusing our classroom with literary excitement. My students were thrilled with the fresh stock of titles to choose from for the first literature circles of the year. They were so eager to peruse the new books and many competed to be the first ones to claim a set for their group.
One of the most exciting things is hearing about the donors who made these literature circles possible. Students are always moved that people they've never met believe in the power of literacy and the importance of public education to support their classroom this way.
Thank you for building our library with great books, and for playing a critical role in the literary lives of young people!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kight Witham
Page-Turners to Keep Students Reading
Funded Sep 5, 2014Thank you so much for supporting our young scholars with great new titles for our class library! Students were so excited when we opened the boxes of books and began to pour through them. So many students checked out books that day, and they have been reading and discussing the books ever since.
We are heading into National Novel Writing Month soon, and lately these books have been instrumental in providing students with "model novels" that they can draw inspiration from. So many of the titles offer ideas for unique novel structures, unexpected plot twists, unreliable narrators, heart-wrenching conflicts, and abstract antagonists.
Most importantly, when young people get hooked on page-turning books, they build their own empathy and expand their world view. To live in someone else's shoes gives us much-needed perspective on our own lives. Getting new books rotating through eager readers' hands is one of the most exciting things about English Language Arts.
Thank you for rejuvenating our library, and for your support of the art in education! It's what our students deserve!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kight Witham
Help Grow a STEMM Library
Funded Jan 16, 2014Hello Generous Donors!
Thank you so much for helping our STEMM Literature Circle Library grow. Students were thrilled when the boxes of beautiful new books arrived at our door so soon after you helped us get funded. The energy in the room on literature circle days was contagious, and students so enjoyed getting to read compelling stories that they selected. Afterward they did "Illustrated Annotations" to address themes in the works, pull significant quotes, and reflect on the book's connection to their STEMM learning.
It is thanks to generous souls like yourselves that we were able to get books that students wanted to read and discuss within just a couple weeks. Thank you for contributing to our young scholars' enjoyment of great books, and for supporting the art of public education!
All the best,
Hazel Kight Witham”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kight Witham
English Language Arts Seeking 21st Century Writing Tools
Funded Oct 3, 2013Hello Donor Angels!
Thank you so much for making this incredibly ambitious grant a reality for our students. Our scholars were amazed, exhilarated, downright gob-smacked by the generosity of parents, friends, and kind strangers like yourselves. Our classroom was transformed from a technology wasteland to a lovely publishing-researching-writing garden.
Now that we have finished up National Novel Writing Month, students are typing up excerpts, book summaries, and "about the author" statements for their book jackets. They have a printer to publish work, and a secure laptop cart for recharging. All students have access to the materials, and many have made use of them for other class work, which means they truly see our technology center as a resource to serve their various scholarly pursuits.
I have been able to use our laptops for quick website updates to help students have a resource for keeping up with class expectations, and I can give web demonstrations to better incorporate Internet resources. My students and I are so grateful to you for helping make this big dream a reality.
A million thanks from the scholars in room 152!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kight Witham
Technology Helps STEMM Scholars Branch Out in Language Arts
Funded Aug 15, 2013Hello Donor Angels!
I am still marveling at the effect of this project you helped make a reality. In a record 18 hours this project was funded, and then in three business days the LCD projector and Document Camera arrived at our classroom during fifth period. My students cheered. They were so amazed that their teacher could be talking about this need one day, and opening up boxes only days later. It made them feel like their learning environment mattered to the outside world.
Since the materials arrived they have been in constant use. We project our class notebook on the screen to help students stay organized, read examples, and share stellar student samples without having to make hundreds of copies. We learn how to navigate essential websites for National Novel Writing Month, and review assignment expectations on our class website.
These materials allow us to illuminate Language Arts through visual media, such as when we analyzed rhetorical devices by both reading and watching the speech Robert F. Kennedy gave on the occasion of Martin Luther King Jr's' death. Watching that moment, hearing Senator Kennedy's voice, makes the work so much more significant, and the level of engagement skyrockets. We have listened and read along with This I Believe essays, RadioLab videos, and some inspiring pep talks to get us through novel writing month, projected for all to see.
Thank you for your generosity, and for all the ways you support public education, students, and teachers. Your donation has made a difference every day to these young scholars.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kight Witham
Book Clubs Create A Community Of Readers And Writers
Funded Oct 22, 2012Thank you so much for your generous donation which enabled our class
library to have new sets of books that students could read in book
clubs. These new books have generated so much "buzz" in the classroom,
with students sharing their excitement and recommending books to one
another. There is nothing like a thriving, enthusiastic community of
readers to bring a class together.
Students have gotten to experience the world of everyday Germans
during World War II, the unique perspective of a girl who struggles to
share her voice in spite of a disability, the struggles of a girl
whose family is discriminated against after 9/11. Students are getting
to walk in another person's shoes through these stories, and that
helps build empathy and broaden perspective.
Thanks again, and may your life be filled with great books.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kight Witham
Young Novelist Publishing Center
Funded Oct 9, 2012Thank you so much for your generous donation to our Young Novelist
Publishing Center. Students were able to print up novel excerpts,
back-of-book summaries, and "About the Author" bios for their book
jackets using our brand new, state-of-the-art printer. Thanks to the new markers they created beautiful book covers to illustrate their work. Students celebrated their achievements with these finished projects by sharing in class and with the school at an evening exhibition.
Your donation will continue to benefit future generations of students
in my classes. Thanks once again for supporting public education and
an artful classroom experience.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kight Witham
This classroom project was brought to life by Kia Motors America and 7 other donors.A MidYear Student's Dream
Funded Dec 28, 2010Never before have my students been able to grasp the twists, turns, and turmoil of Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream as well as they were this year. Thanks to you, students had the Plain English version side by side with the Bard's poetry, and by first reading the straightforward language they could better understand and decipher the play.
Students have done "Table Readings" to hear the language of Acts 1 and 2 of the play. Now students are memorizing lines and rehearsing for final performances which they will put on for the rest of the class. With the plain English explaining the lines they have to learn, students will be better able to convey the meaning of the lines when they are acting.
Getting supplies for students has never been more challenging in this time of tightening education budgets. Donor's Choose allows me to provide my students with the materials that will enhance their learning in a timely fashion. It is thanks to your generosity that I have been able to expose students to the wonder of Shakespeare in the 7th grade.
Thank you so much for supporting public education!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kight Witham
This classroom project was brought to life by American Express Members Project and 2 other donors.All We Need To Be Artistic Young Novelists!
Funded Nov 28, 2010After the challenge of National Novel Writing month, students were eager to celebrate their hard work. We had a week of art lessons thanks to your generous donation of these art supplies. Students had pencil sets for shading and watercolor pencils and paper to complete their illustrations.
Since Novel Writing Month students continue to use the supplies to do different art projects to illustrate their understanding of literature. We are using the supplies to create illustrations of key moments that illuminate characters in Shakespeare so that students can express their understanding in creative ways. When students get to use art supplies and practice art skills they are far more engaged in the work, and far more proud of the product.
With our budgets tightening more and more each year, it is so helpful to have donations from generous people like you to get supplies that enrich our classroom experience. Thank you so much for supporting public education!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kight Witham