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Mrs. James' Classroom

  • Texas Connections Academy
  • Houston, TX
  • More than three‑quarters 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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show projects from all time

Past projects 38

  • Book a Day

    Funded Aug 7, 2018

    These books have been an amazing addition to our classroom. The students have enjoyed the stories and connected to the characters in each of them. I've been able to use these stories to teach specific skills and strategies reeled to reading and writing and allow the students to practice the skills in a way that makes the learning feel more attainable to them. All of this because of the kindness and generosity of people who care. We thank each of you for supporting our classroom as we know it would not be possible without you.”

    With gratitude,

    Mrs. James

    This classroom project was brought to life by The Home Shows Coalition and 3 other donors.
  • Our Classroom's Our Safe Place

    Funded Aug 14, 2018

    Thanks to the generosity of those who funded this project, I can curve hunger and help my students focus on why they come to school in the first place -- learning. They love snacks and eat often, like most teens. I'm so grateful to be able to provide this for them.

    The rewards tickets are pretty cool as well. Who doesn't want recognition for a job well done? Knowing that they are valued helps keep students motivated to give their best. Plus, they can be comfortable giving their best thanks to the cleaning tools provided through this project. Thank you for your support.”

    With gratitude,

    Mrs. James

  • Literature Circles

    Funded Aug 9, 2018

    My students were so excited to see all the new books we have in our classroom. We haven't started literature circles yet, but they've already started talking about what they think they'll choose to read first. It is challenging to engage teens in reading, but it is worth every bit of the work we do to make it happen. Seeing kids want to read and having them show interest in books makes my teacher heart flutter.

    Not only are the excited about the titles, but I think they like the idea of being the first to crack open a brand new book. How amazing is that?!”

    With gratitude,

    Mrs. James

    This classroom project was brought to life by The Home Shows Coalition and 10 other donors.
  • The Learning Teacher

    Funded May 5, 2018

    Thank you for your support. I am so excited about the learning opportunity you have afforded me for the summer through your donations to this project. I felt like a kid at Christmas when I opened the boxes (I even did my happy dance). These books are going to be used to find new and engaging ways to get my students to be strong and thoughtful writers and to be responsible and responsive readers. They will help ensure that my classroom culture is one where students feel safe taking risks as a part of their learning and growth. You are truly appreciated.”

    With gratitude,

    Mrs. James

    This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and one other donor.
  • Books Books Books

    Funded Oct 27, 2017

    My students were so excited to open the boxes with our new books. I wait to open things for the classroom with them. A couple of my kids wanted to be the ones to open the boxes so that they could be the first to see what we got.

    They all immediately started calling dibs on who would read which book first as I read the blurbs and descriptions of the various titles we received. When it's time for SSR in my classroom, there is no fighting or pulling teeth; they simply grab their books and begin reading. When we're behind schedule and don't start at our normal time, the kids ask me wen are we going to read. Many of them have discovered the joy of reading, and I can't wait for them to all experience this.

    You have truly helped make a difference in my classroom for my students, and I thank you!”

    With gratitude,

    Mrs. James

    This classroom project was brought to life by The Association of Texas Professional Educators and 2 other donors.
  • The WORLD is Our Classroom!

    Funded Aug 12, 2017

    The echo dot has expanded m classroom beyond the walls that surround us. Even better than that, it has given my students access to the world in an instant. With just one call of her name, Alexa is able to provide information and explanations to an endless variety of questions quickly and easily.

    In addition to having access to information, we can use the echo dot to help us get organized. It can add reminders to our classroom calendar, set multiple timers that can run simultaneously, and it can keep our calendar updated.

    It gets even better. My students can play vocabulary building games and logic puzzles using this as well. This project has given us one of my all-time favorite classroom tools.”

    With gratitude,

    Mrs. James

    This classroom project was brought to life by Sergey Brin Family Foundation and one other donor.
  • Books for Humanity

    Funded Jul 28, 2017

    This project has initiated a whole new perspective on compassion for my classroom. The books you helped us get are books that are directly related to relevant topics and relatable characters for my diverse group of students.

    These books will serve as the window into the unfamiliar concepts of humanity and a mirror into those things that are already familiar. My students will get exposure to cultural elements of people outside of their own culture teaching them to appreciate and respect differences. They will get an opportunity to read about characters who experience things similar to what is happening in the world presently. This will give them chance to walk in the character's shoes and learn empathy and compassion through the eyes of these characters.

    How wonderful is that? Thank you for helping make this possible!”

    With gratitude,

    Mrs. James

    This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Funder and one other donor.
  • Diverse Classroom Library that Pops

    Funded May 4, 2016

    My students were as excited as I was when our classroom library materials arrived. They might have been more excited than I was actually! They looked through the new titles and talked about which ones they will read before the school year ends. They showed their peers books that they thought might be a good fit for them and made recommendations.

    After I got the benches and shelves put together, the kids couldn't wait to go over to the library. They looked through the shelves to see which books were the old ones and which were the new ones. They were anxious to give the benches a test-drive during our independent reading time. A couple of girls even wanted to stay after school to help categorize the books and organize them on the shelves.

    The new library has helped me and my students have easier access to all the titles we have and has expanded out collection of books to give a wider variety of topics and genres to choose from. At this point in the school year, I have worked hard to instill a joy of reading into each of them, but I have never seen them as excited about our reading time as they have been since we received our donations to improve our classroom library. We truly appreciate it.”

    With gratitude,

    Mrs. James

Many of my students start the year out reading below grade level. They admit to not reading and often say they do not like to read in the beginning of the school year. It is my goal to have each of them end the school year as readers, not because someone told them they had to, but because they enjoy it. Our school is a Title I school with more than 90% of our students classified as economically disadvantaged. Many of my students come to me with a sense of apathy formed from the lack of experiences of academic success in the past. We work all year to learn to grow from our failures and use them to get a step closer to success. A big part of this process is growing as readers.

About my class

Many of my students start the year out reading below grade level. They admit to not reading and often say they do not like to read in the beginning of the school year. It is my goal to have each of them end the school year as readers, not because someone told them they had to, but because they enjoy it. Our school is a Title I school with more than 90% of our students classified as economically disadvantaged. Many of my students come to me with a sense of apathy formed from the lack of experiences of academic success in the past. We work all year to learn to grow from our failures and use them to get a step closer to success. A big part of this process is growing as readers.

About my class

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