Past projects 6
Odds and Ends To Get Us To The End!
Funded May 4, 2016Dear Donors,
As we created our final review charts, showcase our prize-winning "memory-keys", revisit mathematical and historical topics that we learned at the beginning of the year, our new resources have been a staple in our success!
When we first received the materials, students couldn't wait to write with freshly sharpened pencils and record their justifications on the new Boogie Board writing tablets. Having a replenishment of poster board, dry erase and permanent markers has allowed smoother review periods with colorful displays that help students remaster fourth grade content.
You have directly contributed to the success of my fourth graders and are helping them smoothly transition to fifth grade! Thank you for your continued support.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Sheldon
All Fired Up! Tablets for Two-Year Growth!
Funded Dec 15, 2015Words cannot describe the impact this project has made on my classroom community. Since receiving these materials, my students have become more excited to choose books to read. The tablets allow students to browse through hundreds of book selections at their level. Students are also more consistently turning in homework, and working a bit harder academically since the tablets arrived and are being used as a rewards system.
Educational applications have turned our hour long dismissal process into a time of independent and/or partner learning. Many of my students have never accessed this type of technology and I can tell it is motivating and exciting for them to have these resources in their classroom. Thank you for giving my current and future students this wonderful gift that is educational, motivational and engaging! Thank you for supporting teachers, students and public education!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Sheldon
Literature Circles for Student Lead Book Club!
Funded Sep 15, 2015Since we received our materials our reading block feels complete! We are enjoying our bookshelf which proudly displays our selection of books, and we are SO excited to be able to choose what we read. In fact, students are loving their books so much, that I sometimes have to ask them to put their books away! We have been loving the Boogie Boards and have not only been able to incorporate them into our literacy block, but also into math stations. We are learning so much more, building deeper connections with literature because of the meaningful dialog with each other. Leading our own conversations about books of our choice has allowed us to develop a passion for books and reach higher levels of comprehension than ever before! Thank you for giving us these tools and resources that contribute to us becoming a classroom of literate, fluent, fantastic leaders!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Sheldon
Professional Development: Words Their Way Program
Funded Mar 17, 2015As we close out our third quarter of fourth grade, my students and I would once again like to thank you for your contributions to our classroom. Because of this professional development opportunity, developed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, I was inspired to reach out and ask for these word study resources. I am truly thankful to be given the opportunity to implement the Words Their Way program with my current and future students.
Since receiving these materials, I have set up a space in my room to keep an individual word study portfolio for each student. In this portfolio I am keeping their current and past sorts, in addition to their final spelling assessments for each word list. This allows me to share student progress with each student as well as their families, and also allows me to collect data on each student's phonetic growth. My students like to have ownership over their work and they are proud to have their own portfolio to share. Staying organized is imperative for me to implement a new program such as Words Their Way correctly. The new books for each spelling stage are actually helping me to recognize and characterize word features I never have before. I am able to model word sorts because of these books. The document camera helps me instruct my whole class and allows small groups to work together using the projector. I am also able to model my Words Their Way instruction to other teachers in my building who are adopting this program as well.
This project has given me the professional resources to understand and learn this program while allowing me to put this program into place as part of my daily instruction. My students will grow as readers, writers, and communicators for this year and in years to come because of your support. Thank you again for supporting lifelong learning, students and teachers alike.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Sheldon
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 7 other donors.New Teacher's Professional Development
Funded Feb 28, 2015Since receiving my new professional development materials I have been so motivated as a teacher. I have enjoyed trying the new ideas that "Number Talks" has given me. I am amazed by the videos that were included in this resource. My students are loving the switch to student-centered mathematics and are excited about differentiated instruction daily. When I meet with my students during Reader's and Writer's Workshops, I have redefined my role during conferences. I have been speaking less, and listening more. My students are guiding their instruction. I have been sharing these ideas and resources with my colleagues. My new projector allows me to not only share these resources with colleagues, but I can also play the number talk videos, which model the mini-lessons. Thank you again for donating these resources to my class. I have been reinvigorated!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Sheldon
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 7 other donors.A Lounge For Literature
Funded Feb 14, 2015I wanted to reach out to all of you again, and let you know how truly thankful we are for our fantastic "Literacy Lounge". Since receiving our fabulous carpet, we have been LIVING on it. It is amazing to see the huge change in our classroom.
Our new meeting space for morning meeting, Read Aloud, math talks, and a small group station is on the rug with our chart paper and easel. During Reader's and Writer's Workshops, students are able to sit wherever they want in the classroom for independent reading and writing times. They love having the option to spread out and relax with a good book. Because our carpet doesn't get vacuumed, we are solely responsible to take care of our new space. The students are growing in self awareness and responsibility. Each student has a part in sweeping the rug, organizing our library, cleaning the boards etc. They are happy to be leader's!
We have been creating anchor charts and visuals during our whole group lessons using our chart paper, markers and easel. Most importantly, students are crazy about the new additions to our classroom library. From picture books, to novels, each student's face lights with excitement flipping through the pages of excellent books at their reading level.
Before creating this project on donors choose, my classroom lacked a meeting area for growing readers. Walking into our new space, you can instantly feel the change in our classroom climate. My student's told me to say, "Thank you for our new stuff, it's awesome", "We are so grateful", "The new stuff just blew my mind!". Lastly, they told me to tell you that you are leaders, because you are giving to Other's in need. Thank you for providing us with this much needed improvement.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Sheldon