Past projects 56
"Can You 'Hear' Me Now?" - Extra Ears Needed!
Funded Feb 5, 2019First of all, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for supplying my classroom with extra headphones. My classroom has turned into a one-on-one technology classroom, so I needed extra headphones to ensure that every student had access to headphones. My largest class had 24 students, so it was crucial I was able to find some extra headphones for my students.
In my classroom, the students utilize technology every single day with the use of their Chromebooks that were provided by the school. The headphones are a critical component of my technology driven classroom because of the way my class is set up. Like, for instance, in my English/Language Arts class my students utilize the headphones to listen to various stories online that have been assigned to them. This way of learning works well for my lower level learners because they can listen to the story being read to them. In Social Studies, I upload videos to our class page on Edmodo and the students can log in to our class and listen to the video while they answer comprehension questions, but the students get to work at their own pace because of the headphones.
The addition of these extra headphones have really helped our classroom progress evern more. Students now know they do not have to rush to get headphones because now there is a pair for everyone to have. I am so overjoyed that my donors helped us to get extra headphones to help our listening skills in ELA and Social Studies. Again, I say Thank You!!!!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Thomas
This classroom project was brought to life by Verizon and 5 other donors."Clean, Healthy Learning at RCMS!"
Funded Jan 24, 2019First of all, I want to thank you for taking the time out to donate to my classroom. My students and I are truly grateful for the resources that you provided for our classroom. Every year during the months of December, January, and February, I have noticed that many of my students come to school with sniffling noses, harsh coughs, and sore throats. Many of them even have to miss school due to having a virus or the flu. I have always instilled in my students that missing school causes them to not be successful in the classroom. I wanted to think of a project that would help my students stay germ - free and keep them from getting sick. That's where the idea of "Clean, Healthy Learning Environment at RCMS" came from.
Let me just say that the students are enjoying the hand sanitizer and Angel Soft tissues. When going to lunch, I see all my students taking hand sanitizer to clean to their hands. They quietly go get tissue to blow their noses, so the supplies really helped us out. I have seen a decrease in the number of students who are sick. Students are coming to school everyday because they are not sick. In addition, the students are enjoying the extra snacks during the afterschool program. These resources were a great addition to our classroom, and the students have been really enjoying them. The hand sanitizer and boxes of tissue were a huge asset to our classroom, and we couldn't be more grateful!!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Thomas
This classroom project was brought to life by The Clorox Company and 2 other donors."Thanks" for "Giving" Afterschool Snacks!
Funded Dec 5, 2018I just want to say that saying "Thank you" for what you did for my students is not enough. The snacks that you provided for my students for the afterschool program is truly a blessing. I just can't thank you enough. Many of my students come from poverty where the parents work two and three jobs trying to support several children in the household. In addition, many of my students come from single parent households. As one can tell, many of my students come to school with many issues on a daily basis. I created this project because I believed that hunger should not be an issue that my students need to deal with daily.
I teach in a small district that only has one elementary school, one middle school, and one high school. The middle school and the high school share the same building, so we have to split our time in the cafeteria. My students who are middle school eat lunch at 11:00 in the morning, so by the time school lets out (3:45) I know my students are hungry. For those students who have to stay for afterschool, that is an extra two hours at the end of the day. I can only imagine the hunger level of my students by that time of the day. Yes, our cafeteria provides a snack but to me it just wasn't cutting it for my students. I thought why not create this project to bring in more afterschool snacks for my students.
When my students saw the snacks being delivered, many of them got real excited about coming to the afterschool program. With the help of the snacks, I've had a great turnout this year for my afterschool program. The students are focused on their work more as they receive an extra snack from me. I see the joy on their faces when they tell me what they want from the afterschool snack bin. People have to understand that students perform better with a full stomach. I am so thankful that you all understood that and provided my students with these delicious snacks. My students have truly enjoyed partaking in the sweet and salty snacks you provided as well as the sweet juices they have to quench their thirst. Again I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving my students afterschool snacks for this year. Each and every one of them are truly grateful for what you did for them!!! You are awesome!!!!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Thomas
Student Supply Station: "Fill'er Up!"
Funded Dec 29, 2018First of all, I want to thank my donors again for giving to my classroom. Every project that I post on DonorsChoose has special meaning to me. This project was no different. I have been teaching for 12 years now, and I can remember when I first started teaching that I would get so frustrated with my students not having the necessary supplies they needed to be successful in my classroom. I would waste time talking to my students about the importance of coming to school prepared with supplies. Well, lets just say that went in one ear and out the other. Over the years, I have learned what battles to fight when it comes to education, and the battle of school supplies was one battle I was not going to fight.
I saw a television show one night, and I remember one of the characters telling his son to "Fill'er Up!" That is when the idea popped into my head. Why not create a supply station in the classroom where my students can fill up on the supplies they need to be successful in my classroom. The station would be filled with pens, pencils, paper, binders, notebooks, etc. All the things my students would need to complete assignments or projects in my classroom. When the supplies started coming in, the students were excited. No longer did they have to worry about having supplies. The students even created an actual station where they could easily get out their desk and just walk to the station and get what they needed for class without even asking me!! Awesome idea!!
This station has been a tremendous benefit to my classroom because I am no longer giving speeches about not having supplies. My wonderful donors have given my students a chance to be successful in the classroom, and they are forever grateful. Our supply station has been busy over the past few weeks and is still going strong. I love watching the students walk to the station and get what they need and go back to their seats begin to complete their assignments without any hesitations. Again, my students and I are forever grateful for our supply station!!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Thomas
This classroom project was brought to life by Someone Who Cares and 7 other donors."Sipping the 'T' With Ms. Thomas:" Our Weekly Talk Show
Funded Oct 30, 2018First of all, I want to thank you all for donating to this wonderful project. It was truly a blessing to receive these microphones for my classroom. The students were overjoyed when I opened up the box for the microphones, so they were anxiously waiting to get their hands on them. When I would leave the microphones on my work table, I could see students in the corner of my eye holding the phone, so they could practice their speaking skills as well has how to hold the microphone. The students really love that this brand new piece of technology has become a part of our classroom now.
The purpose of the microphones was to create a talk show that would be used to review various information we have discussed in class. Besides the talk show, the students have found other ways to utilize these wonderful microphones. The students like to use them when we are doing a whole group review. Like for instance, I will have the students work in their small groups to jot down answers to a question on top of their chart paper. After time is called, the students hang up their chart papers and their spokesperson must stand beside their group's chart paper. The spokesperson uses the microphone to discuss with the whole class the answers on their chart. And of course, the students love to hear their voices projected over the built - in classroom speakers.
The next step with the microphones is to try to develop an open forum for debate like they have when candidates are running for office. I, as the teacher, will act as the moderator who will lead a classroom hall meeting much like a town hall meeting. The students will get a chance to come to the microphone and ask students questions about various issues. The students being asked the questions will play the parts of town leaders, so that would make it a little more interesting. Again, the addition of these microphones to my classroom has been an amazing journey. The journey has just begun, and I can't wait to see and "hear" what my students will do next with these microphones. Again, I thank you all for this generous donation to fund this project!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Thomas
" 'I'm 'Ready' to Listen in the Lab!"
Funded Aug 29, 2018First of all, I want to thank you again from the bottom of my heart for funding this project for headphones for my classroom. We desperately needed a classroom set of headphones to use in the classroom, and you all truly came through for us by helping my class to reach that goal. Technology is a huge part of our classroom on a daily basis. The majority of the students' work is done online through various apps like Edmodo, USATest Prep, Nearpod, and of course I - Ready. The students use this web-based reading intervention program weekly in my classroom.
The headphones are truly needed for my classroom. During our ELA class, the students have devoted two days a week to being on the I-Ready Reading Intervention Program. The students use the headphones to listen to their instructions as they maneuver through their reading lessons. The lessons are based on how they scored on their diagnostic. The headphones have truly helped many of my students stay focused as they complete their individualized lessons. Having the ability to stay focused, many of my students showed growth on their second diagnostic in December, and I was truly proud of them. I celebrated those students who showed growth, and that really made their day!
I have noticed that many of my students who are reading below grade level really enjoy using the headphones because they can listen to the lessons and have the questions being read to them. In addition, those students enjoy using the headphones on other websites like CommonLit and Readworks because again they do not have to struggle with reading when those programs read to them and the headphones allow them to listen to the passages as an individual. With the funding of these headphones, I was able to turn my classroom into an I-Ready lab on our I-Ready days because we have Ipads with the app, so its amazing to look around my room and see the students engaged in the I-Ready programs because of the headphones. This additional piece of technology to the classroom has truly been a blessing to my students and our classroom. Again, I say Thank You!!!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Thomas
Listening and Looking at the World!!
Funded Jul 30, 2018First of all, I want to start off this letter by saying "thank you" once again for donating to my 8th grade classroom. We desperately needed headphones in my ELA/SS classes, and my wonderful donors came through for us. It is nice to know that kind, generous people still exist in this world.
In my ELA classes this year, we are utilizing a Reading Intervention program called I - Ready. Many of our students are reading below grade level, which hurts them when they take their state assessment every Spring. The I - Ready program helps my students improve on their reading skills in order to help increase their Lexile scores and perform better in all content classes. On the I - Ready intervention program, the students take a diagnostic assessment to determine what grade level they are reading on. From there, the program sets up lessons for them to complete in order to show growth on the next diagnostic. We take three diagnostics a year in order to monitor the students' growth. With the lessons, the students need headphones because the lessons contain videos and there are characters that walk the students through the different lessons by talking to them. This is why the headphones are so crucial, and your generous donations helped my students receive the headphones they needed. The students enjoy being in the lab or in the classroom with the headphones because they become one on one with the Ipad or computer. They enjoy listening to the characters talk to them in the lessons and when they get an answer right, they enjoy the positive feedback from the characters in the lesson.
In addition, the students utilize the headphones on other websites we use in class like CommonLit, USATest Prep, and Readworks. On these websites, students have to read stories and many of my lower level students enjoy having the headphones because they can have the stories read to them in order to understand the story better. In my Social Studies classes, I upload videos to their Edmodo classes, so that they can watch the videos during their work period to help them understand the lesson even better.
Many of my exceptional education students have warmed up to these headphones because now they know they do not have to struggle with their reading when they can actually listen to the story being read to them. They now enjoy coming to ELA class and going to the lab because of this technology. My students enjoy technology because it is what their generation is used to, and I use it consistently because it keeps my students engaged in the learning, which has helped them improve in my class and on their state assessment. Again, I must say thank you to my wonderful donors because you all have changed my students' lives for the better.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Thomas
This classroom project was brought to life by The Home Shows Coalition and 7 other donors.