Past projects 7
Teaching with Technology to Stay Connected!
Funded Jun 11, 2020With the pandemic changing how school is structured, it was a big adjustment with little time to prepare. Unfortunately, my old laptop could not handle the demands of virtual platforms. It would freeze or not connect at all. The technology limitations were not allowing me to be the teacher my students needed.
With the new device, I am not only able to connect to my students with clear and strong virtual connections, I am able to do more than I ever thought possible. I have been able to connect my document camera for live virtual teaching. I can utilize applications that enhance our curriculum. Students love to see iMovies and clips featuring themselves and with this new device I can make them!
I am so very grateful for your kindness and generosity to provide me with the tools to make this year the best possible experience for my students. I know my students are grateful for helping to provide the technology needed to allow me to create engaging and interactive experiences making learning fun! We are so thankful.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Roche
This classroom project was brought to life by Salesforce and 11 other donors.Science of Human Anatomy with Guts- Shirt Supplies
Funded Dec 9, 2015We are so thankful for our Guts shirts project. Students each received a T-shirt with internal organs outlined. They first labeled and colored a paper copy as their blueprint for their shirt. The students were so thrilled to receive the painting supplies and even more excited to learn about their internal organs with the shirts.
With these materials, students learned about the science of their internal organs. Now they have a shirt to keep and when they put it on they can tell where those organs really are inside themselves. Students did such a great job identifying and labeling their shirts that everyone passed their internal organs quiz with flying colors!
This project was so successful, that we hope to continue it for years to come. Many of these supplies can be used again next year as well.
Thank you for helping my students learn about anatomy in a fun, creative and artistic way!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Roche
We Are All Teachers and Learners!
Funded Oct 21, 2015Thank you Chevron Corporation for your generous funding to supply our class with an Elmo document camera and wireless pad. With this Elmo document camera, the students can see exactly what I am modeling and even zoom in so they can see it even larger than if I had written it on the board. With the wireless pad, my students can interact with what we are working on using the Elmo document camera. This wireless pad supports their learning and engagement more than ever!
The Elmo document camera has many options where we can record a lesson and save it for students to replay when they need a reminder or for those who were absent. We can also record students showing how they processed a problem or calculated and answer. Students love sharing their knowledge and learning from each other.
The most exciting part for me is seeing how excited the students are and how engaged they are with the clarity and versatility of these tools. For my students the most exciting part is being able to use the wireless pad to respond and contribute to lesson discussions.
Again, thank you for your kind donation and for helping our students learn with 21st century technology!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Roche
Improve Teaching Practice at Teachers College!
Funded Feb 27, 2015Being presented with the possibility to attend Teachers College in New York for writing training was an exciting opportunity. Thanks to you that possibility is becoming a reality. I am looking forward to the intensive week-long training to learn how I can better my craft as an educator and further my writing instruction in the classroom. I am also looking forward to sharing the knowledge I gain with my school staff spreading it to all grade levels.
I am so thankful for this opportunity and for your support in making it happen!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Roche
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and one other donor.Be The Apple Of Their Eye!
Funded Oct 21, 2014When the box arrived with the iPads from our Donor's Choose grant, the kids cheered! We are all so excited to be able to have this additional tool for our classroom learning environment. These 4 iPad minis have created an opportunity for small group intervention, individualized support, and group collaboration.
The students in my class came into 5th grade with varied ability levels. I have already begun to plan for small groups of students to use the iPad minis for math fact practice, grammar intervention support, and other basic skills practice that some of my students need to experience daily.
In addition to small group intervention, I'm thankful for the iPad minis to be able to provide individualized support. For an example, I have a student who needs a speech-to-text program to help him produce his writing assignments. He has the understanding but struggles with the manual inputting, therefore, a speech-to-text program on the iPad can capture his writing assignments from his oral dictation. This gives him the opportunity to show what he's learned, complete his writing assignments, and not get held up on the handwriting aspect of the assignment.
The possibilities for group collaboration are almost endless. The students have already started planning how they will present their next group assignments by working together, recording their presentations, and using different output methods. For example, some students want to create an animoto.com video or a powtoon.com clip, yet others want to create a mini-documentary or explanation video. The students are excited because these iPads have given them a tool to help create interesting and relevant collaborative presentations.
We are so thankful for your support and we appreciate your generosity. Thank you for enriching education for this class of 5th graders and many more in the future!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Roche
Inspiring Writing In Aspiring Writers
Funded Sep 17, 2013We are so grateful for your contribution to our classroom. The day our document camera arrived my class squealed in delight when our Principal delivered it to the classroom. We were all so anxious that the students worked quietly while I unpacked the document camera and set it up. You would have thought the kids were looking at 4th of July fireworks with their "ooohs" and "aaaahhhhs" when I turned it on. The students have told me, the document camera has made it easier to learn because they can see exactly what I am modeling for them. They also like seeing my hand while working through the problems together. This helps to avoid students not knowing where we are and/or what exactly they should be doing.
The digital camera is an exciting addition to our classroom because it captures pictures of our students working and we are able to display the pictures on our classroom blog and sometimes even Twitter! What better way to learn writing than to read rich literature that displays great writing skills? We are so thankful for the books we can now read and learn with at writer's workshop.
Finally, we are super excited to use the wireless "egg-spert" game (however, we are collecting the 19 batteries needed for the game). This adds a fun, interactive way to learn for both the teacher and the students.
The students and I are writing this impact letter together so you can truly know the impact directly from the students. Your generosity is greatly appreciated by all of us. Thank you for your support.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Roche
"Once You Learn To Read, You Will Be Forever Free."~Douglass
Funded Oct 24, 2012Thank you for the wonderful opportunity you have provided to our 3rd graders to read, learn, and grow academically from literature. Your generous donations helped to provide class sets of several novels and research books for our entire grade level. Not only will these books benefit this year's 3rd graders but many years to come!
The students are so appreciative to be able to each hold and read the books while we are reading together as a class. They are able to do literature circles, find figurative language, make connections, identify academic vocabulary, and so much more!
It is with much appreciation that I write this letter thanking you for your part in these children's education. The value of what you have contributed toward does not have a dollar amount because it is priceless. Thank you.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Roche