Past projects 27
Bring Cursive Writing Back To School!
Funded Jan 4, 2011What an impact your donation has made this year! I always enjoy the end of the school year because it allows me to focus on enrichment activities that the kids love, and cursive tops the list! As usual, the cursive writing has been the biggest hit in my classroom all year, and I cannot thank you enough! Every single student is excited and engaged as they practice learning how to write in cursive. What's amazing is that my students are going above and beyond, looking ahead to letters they haven't yet learned and teaching themselves. They come to school every day with more and more homework completed in cursive! In fact, the students just wrote letters to their fourth grade teachers, and every student included cursive - some signed their names in cursive, some wrote some words in cursive, and a few even went so far as to write their entire letters in cursive!
Writing in cursive is a valuable tool that every child and adult should possess. As I mentioned in my proposal, cursive writing is not a part of the State curriculum, and practice books are not provided for the students. Therefore, I greatly appreciate your donation of these 25 books so that every student in my class can learn this writing style and apply it for the rest of their lives.
There's no doubt that you've helped our country's future doctors, lawyers, teachers and politicians learn how to sign their name...and I honestly can't wait to see how far this simple act takes them in their lives! I'm looking forward to their notes and letters in the coming days, weeks, and years! THANK YOU!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Skiba
This classroom project was brought to life by American Express Members Project and 4 other donors.Urban Kids Discover Butterflies!
Funded Dec 13, 2010This was the third year that I organized a butterfly-growing project and I can't tell you just how exciting it is every single time. The look on a child's face when he or she walks into the classroom and sees tens of beautiful butterflies in the room is priceless. The children in this class rarely have the opportunity to experience something as wonderful and timeless as the butterfly life cycle and I am eternally grateful to you for giving them this chance.
My students enjoyed every moment of this project. They loved getting a small container with tiny caterpillars and naming their "pets" after friends and family members. The students were excited to watch the caterpillars quickly grow and ultimately turn into their chrysalis'. The children became very familiar with the phrase, "Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly." After the butterflies emerged, every day was an exciting one, as each student took the time to examine the butterfly net and make notes in his or her individual butterfly journal.
Although we were sad to see our butterflies go, the children had the chance to say goodbye and tell their "friends" that they can't wait to see them again. In fact, every time a butterfly passes them in the schoolyard, they wave and say hello to their old pals. Thank you for bringing such an amazing opportunity to my students...I am sure they will remember it for years to come. ”
With gratitude,
Ms. Skiba
This classroom project was brought to life by Disney's Planet Challenge and one other donor.Books for All of My Third Graders
Funded Dec 11, 2010Thank you so much for helping to bring this amazing collection of books to my classroom. When a student struggles with reading, it affects his/her confidence in all subject areas and as an individual. It is so important for a classroom to have texts that match a student's own needs, and we were severely lacking in this area. Your donation changed that completely!
Although many of my students are reading below a third grade level, every single student in my classroom now has at least five books to match his/her individual reading level. The wonderful part is that these below-grade levels students are now jumping by leaps and bounds because they are excited about reading books that they understand! By far the favorite series in the collection of books you donated is the Fancy Nancy series. All of the students are obsessed with Fancy Nancy and spend much of their free reading time with Nancy on her adventures! The Dr. Seuss has also been a big hit and was especially helpful at the beginning of March for our "Dr. Seuss's Birthday Celebration."
I can't thank you enough for bringing this outstanding collection of books to my classroom and giving many of my students the confidence to become better readers, better students, and ultimately, life-long learners!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Skiba
This classroom project was brought to life by Barclays Capital and 3 other donors.South of the Border Books to Study Mexico!
Funded Dec 31, 2010Thank you so much for your generous contributions and bringing these fabulous picture books to our classroom. The students were so excited to learn about Mexico and even more thrilled when they had classroom materials that mimicked what they were studying.
Students enjoy borrowing the books on a regular basis and often ask me to go back and read the picture books again. One of their absolute favorites has been Mice and Beans, putting a unique spin on a typical Mexican fiesta.
Many of my students come from a Mexican background and they love to read books that reflect their own heritage. But possibly the best part of this book collection are the bilingual books where students can practice their language skills and share their language abilities with their classmates.
Once again, the students could not believe that I had the opportunity to travel to Mexico and then share my experiences with them. These books have brought an exciting opportunity to my students and I am extremely grateful. Muchas Gracia's!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Skiba
This classroom project was brought to life by American Express Members Project and 9 other donors.TAG...You're it! The Best Reader in the Class, That is!
Funded Nov 3, 2010Thank you so much for your generous donations and bringing the Leap Frog Tag Readers to my classroom. These wonderful "pens" were just what my students needed to become active and engaged readers! Not a day goes by when every student in my classroom asks to read one of the Tag books.
Having five Tags and about fifteen books was the perfect fit for my students. Since receiving the Tags and setting them up to read with their respective books, I've made a schedule for my classroom. Each student has a morning slot and an afternoon slot every week. Students can read the Tag books when they're finished with their classwork, during small group activities, and as a reward for doing a great job during the day.
The Tag system is wonderful in that many of my struggling readers are overcoming their basic reading problems – fluency and comprehension. By reading along with the Tags, my students are becoming more familiar with elementary-level sight words and "challenge words." I am excited to test these students in a few weeks and see how much their fluency has improved. The Tag system also tests reading comprehension throughout the books. My students are so excited to answer questions about these stories and I often see them answering questions together.
This project has brought so much reading success to my classroom already. With four months left in the school year, I can't wait to see my students as they continue to make leaps and bounds in their reading abilities. Thank you again for helping to improve my students' academic abilities!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Skiba
This classroom project was brought to life by LeapFrog and 7 other donors.James and the Giant Peach ~ A Giant Class Experience!
Funded May 23, 2010I cannot thank you enough for donating a class set of the Roald Dahl classic James and the Giant Peach. I recently designed a Saturday enrichment program for my current and former students, entitled "Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach: Book, Background, and Beyond." The program has been a huge success! Nearly 25 students come to school for three hours on Saturdays to read the book and engage in meaningful discussions. To start, we read short biographies of Roald Dahl and have begun to compare his life experiences to those of James Henry Trotter in the story. We then made recipe cards for the little green crystals that cause the peach to grow, and have started to design character profiles of the insects that live inside the peach. The students are more than excited to read the book and participate in fruitful discussions. Thank you for bringing this wonderful book to my students! ”
With gratitude,
Ms. Skiba
This classroom project was brought to life by Barnes & Noble and 5 other donors.Ready, Set, Geronimo!!!! (Geronimo Stilton, that is!)
Funded Sep 1, 2010Thank you so much for sending the Geronimo Stilton series to our classroom. The books are an absolute big hit with my current and former students! Earlier this morning, one of my former third graders saw the collection and exclaimed, "You have all the Geronimo Stilton books this year? You even have the books that aren't in the library yet!" Geronimo Stilton is an exciting character and each of the books put him in a tricky mystery that the kids love! Honestly, the kids can't get enough of him! Every day, my students do their best on their classwork so that they can have "Geronimo time" and read a new mystery after their work is complete. Also, since my third graders "buddy read" with sixth graders, I thought it only fitting to introduce the older kids to this series, and WOW...do they love it too! They beg to read the stories of Geronimo during buddy reading, and some the sixth graders even come to my room and ask to borrow books on the days we don't have buddy reading. To sum it up, not only has your donation of this book series given a wider selection to my students, but it has helped foster an enjoyment of reading for almost 75 students this year! Now I can't wait to see the look on my new students' faces in September when they encounter Geronimo for the first time! Thank you again!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Skiba
Help Us All Become WIMPY KIDS!
Funded Sep 23, 2010What an exciting experience it was to hand out the Wimpy Kid "Do-it-yourself" books this week! Not only is "The Diary of a Wimpy Kid" the most popular book series in elementary school today, but the "Do-it-yourself" books are a coveted item! Since the school year started, the kids were told that the Wimpy Kid series was completely checked out of our school library. I can't begin to describe my students' excitement when they found out that our classroom would have 3 sets of the series! My students are now eager to finish their classwork, knowing that they might be one of the first to grab one of these twelve books.
Having the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series in the classroom is a great opportunity for my third graders, but even better in their eyes is the individual copy of the "Do-it-yourself" book that each student received! They immediately perused every page in their books, identifying the pages they want to fill in first. They even had the chance to share the books with their buddy readers from sixth grade. All they talked about for the entire day was this book and how they couldn't wait to fill it in. They are excited for the opportunity to design a book all about themselves.
Thank you so much for helping my students and bringing this wonderful book series into my classroom. I know that these books are something that will be cherished by each child for many years to come! ”
With gratitude,
Ms. Skiba
This classroom project was brought to life by Dorothy and 2 other donors.A Third Grade Writer's Paradise!
Funded Sep 4, 2010This DonorsChoose project has been one of the most successful activities I have completed in my three years as a member of DonorsChoose. All of the materials you so generously gave to my classroom are used on a daily basis and are impacting both my current and former students.
Here is an overview of how the individual materials have played a role in our classroom this year: Pencil Cases – When I handed out the pencil cases and told my students to use the best of their creative styles, the illustrations they drew were amazing. Not only did they create something special for themselves, but they gave me insight into their individual artistic outlets. Writer's Journals – Every year, I hear from multiple students that they "lost" their journal (a regular marble notebook). But having been in school for a little more than two months, I have yet to hear those words. At parent-teacher conferences this past week, I heard from numerous parents that their children LOVE their hardcover, spiral Writer's Journals and take pride in keeping them neat and safe. I find it so important for my students to write every day, at least once a day. So for homework every night, I assign a Writer's Journal homework where students are expected to write at least one page on a provided topic. I also encourage the students to "free write," or write about anything they want, whenever they get some free time. In only two months, I have seen at least ten of my students jump from a first-grade writing level to almost a third-grade writing level. The progress they have made is outstanding! Books – The most popular of the books you gave to our classroom are the Amelia's Notebook series. Every morning I have students from last year's class returning to my room to borrow a new Amelia book. These students love to read, re-read, and then read them some more! A favorite series of my own, it wasn't hard to pull them into the current Amelia craze! Of the other books, the most popular is "Max's Words." This was a great read aloud for the beginning of the year and was helpful in getting students to understand that in order to write good stories one must have a good collection of words to start with. Hardly a day goes by without a reference to this book! Ultimately, each part of your donation has played an integral role in my classroom this year and is pushing my students to achieve great things in writing. I have even heard some children say that their goals now include becoming an author. You have truly helped my struggling students get on par with their on-grade-level counterparts and have put them on the road to achieving great things. Their successes one day will be due in part to your philanthropy. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Skiba
This classroom project was brought to life by Dorothy and 4 other donors.Literature-Cinema Connections in 3rd Grade!
Funded May 10, 2010Thank you once again for the generous donations that brought these wonderful materials to my classroom. Although the books and DVDs were ordered at the end of last school year, I was only able to share them with my new students in the past few weeks. I can't even describe the excitement of my students when they heard that part of third grade would involve watching DVDs that reflect some of their favorite books! It was great to see the surprise on their faces when they realized that movies can be used as learning tools! This past week I used Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs to introduce our discussion of plot and how stories begin. The children listened as I read aloud the first few pages of the book. Then they watched about five minutes of the movie. They used what they heard and watched to make literature-cinema connections. Following the use of both media, the students completed a handout that incorporated summarizing the beginnings of both the book and the movie, and then writing the ways that the two were similar and how they were different.
It was wonderful to see their eyes light up as my students realized the connections they were making. One of the students even came to the conclusion that if the movie truly reflected the book, then it would only be 10-minutes long. She insists that movie-goers would never pay $10 to see a 10-minute movie! I really can't thank you enough for bringing this unique learning experience to my classroom and my eager-to-learn students! ”
With gratitude,
Ms. Skiba
This classroom project was brought to life by Barnes & Noble and 3 other donors.