Past projects 27
Third Graders Ready for Fourth Grade Books!
Funded Aug 17, 2009Thank you very much for financing my DonorsChoose project, "Third Graders Ready for Fourth Grade Books." We received our materials in September and are excited to use these books in our classroom. As I mentioned in my project proposal, the class I am working with this year is an advanced group, the highest performing of the third grade classes in the school. As such, many of the students are reading on a high-third grade to a low-fourth grade reading level. Being that my classroom was originally designed to work with low-level third graders, my library was unprepared for such a high group of readers. A student will only grow as a reader if s/he has challenging material to read. Being that the books you donated to our classroom are all on a Level Q, which is considered an early fourth grade reading level, your donation is helping to ensure that all of my students have exciting books to read.
The students are so excited to move up to Level Q and have the opportunity to borrow these books. They have already exclaimed their delight over The Dragon Slayers' Academy books and the Wiley and Grampa's Creature Features series. Many of them are also very excited to read Chato and the Party Animals, as it has many features that relate to their Latin American backgrounds. Once again, your contribution strongly impacted my childrens' lives and these are books that I know they will remember for years and year to come. Thank you again!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Skiba
How Do You Spell....Success?
Funded Jun 4, 2009Thank you very much for helping to finance my DonorsChoose project, "How do you spell...SUCCESS?" We received our materials during the first week of September and I can wholeheartedly say that this donation made an outstanding impact on each of the twenty-seven students in my classroom.
When conducting reading and writing lessons, certain tools are necessary. One of the most important, the old-fashioned print dictionary, was missing from my classroom. Although we had a handful, there was nowhere near enough to allow for each student to use his or her own during classroom instruction.
With this donation, you have ensured that all students can use their own dictionaries during class time. Students are excited to use them during independent writing time to enhance the words they put on paper; they are thrilled to use them during reading class when they come across unfamiliar words; and they also enjoy using the dictionaries to play vocabulary games during Center work. All of my third graders this year have already benefited immensely from your donation, and I can only imagine the impact your donation will have on my future students in years to come.
Thank you.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Skiba
Help Us Start The Year With Supplies!
Funded Jul 29, 2009Thank you very much for financing my DonorsChoose project, "Help Us Start the Year with Supplies!" We received our materials during the first week of September and I can wholeheartedly say that this donation made an outstanding impact on each of the twenty-seven students in my classroom.
Starting a new school year can be a stressful occasion for a child. Beginning that year with little to no school supplies can make it even harder. Many of my kids, living in impoverished households with two, three or more siblings, often come to school in September with little more than a notebook and a pencil, if that much. To come to a new classroom and have supplies waiting is like a dream come true for many of them.
Not only did each student receive a storage box, with pens, pencils and post-it notes to stay prepared and organized, but the students were so excited to have their own art supplies. So many students told me they never owned their own markers and crayons before this year. As a result of this donation, all of my students are now thrilled to have an art prep, as compared to years past, when they never had their own supplies to use and had to share used, dirty crayons and old, dried-out markers.
Once again, your contribution has touched the lives of some outstanding students and you certainly helped them start their year in third grade off on the right foot. I can only imagine what a successful school year 2009-2010 will be!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Skiba
We Want More Boxcar Children!
Funded Jul 7, 2009Thank you very much for financing my DonorsChoose project, "We Want More Boxcar Children." We received our materials in September and many students have been actively using these books ever since. This donation made an outstanding impact on my classroom and has already affected over 40 young lives!
My students are already familiar with the characters of Henry, Jessie, Violet and Benny Alden, as they have been introduced to my own childhood collection of the books. However, since I stopped collecting at book number sixty-five, your donation provided us with the remainder of the set. The donation of every single book is greatly appreciated by each individual in this classroom. What a wonderful sight it is to see young children so excited to read the stories of Henry, Jessie, Violet and Benny!
In just a few weeks, I will be reading aloud the first book in the Boxcar Children series. My students will then be able to embark on journey after journey with the Alden children as they solve mysteries in and around the town of Greenfield. As a child, I could not wait to finish a Boxcar Children book and then read the next one in the series. I have already seen this same spark in many of my students, and am excited to see their reactions to these new adventures.
As I mentioned in my project proposal, I wanted my former students to have the opportunity to share these books too. So, during the first few weeks of school, I sent all of my students from 2008-09 a letter inviting them back to my classroom to borrow any of the new books they wanted. Over fifteen of them consistently return to my room for more Boxcar Children stories!
Once again, your contribution has strongly impacted my students [both past and present, and undoubtedly, future] and this reading experience is one that I know they will remember for years and year to come. Thank you!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Skiba
A Classic Donation - The Finest Of Literature For My Kids!
Funded Dec 9, 2008This is a wonderful opportunity and my class of third graders will benefit immensely! We recently finished reading "The Time Machine" and then supplemented it with the 1960 version of the movie...the kids were so enthusiastic about making literature-cinema connections. We can't wait to do the same thing with these new materials! All of my students have been begging me to read a new "Classic story" and are so excited to have their pick from this new variety of books. This collection will definitely be THE highlight of our classroom library. Thank you so very much”
With gratitude,
Ms. Skiba
Help Our Imaginations Grow With The Magic Tree House!
Funded Dec 25, 2008Thank you very much for your donation to our classroom. Before we left on Winter Break, I let the kids take out some books from our classroom library and many of them wanted to borrow the first book of the Magic Tree House series. I can only imagine how excited they will be when we return to school in 2009 to find out that we have had this set donated to our classroom! The kids in my classroom love reading books that continue to tell a story and will absolutely enjoy following the travels of Jack and Annie. Once again, thank you for your donation...you have truly made an impact in the lives of 25 amazing kids”
With gratitude,
Ms. Skiba
Urban Kids Discover Butterflies!
Funded Jul 27, 2008My students and I cannot thank you enough for your recent donation to "Urban Kids Discover Butterflies." We will begin our project early in September, and I am sure that it will transform their young lives. As they watch their own caterpillars grow into beautiful butterflies, they will experience a transformation unlike anything they have ever witnessed before. As a result of this project, I anticipate my students becoming more excited to learn and come to school. You have truly made a difference by helping to fund this project”
With gratitude,
Ms. Skiba