Mrs. Patterson's Classroom Edit display name

Past projects 77

• Getting Hands-On with Life Cycles

  Funded Mar 8, 2016

  Thank you so much for helping fund our proposal. The kid have loved watching the different life cycle kits in our classroom. We have been able to watch our ladybug larvae change into their pupa. They were actually able to watch the ladybug come out of their pupa. We watched our caterpillars get bigger and then make their chrysalis. We were able to watch the butterflies emerge. We also watched them as they fed on their Gatorade in their sponge. One of their favorites was watching the praying mantis come out of the egg sack. We had purchased three egg sacks so we shared them so other classes were also able to experience this life cycle. It was so amazing to watch 100+ baby praying mantises come crawling out of this little egg sacks. The most exciting day was when we took all of our critters to release them. They were able to hold them and them put them on the bushes on our playground. This has been a great hands on way for my students to learn about the life cycles, They know all of the steps and how each one goes from one step to the next. It has been an awesome experience.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Patterson

• Getting Physical

  Funded Mar 16, 2016

  Thank you so much for helping fund our proposal. We are really enjoying using our new playground equipment. Before we received our equipment we were down to a ball and a jump rope. Now we are lucky enough to have some playground balls, a soccer ball, jump ropes, Frisbees and two paddles and a ball. Every week we have the black top and the baseball field for our playground time. Before we received our equipment we didn't have anything to play with. The students were bored and didn't want to go outside on those days. Now the students look forward to the days that we get to use our playground equipment. They love jumping rope with their friends. They spend a lot of time playing with the playground balls. We have been using our Frisbees for math time. They have math problems written on the Frisbee. If they get it correct they are able to throw it to their partner. All of the equipment has been a huge hit with the class.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Patterson

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

• Needed: Tablets for Classroom

  Funded Jan 25, 2016

  Thank you for purchasing our Kindle Fire tablets and cases. I am always trying to find another way to bring more technology into our classroom. We use our tablets during math independently and with a partner. We also use them in reading. We have many different interactive websites that we use to help reinforce the standards we are working on in class. We have also started using activities where the students scan bar codes. Then it takes them to a website or a practice question. We also have recently started using them with the website Kahoot. They work in teams on individually. The tablets are used as their answer pads to go with the questions being shown on the SMART board. They love using Kahoot to practice our reading and math standards. They are also able to read online books on our tablets and answer questions about the books. We have really enjoyed using our tablets and have gotten so much use out of them.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Patterson

  This classroom project was brought to life by Duke Energy and 3 other donors.

• Needed: School Supplies

  Funded Mar 4, 2016

  Thank you so much for helping fund our Donors Choose proposal. Each year I spend a lot of money on items such as dry erase board markers and highlighters. We use our dry erase markers every day throughout the day. They are a great way to work out independent problems on their boards. We also use them with partners in small group math and small group reading to work on our strategies we have been working on. It is easier to quickly check their work when they show their work on a dry erase board than when they write it on paper. We have also been working on trying to find our key words and clues in reading and math. They use their highlighters to find the key words or sentences and highlight them. This is a great visual for them to show where they found their answers. Since we use our highlighters and markers so often we tend to go through them quite quickly. This proposal helped provide with highlighters and markers to get us through the rest of the school year.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Patterson

• Needed: Scholastic News for Fourth Grade

  Funded Sep 16, 2015

  Thank you so much for purchasing our Scholastic Weekly Readers. They have been a great way to bring grade level reading material into our classroom.

  Each week we get a new Weekly Reader. Each Weekly Reader has science and social studies articles based on subjects that are of high interest to my students. They are written on their reading level. We are also able to use the interactive Weekly Reader on our SMART board. They also have comprehension questions on the back.

  One of their favorite articles about how eating bugs is now turning into a new trend. My students and especially boys love articles like this one.

  This past week we were able to use our Weekly Reader to learn more about Veteran's Day and the men and women who serve our country.

  We look forward to our new Weekly Reader each week. I love how it reinforces our science and social studies that we are working on in fourth grade.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Patterson

• Needed: Fourth Grade Math Games

  Funded Aug 23, 2015

  Thank you so much for helping purchase our math games and manipulatives. After teaching first and second grade for fifteen years I had many activities and games to help teach those grades. However, I did not have many manipulatives to teach fourth grade for the first time.

  My students love using the manipulatives to help with concepts such as fractions and multiplication and division. The hands on kits help reinforce these concepts. They use the manipulatives to help them with adding and subtracting fractions, comparing fractions and simplifying fractions.

  We use these manipulative kits in math to self and math to someone. It is a great way to practice and reinforce our math standards without having to run another worksheet. The kids enjoy using them to practice each day in their math centers.

  The use of these manipulatives have definitely helped me teach a new grade this year.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Patterson

• Getting Geared Up for Fourth Grade

  Funded Aug 19, 2015

  Thank you so much for helping purchase the math and reading SMART board games for our classroom. After teaching first and second grade for fifteen years it was hard to not have what I need to teach my students. I had many games for second grade but none that would help my students with their fourth grade concepts.

  We love using our SMART games to help review what we have been working on in class. They are hands on and engaging and it is a great way to help reinforce our reading and math standards.

  We use our games as a whole class and in small groups. We also use it in the afternoon after the bell rings to help practice our multiplication and division facts which is an area that they need a lot of practice.

  They get so excited when we get to play our SMART board games. It is so much more engaging than another worksheet.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Patterson

  This classroom project was brought to life by an anonymous donor and 3 other donors.

• Getting Actively Engaged in Learning

  Funded Mar 6, 2015

  Thank you so much for your generous donations to help fund teacher's professional development. Without your help myself and two of my colleagues would have been unable to go to our three day Whole Brain Teaching training.

  We were able to go our training in Tennessee. For three days we had the most spectacular training. Not only did we learn all about Whole Brain Teaching but the instructors (who were also currently teaches) use the method of Whole Brain Teaching to teach us. For three days we were completely immersed in it.

  Whole Brain Teaching is engaging and hands on and my students this year love it. They have taken with the concept and use the parts of Whole Brain Teaching to teach their peers. It is amazing to watch them get up and start off a lesson with a class, yes and then a mirror words.

  My colleagues are hoping to be able to this training again this summer and take more of our colleagues with us.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Patterson

  This classroom project was brought to life by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 4 other donors.

• Needed: Differentiated Classroom Instruction

  Funded Feb 27, 2015

  Thank you so much for funding my Daily Five professional development. I am so grateful for being able to attend the Daily Five training. It was so exciting to get to be trained by the two sisters that developed the Daily Five program. We learned so many great ideas to use in the classroom to help with whole group, small group or individuals with reading. We were able to get strategies to use when working with the groups as well as ideas for lessons implementing the Common Core standards. I have been using Daily Five in my classroom for the last eight years but I have never been formally trained. I have not however, had much experience using the Daily Café in reading. Now I am very excited to get to introduce this to my students next year. I was also lucky enough to get trained in Math Daily 3 which follows the same framework as the Daily Five program. My students love Daily Five and have no doubt that they are going to be equally excited about Math Daily 3. I would have never been able to attend this amazing workshop without your generosity.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Patterson

  This classroom project was brought to life by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 4 other donors.

• Getting Excited About Life Cycles

  Funded Apr 25, 2015

  Thank you so much for purchasing the life cycle kits for our classroom. The students were beyond excited as the cycles kept coming into our classroom. We were fascinated as we watched our ladybug larvae grow and change into pupa, eventually turning into ladybugs. None of us had every see this life cycle. We watched our caterpillars make their chrysalis and then watched the butterflies come out. The students loved holding the butterflies on their fingers and were very sad to set them free on the playground. We are still watching out tadpoles go through their life cycle and every day the students come in and go back to our life cycle counter to check on their progress. They have also been excited about watching our plants grown in our classroom terrarium. They have become little experts on the different life cycles: complete and incomplete metamorphosis and have enjoyed journaling the progress of each life cycle. You helped the life cycle truly come to life in our classroom. It will be something they will never forget about their second grade year.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Patterson