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Ms. Cunningham's Classroom

  • Picadome Elementary School
  • Lexington, KY
  • More than half of 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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Past projects 9

  • Books Are My Language of Love

    Funded Apr 23, 2019

    I'm so excited to share these books with my students. My students are eager to read these new authors and series. We appreciate your willingness to help us become lifelong readers. Without donors like you, I wouldn't have an inviting classroom library. Thank you for being a part of our community.”

    With gratitude,

    Ms. Cunningham

  • Let's Kick It!

    Funded Nov 26, 2018

    My students were so excited when our playground balls, soccer balls, basketballs, and jump ropes arrived. They wanted to go outside and try out the new equipment and share with their peers in other classrooms. Kids immediately started talking about what games they wanted to play.

    I love that my students are actually playing at recess instead of standing around just talking. I spend many days turning a jump rope as students take turns jumping and singing familiar rhymes. Students enjoy making up their own jump rope games and challenges. My school has a large number of students who love playing soccer. They use two trees as the goal for their soccer game. Other students play basketball or kickball. The kids have enjoyed having multiple balls to play a variety of games. Students are learning to cooperate and communicate with each other.

    On rainy days, we are able to play outside in a protected area. The students love playing Wall Ball and Keep Away and inventing new games. They also play Four Square and jump rope. This new playground equipment allows them to get outside and move even on rainy days.

    My students love having so many choices at recess. They are learning to be responsible and to ensure that all the equipment is brought in each day. We are thankful for generosity and kindness. Thank you for helping my students be more active during recess. They are more attentive after recess which is helping them learn more.”

    With gratitude,

    Ms. Cunningham

    This classroom project was brought to life by Nickelodeon and National Fitness Foundation and 2 other donors.
  • Read, Read, Read

    Funded Aug 22, 2018

    At a recent parent-teacher conference, a parent asked what I had done to her kid. He now loves to read! The parent said her child has a book at all times just it case there is some time to read. This is the best compliment and a reflection of emphasis I place on finding books you love. I explained to the parent that my students have access to quality books in our classroom library, choice during self-selected reading, and time to read and discuss daily. Access to a wide range of books by a variety of authors wouldn't be possible without generous donors like you.

    My students love free-verse novels such as "Hate that Cat" by Sharon Creech and "Rebound" by Kwame Alexander. I introduced free-verse novels to students by reading aloud "Home of the Brave" to the students. Now my students are fans of Kwame Alexander, Sharon Creech, Katherine Applegate, and many other award winning authors.

    My students can't get enough of Jason Alexander's Race series. These books have been of particular interest to my reluctant readers. Jason Alexander's character develop has students cheering for the main characters as they overcome life's challenges and achieve their goals. Some of my students have been able to see themselves in these characters.

    Read-aloud time is a special time in my classroom. My students loved hearing "Amal Unbound" as we participated in the Global Read Aloud. Students have request that "The Night Diary" be our next read aloud. These books feature culturally diverse characters that allow my students to see the world.

    Thank you for your generosity and commitment to education. My students are thankful for the additional books to our classroom library. I often say that books are my language of love. Thank you for loving our classroom. My students will continue to read, read, read!”

    With gratitude,

    Ms. Cunningham

    This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 2 other donors.
  • Got Books?

    Funded Aug 24, 2017

    I would like to sincerely thank you for investing in my students. Your generosity has ignited a spark in some kids who began the year as reluctant readers. These particular students have been hooked by the eloquent words of Kwame Alexander, Jacqueline Woodson, and Peter Brown. Students enjoyed making connections between Home of the Brave and A Long Walk to Water. My students were captivated by Kek and Salva's lives. They begged to keep reading and asked thought provoking questions that had no easy answers.

    My avid readers have enjoyed a diverse classroom library that allows them to find books with complex characters that make make them laugh and cry. They are learning life lessons like perseverance, survival, overcoming adversity, and finding hope. Some of my readers are trying new genres like biographies or narrative poetry. Many students are on track to read more books this year than they did last year.

    All of my students are learning to mark the text as they read using evidence and discussion clips. This helps the students as they are supporting their inferences, drawing conclusions, and participating in literature discussions. The prompts on the discussion clips are perfect for student led discussions.

    Thank you helping me grow lifelong readers. Helping students see themselves as readers has become increasingly hard. Having a carefully selected library of books, is one way I match readers to books. As I have watched more and more students engage in self selected independent reading and discuss/recommend new books, I know many are becoming readers.”

    With gratitude,

    Ms. Cunningham

  • Wild Readers

    Funded Dec 20, 2016

    There is nothing like opening boxes of new books and listening to student ooh and aah and ask if they can be the first one to read a book. In my class, we use a lottery system to distribute new books. Students eagerly awaited for their name to be called. One student commented that she won the lottery when her name was drawn to read one of the new graphic novels. Every student in my class went home on a Friday with a new graphic novel and most were finished by Monday morning. Students were lining up to select a new book. There was a frenzy of activity as students returned one book and selected a new one.

    My readers are so excited to read these new graphic novels. I have students who are finishing a book a day. Their excitement for reading is contagious. When kids get excited about a book they can't help but share their excitement with others. They often recommend a new series or character to their friends.

    My students have grown as readers this year. One of the ways I measure reading growth is by the number of books that a student reads this year compared to last year. Some of my students never took home books to read. Now I catch them reading in the hallway on their way to the bus. My sincere hope is that they have all caught the "reading bug" for life!

    Thank you for your generosity and commitment to education. My students are thankful for the additional books to our classroom library. I often say that books are my language of love. Thank you for loving my classroom.”

    With gratitude,

    Ms. Cunningham

  • Deepening Comprehension for Fluent Readers

    Funded Apr 19, 2016

    Thank you for supporting my children as they become lifelong learners and readers. I want my students to love reading and be independent, strategic readers. Your donation will have a lasting impact on my current and future students. I think a parent in my classroom said it best he said that I have created a culture of reading in my classroom.

    We have been busy this school year developing active reading skills such as monitoring comprehension, activating/connecting background knowledge, asking questions, inferring, visualizing, and determining importance. This year I have focused more on small guided reading groups to increase reading comprehension. By the end of the year my students will be experts at the aforementioned skills as well as summarizing and synthesizing what they have read.

    The ToolKit Texts and Short Nonfiction for American History are engaging texts that the students enjoy reading. They have made numerous connections from the texts and to what we are currently learning in Social Studies. I love to ask my students, "What surprised you?" Their responses are genuine and show a deep level of understanding. I love to hear their thinking and watch them grow as readers.

    We are grateful for your generosity and dedication to education. Thank you for being a part of our education community.”

    With gratitude,

    Ms. Cunningham

  • Fired Up About Reading

    Funded Aug 27, 2016

    Thank you for your generosity. Words cannot describe the students' excitement when I handed each one of them a Kindle Fire. They couldn't wait to explore the apps that I had preloaded. My students are "Fired Up" about learning and thanks to your donations, we are now a 1 to 1 classroom. The students each have access to their own Kindle Fire Tablet. This allows the students to read books, practice reading and math lessons online, and complete research via the Internet while at school.

    Every student in my classroom is able to access a variety of books that can be read anytime or anywhere regardless of WiFi capabilities. My students really enjoy using Epic! Books for Kids to find books on a variety of levels, subjects, and genres. The students are also able to watch some educational videos and listen to audiobooks.

    An added bonus of having the Kindle Fires in our classroom has been that students are able to practice reading and math using apps like MobyMax and IXL during their center rotations. This allows students to practice skills at their individual levels and interests. As a teacher, I am able to monitor their progress and plan specific instruction based on their progress.

    We are still discovering new ways to integrate technology into our classroom. Your kindness and dedication to education has allowed my students to have access to unlimited books, apps, and websites that are making learning more fun and accessible to all. Thank you for your commitment to education.”

    With gratitude,

    Ms. Cunningham

  • Flipping Out about Learning Technology & Literacy

    Funded Apr 23, 2015

    Thank you for helping me learn more about iPads and iPad integration. My students have enjoyed using iPads for learning and sharing their learning. My focus is for students to create products to help them understand new content and explain what they have learned. Below are a few examples of what my students are doing. Students have used Popplet Lite to make mindmaps to organize their thinking, plan writing, and share their learning with others. They also use Pic Collage and Thinglink to collect and explain artifacts about a self-selected history topic. Students love using Educreation, a white board app, to explain how to solve math problems. They enjoy being the teachers. Other students enjoy seeing and hearing the strategies that their classmates have used.

    I recently learned about Google Apps for Education at a district professional development. I was able to practice on the iPad before introducing these apps to my students. We have learned together and each day we are becoming more efficient. My students and I recently began using Google Apps on our iPads. While my students call Google Classroom "Facebook for Kids", I'm excited to have a space for students to collaborate and communicate. Sharing book reviews and book commercials are becoming popular in our classroom.

    I have a group of students who particularly excited about using the iPad to learn about programming and coding. Students will often grab an iPad and open Lightbot or Scratch. These are programs that allow my students to problem solve and think critically.

    I am truly grateful for the iPad and "Connecting Comprehension and Technology: Adapt and Extend Toolkit Practices" by Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis. I have been able to integrate iPads across the curriculum while increasing confidence and proficiency. This allows me to explore new apps and find innovative ways to use iPads in my classroom.”

    With gratitude,

    Ms. Cunningham

    This classroom project was brought to life by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 3 other donors.
  • Fluency and Fun with Fractions

    Funded Jan 12, 2015

    "It's like Christmas!" one student exclaimed as I took each item out of the box one by one. My rooms filled with oohs and aahs as the students realized everything in the boxes was for them. My students kept asking when do we get to use them!

    We began using the Math File Folder Games during math stations. The students couldn't wait to try the next game. I loved it because the students were able to check their answers while I was working with other students. Students completed the Fluency with Fractions Cards and Daily Dose of Fractions and Decimals as an entry slip to review previous content or as an exit slip at the end of a lesson. This helped me make instructional decisions for the next lesson. The number lines were used to teach addition, subtraction and multiplication of fractions. The students caught on to the visual fraction model for multiplying fractions quickly thanks to the fraction multipliers. Students have continued to use the Math File Folder games and Problem Solving Cards to review math content and skills.

    My students have expressed how much they enjoy practicing skills that had been difficult before we started using these hand-on materials. The students have become fluent at adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing fractions and decimals. They also understand the importance using these skills in the real-world.

    Words cannot adequately express our gratitude to each of you. Your generosity has helped each student in my classroom become fluent with fractions and more confident in math.”

    With gratitude,

    Ms. Cunningham

Thank you for visiting our page. My classroom is full of students with diverse backgrounds and interests. We strive to show our Picadome Pride by following the Guidelines for Success in and outside of our classroom. We are active learners! We use hand-on materials, sing daily, read comics and do reader's theater to better understand content. We use a wide-range of technology as we communicate, collaborate and critically think.

About my class

Thank you for visiting our page. My classroom is full of students with diverse backgrounds and interests. We strive to show our Picadome Pride by following the Guidelines for Success in and outside of our classroom. We are active learners! We use hand-on materials, sing daily, read comics and do reader's theater to better understand content. We use a wide-range of technology as we communicate, collaborate and critically think.

About my class

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