Past projects 8
Resources to Ace the Regents
Funded Oct 10, 2023We are using the JD's Regents Prep Review Manual for Algebra 1 consistently as we finish topics of study and prepare for our unit tests. 10 students have been given their own copies, because they have shown initiative and self-motivation in practicing problem sets to mastery.
The other copies remain at school and will continue to be used as the exams draw near to cycle back to topics learned (and potentially forgotten!!!) previously.
Thank you for investing in my classroom! This gift will definitely boost my students' performance in the Algebra 1 Regents exam this year.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Reva
This classroom project was brought to life by The Allstate Foundation and 5 other donors.Binders & Headphones: The New Essentials!
Funded Aug 29, 2023It is with deep gratitude that I write this impact letter. The binders, dividers and headphones could not have arrived at a more opportune moment. With the binders, I made sure that every student created a personalized cover page as a way to increase their ownership . They have been trained to reach for their binders when they want to pick up from where we left off in the last lesson or when they need to refer to a review sheet. They are able to follow directions like "Place this worksheet in the Lessons section of your binder".
I still have students that occasionally misplace materials (especially the ones they took home), but overall the class is well-organized and is able to quickly access materials for the day's lesson.
The headphones have been labeled and are used during independent practice to provide a silent environment for the students who need it. Some of my students find the silence oppressive and they listen to music at a low volume as they complete their work. We have a record number of ENL (English as a New Language) learners in our school. The headphones help these students access math lessons in their language without disturbing the other students.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Reva
General Supplies
Funded Dec 6, 2022This letter is overdue and I apologize. Your supplies sustain us every single day. There isn't a day gone by when I am not printing, stapling or punching holes on instructional material or student work!
Your markers helped us put up a very vibrant Pi digit display on March 14 (pi day). I have attached some photos from the event. Students from pre-K to the 8th grade colored over 200 digits of Pi to create stunning school wide display.
We are fast approaching the Algebra 1 regents exams, and to prepare for these we have had 2 rehearsals. We use our calculators everyday in class, as well as on the days of our practice tests. Many of our calculators needed batteries to be replaced. We are so grateful for your generous donation of batteries to our Algebra 1 classes!
On behalf of my students and myself, thank you, thank you, thank you!!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Reva
Calculators For All!
Funded Sep 29, 2022Your generous donation of a class set of Ti-84 graphing calculators has given my eighth graders a much needed shot in the arm in accessing and mastering Algebra 1 content. All the calculators have been numbered and assigned to specific desks. Students begin each class by bringing out their calculators, and completing a quick "Do Now" or a bell-ringer activity.
Students are first taught a method that does not use the calculator. For example, at the moment we are learning to evaluate quadratic functions for specific inputs. When they transition to using the calculator, they are so excited at how much computation is done for them, especially when faced with those tricky negative numbers!
I teach students who have many gaps in their learning, and for these students, it is particularly powerful to access grade level problems and reason about patterns, trends or outliers without being bogged down by their lack of proficiency in pre-requisite skills. The Ti-84 helps them do that. And for that, they thank you very much!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Reva
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 4 other donors.Essential Supplies for A Math Classroom
Funded Jul 14, 2022Filing away lesson materials and maintaining an organized binder has become a core skill in my 8th grade classroom. The students are now clear that every class begins with them taking out their binders and reviewing notes from the previous days. And every class ends with them filing away the day's lesson handouts in the proper section.
Some students choose to leave their binders in the classroom, taking home only the papers that are absolutely necessary for studying. Others love their binders so much that they carry them around all day everyday! :) When we finish a unit, the binder is usually filled up with lesson notes, reference sheets, and practice packets. The students then take the binder home, and leave all the papers in a larger offload binder which they keep at home. They bring their purged binder back to school for the next unit.
Students use some personal touches in their binder organization. Some students like to have the first lesson at the front of the binder, while others prefer to access the latest lesson at the top of their binder. We are well on our way to teaching these young people how to stay organized and clutter free. We couldn't have done it without you!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Reva
This classroom project was brought to life by General Motors and one other donor.Taking the Fear Out of Math through Manipulatives and Sense-Making!
Funded Sep 23, 2019My seventh graders had different reactions when they saw the box of fraction towers. Some of them expressed a level of discomfort since they had worked with these manipulatives in much lower grades. They wondered why we as a class needed "baby stuff" ! The others were excited at the thought of challenges that I would set up for them which would require them to build and experiment with the towers. One student went so far as to imitate my voice and mannerisms when she said, "Just because you've learned to use a ruler in 2nd grade, it doesn't mean you will never use a ruler again in high school!" So, the debate was won and the students' fears were put to rest.
We're constantly using these towers to learn about fraction equivalence. Recently we progressed to activities that involve evaluating expressions with fractions and determining if two such expressions are equivalent. You can see a student's work on index cards in the photos.
Thank you for your generous contribution to my classroom. My students are beginning to reason about fractions with much more confidence than they did at the beginning of this school year!
Happy Holidays!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Reva
This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Funder and 3 other donors.No Fuss! No Frills! Just good technology, please!
Funded Aug 5, 2019We received 12 Chromebooks and a computer cart in the first week of school, thanks to your generous donation to my classroom! In the past two months, my students have practiced routines around how to get and put back the Chromebooks in an orderly fashion, how to take care of their assigned Chromebook and how to manage their attention and focus when completing computer-based tasks.
We have used the Chromebooks for the following activities:
- Internet based research projects in science and social studies during which students produce Google Slides and Google Docs.
- Game based learning in Math via Kahoot!
- Practice in grade-level math skills using Khan Academy, IXL and interactive tutorials from the ReadyMath curriculum
- Learning science concepts through videos and interactive simulations using our AmplifyScience curriculum.
- Building reading fluency, vocabulary and comprehension via websites like ReadWorks, Flocabulary and NewsELA
- Leverage the text-to-speech features built in to our online curricula for students who have difficulty reading.
- For specific students who have difficulties with writing by hand, we have used the Chromebook as assistive technology, so they can type instead.
My students experience very low frustration and high engagement because their Chromebooks are lightweight, start up quickly and help them access their content right away We cannot thank you enough for creating this enormous wealth for some of our most underprivileged students.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Reva
This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Funder and 15 other donors.Books and Tools to Inspire Science Learners
Funded Dec 2, 2018The DK books have now been part of my classroom library for six weeks. I am already beginning to see their power when it comes to engaging my students and facilitating access to grade level content for them. I have had students pore over maps, analyze large photographs and perform close reading of captions and insets attached to images. Recently, I have noticed that one or two students choose to read these books as a preferred free time activity. I have also had students make connections with the work they have done earlier in the year in science. For example, one of my students said she wished she had these books when she was doing her poster about the Periodic Table of Elements.
Another interesting insight I have gained is that for some students, a physical book creates a stronger emotional connection than a digital one. Earlier this year, we had studied properties of mixtures and how to separate them. For one of my lessons, I had shown digital images of a gold mine and had asked my students to think about how gold could be separated from rocks and sand. Some students had been interested in the problem, while others not so much, so we had moved on to meet our time constraints. Two weeks ago, a boy in my class was thumbing through the Eyewitness book about Earth. He came across a large photograph of a gold mine. The photograph was breathtaking and spanned two full pages. My student lingered on that page for at least ten minutes noticing every little detail, and when I went up to him he asked me so many questions that he had generated based on the photograph. Somehow for him, a digital image on the screen had not created the same effect, or drawn him in as thoroughly. We began to talk about how gold could be separated from rocks and sand, and he was so much more interested this time around!
Seeing two or three students hunched over a reference book, marveling at some hitherto unknown fact, is a poignant reminder of how things used to be when I was a student! I am so grateful that my students get to experience that. I have a lot of work ahead of me in planning engaging lessons that leverage the text and other artifacts in these books. As of now, I am just letting my students pick up these books and discover fascinating facts about the wonders of our world – both natural and man made. It is gratifying to see their curiosity and their excitement. I thank you so much for your generous contribution. It has and will continue to make a profound impact to my classroom. More power to you!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Reva