Past projects 49
History of the Americas for Dual Language
Funded Oct 14, 2019Thank you very much for providing these materials for our classroom! Engaging my students in reading in Spanish is not an easy task. With English being the dominant language in today's society, even in a dual language program the students become less interested and engaged as they get into the upper grades. Reading in my classroom is mostly conducted in Spanish, however, when my goal is for students to learn the content, I will also provide texts in English when possible. I am in the process of developing my plans for this year and am looking into incorporating these texts. Speaking Spanish is not just a language, it has a history and richness to it. With these texts, students engage in learning that encourages them to dig deeper and figure out how the interact with the world around them.
We are grateful to you for helping us develop a means to do so. Thank you.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Thornquist
This classroom project was brought to life by Volkswagen and 4 other donors.Keeping the Basics on Deck!
Funded Oct 24, 2019My students are putting these materials into use right away! Post-it notes are used on a frequent basis for a variety of activities. Students use them to add something to their math work when there is not enough space, jot down their thoughts to stick onto a classroom poster, write down questions as they read complicated and much more!
Pencils are often what my students are missing more often than not. Having these materials on deck allows me to focus on instruction instead of figuring out where to get a writing tool for my students.
Thank you for helping us with the essentials that can easily go unnoticed! They tend to add up quickly and I appreciate greatly your help in making sure that my students have these basic classroom needs met!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Thornquist
This classroom project was brought to life by An anonymous classroom supporter and one other donor.Seating That Saves Space And Improves Focus!
Funded Oct 14, 2019These cushions have helped turn my classroom into such a wonderful and comfortable space. My students can't wait to sit on the rug and get a chance to use them. Also, they are so great to store because they can lay flat. This helps us all stay organized and keep the space nice and neat.
My students are able to carry out work in class much easier now that they are comfortable. They enjoy using these as a way to get out of the routine of sitting at a desk to do work. They are able to comfortably jot down work on a clipboard or carry out their writing assignments on a chromebook.
Thank you for making my classroom a space where my students feel safe and excited to learn!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Thornquist
This classroom project was brought to life by Volkswagen.Maintaining Cleanliness!
Funded Oct 24, 2019My students are proud of their space and take ownership over keeping it tidy. As soon as these materials made their way into my classroom, my students were fighting over who would be able to vacuum the rug first! One of my students learned how to operate a vacuum cleaner for the first time. Having these tools in the classroom reinforces how my students must take leadership over maintaining a clean and organized space. When the space is dirty or disorganized, they recognize this and are more likely to be distracted. We are grateful to you for making our space a positive learning environment.
Thank you!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Thornquist
This classroom project was brought to life by An anonymous classroom supporter and one other donor.Buddy Reading en AccióN!
Funded Oct 14, 2019My students are extremely grateful for the new books that they will be able to take with them to read to the younger students in kindergarten. Having this books allows my middle school students the time to practice their fluency by reading and re-reading beforehand in order to prepare for Fridays when they go meet with their younger buddies. This will help my students become more confident and the younger students will benefit from this as well. Students are able to develop their fluency, comprehension and vocabulary through these texts.
Thank you very much for making this happen for our community!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Thornquist
This classroom project was brought to life by Volkswagen.Comfort for Reading!
Funded Oct 14, 2019My students were so excited when they walked in the room and saw these new seating options waiting for them. They are thrilled to have a space where they can be comfortable while learning. This has greatly helped create a sense of comfort and safety that is important for my students as they engage in difficult tasks.
We are so appreciative of your support in this effort by making it a reality. My students are so impressed with the cushions and seats that they simply can't wait until it's time to read on the rug together. Thank you so much.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Thornquist
This classroom project was brought to life by Volkswagen.Buddy Reading en AccióN Part II!
Funded Oct 14, 2019Every Friday, a group of middle schoolers make their way down to the Kindergarten 1 classroom where they read with a buddy books in Spanish. This had been difficult prior to receiving these materials because there were not as many Spanish books available for students to choose from.
Now that we have this variety, the middle schoolers are able to fully engage their buddies in the reading and are teaching their little friends who don't speak much Spanish a few words and phrases. This is what helps build a community and we appreciate you making this happen.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Thornquist
This classroom project was brought to life by Volkswagen.Classroom Rug for Reading!
Funded Oct 8, 2019With your generosity, the students have been embracing the space on the rug as a place to come together as a community for reading as well as a place to take on other learning such as during a station where they continued to work with 3D shapes, identifying the number of faces, edges and vertices on each one.
We value this contribution and the rug has been used every day since it came into the classroom. Students are also learning to be respectful and maintain the rug so they are mindful to take off their shoes when they are using the space. The space provides the safety and comfort that my students deserve.
Thank you.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Thornquist
Geometry Toolkits
Funded Sep 27, 2019We are so excited to have these materials arrive in our classroom! They have already begun making a difference for our students as they continue to explore geometry concepts. The colored pencils and tracing paper help when students are decomposing and rearranging shapes. This is very helpful as they are learning how to find area of both parallelograms and triangles. My visual learners benefit from this greatly as they are better able to see how you a bigger shape can be decomposed into smaller shapes. Without the tracing paper, it is harder for them to conceptualize. Having these tools has been very helpful! Thank you so much for your help and providing the students with resources to get them to think deeper and make connections!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Thornquist
Headsets for Reading and Learning!
Funded May 7, 2019My students use headphones for a variety of reasons. They are helpful during math as we use multiple online tools such as Prodigy (a great way to get students excited by math through an interactive video game like platform!) and Khan Academy. While very useful, these tools are better used with headphones because they provide resources, such as videos, with helpful hints and tips that the students can listen to as they are going through the exercises. These headphones area also used for literacy, particularly when we are reading a text that has an audiobook available. Some students prefer to listen to the text as they are looking on and these headphones allow them to do just that. We are so grateful for your support!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Thornquist
This classroom project was brought to life by Google.org and 3 other donors.