Past projects 17
Every Student Has Their Spot!
Funded Dec 17, 2017Just imagine first graders carrying a huge, rolled up 9x12 carpet down the halls of our school. The excitement on their faces was priceless. It took a lot of muscle, but we carried our rug all the way down the hall, cut the plastic off and my class rolled it out. It was definitely a highlight of our year so far. Once they rolled out their beautiful new rug they promptly found "the best" square to sit in. They laughed, smiled and worked together to make sure our rug was arranged "just right" in front of the white board. It's pretty snowy and messy this time of year in Maine and so students are extra cautious not to track onto the rug after recess. Students will take their boots and set them aside before they sit down or encourage their classmates to remember an extra pair of "inside shoes" so our rug stay clean and looking brand new!
Since receiving our rug we have been able to host more community learning activities in our classroom. The rug has squares that are just the right size for first grade students to sit criss-cross-applesauce in. Our students have enjoyed read-alouds on the rug, interactive phonics activities, math groups and many other whole group learning experiences.
In the future, I look forward to creating activities where students make a graph by standing in certain colored squares on the rug. For example, we could do a graph with our favorite winter activities. Students that enjoy sledding the most can stand in a tan square. Students who enjoy building snowmen the most can stand on a yellow square. Students that enjoy ice fishing the most can stand on a blue square. Students will be able to compare activities and discuss which winter activity is most or least popular. They will be able to visually see how many more students like making snowmen than going ice fishing and so on.
Thanks to your generosity, the possibilities are endless. You have helped make our learning environment a more comfortable, inviting and organized space and for that I am truly grateful.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Verney
Interactive Reading and Writing for 1st Graders!
Funded Nov 28, 2017"What are these huge boxes Mrs. Verney?" That would be our fabulous new easel, kids! The box arrived and there was that moment of now what!? The picture didn't show boxes, it showed an easel with two huge white boards, room for pocket charts, a shelf to hold my big books, cups to hold both white board and chart paper markers and baskets to store classroom materials in. Now, I have to admit that I am NOT terribly handy with an Allen wrench but thankfully my trusty ed tech and classroom supporter spent a Saturday morning assembling our deluxe easel. The following Monday morning as my students arrived I posted a morning message on the white board with a tally mark chart asking them what they did over their holiday break. My students were so excited to be able to write on the big white board!
When I created my easel project, I knew that this was a piece of equipment that would have a variety of uses and would be used in all subject areas and aspects of my day. In the short amount of time that I have had it students have used the pocket chart during literacy workstations sorting words into alphabetical order. During phonics lessons students have written words on the whiteboard with specific vowel patterns. During writing students are able to come to the easel and display their writing to share. These are just a few examples of ways we have used our new easel.
I sincerely appreciate each generous donation that allowed my class to have this incredible teaching ( and learning) tool. This easel will continue to impact the education of students at my school for many, many years to come!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Verney
Ho! Ho! Ho! 1st Grade Needs an Osmo!
Funded Dec 10, 2017My students were so excited when a large box arrived to our classroom. They said, "Mrs. Verney, what is in there? Do you think it is it for us?" When they opened the box and saw that we had our very own Osmo they were all begging to be the first to try it out. Then, when they received the games for literacy work stations, it felt like Christmas. They were so excited we decided we needed to set stations up so students could try their new literacy games. Students rotated through stations, were engaged, learning literacy strategies and as you can see, were happy!
We are using the phonics games for literacy workstations. During literacy workstation, I meet with a group of students to do guided reading groups. While I am teaching a small group, pairs of students rotate through stations that practice phonics skills, handwriting, comprehension, reading fluency, sight words, and technology. Each morning the students check our stations chart to see if it is their turn to play "games" during literacy work stations. They truly light up with excitement when they have a chance to use these new games to practice skills taught during phonics and reading groups.
We are just starting to explore the many things we can do with the Osmo. So far students have worked in teams to spell vocabulary words correctly. They have to race against each other to earn points by picking the correct letters in the word. In the coming weeks, I will be incorporating Osmo numbers and tanagrams into our work places for math. As an option for continued practice students will use this technology to reinforce math skills that were taught during the lesson.
I truly appreciate the donations I received towards our Osmo and literacy work station games. First grade is a busy place and we require a large variety of tools and games to keep students engaged and learning! Thanks you keeping my students excited about literacy learning!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Verney
Broadening Horizons By Studying The World
Funded Dec 23, 2017Thank you for helping me build a library of leveled guided reading books for my grade and other grades to access each day for reading groups. My dream is coming true a few book sets at a time. Each day, I am able to put books into our students hands that are current, at an appropriate level and engaging. I am using our new books to get students talking about our community, the world and the professions that they will some day hold. Having sets of leveled books that directly connect to our social studies standards is key in connecting literacy and social studies.
Today, one of my reading groups read about communities. Throughout the year we connect to our community in a variety of ways. We invite guest speakers into our classroom, we plan food trips to local landmarks and talk about "me on the map." After reading a new book about communities they were able to discuss the difference between a rural and urban communities. They talked about the various text features in their book. We discussed how to use a table of contents and glossary and they added many new words to their vocabulary. Tonight they will bring their book home to share with their families and then bring it back to school to read again during our read to self time.
Thanks tor the generous donors that helped fund this project we were able to get 12 different title in 6 book sets to add to our leveled library. The books are the perfect size for small, first grade hands. They are bright and colorful and really draw students into the text. The pictures are current and show diverse communities in our country and world. The words are large and at an appropriate level for many of our first grade students.
Please know how much my students and I appreciate these materials!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Verney
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose.org Community and 6 other donors.Books That Will Hook Our Struggling Readers
Funded Nov 18, 2017My dream is to create a leveled book library with guided reading sets for Kindergarten and First Grade teachers in my school to access for their reading instruction. Every book that I received has helped me become a step closer to fulfilling this dream.
After the completion of my "Books That Will Hook Our Struggling Readers" project, I received sets of low level guided reading books. Our first grade team has used these book to help teach some of our struggling readers and boy were they excited to have fresh books in their little hands. Each day, we come together as a whole grade to learn about literacy. We instruct students on a strategy that will help make them stronger readers. After our lesson, we go back to our classrooms and teach our guided reading groups while the rest of the class rotates through literacy work stations. In our guided reading groups, we use books like the ones we received from this project to teach a variety of strategies that will improve our students reading skills. Some of the strategies we use are looking at beginning and ending sounds in words. We look for smaller words in bigger words. Students work on reading to the end of a sentence and not to the end of a line. They practice reading sight words with automaticity and reading sight word phrases fluently. Without the proper books it is a challenge to teach these strategies to our struggling readers. The materials we have received from this project has really boosted our low level readers and given them extra opportunities to practice and a work towards mastery in certain reading strategies.
I know the importance of having high quality books for my guided reading groups. I will continue to work hard towards achieving my goal of creating a guided reading library for our classroom. In order to give our first graders a solid foundation in reading, they need direct instruction each day from a new book and to be given time to practice re-reading each book until mastery. That is a new book each day. With 35 first graders this year, that means we will need 35 books a day, that is 175 books a week, which turns out to be 6,125 books in a school year. Our first grade readers span from an early kindergarten level up towards early third grade reading level. They will each read about 150 books in their first grade year. These numbers are just incredible! I thank you for contributing to our collection. For making it possible to students to pick up a book they haven't read before and feel successful using strategies to become strong readers.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Verney
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose.org Community and 15 other donors.We Are "HEAR" to Learn!!
Funded Aug 16, 2017First, I would like to thank you again for your generous donation. My students were over the moon excited when they saw a mysterious, big box arrive to our classroom. I got many curious questions of what might be in the box. They were excited to find out that they were new wireless headphones. Each day they would ask, "Do we get to use those today!?" In our classroom we are fortunate to have a 1:1 ratio for student technology. Each student has an assigned iPad mini to use for academic tasks. I was able to pair the bluetooth headphones from my Donor's Choose project with each students iPad. I numbered each pair of headphones to match the number on their iPad so there would be no confusion.
The first day we tried them the students were so excited. I spent time teaching my class how to use them properly and take care of them. Each day during literacy work stations our students use an app called Core 5 Lexia. The program teaches reading skills and phonics at each students level. Students move to a new level as they have completed each unit and mastered certain skills. In the past this time has been challenging. Usually, we don't have enough headphones for each student, they don't fit a student properly or the cord has been pulled out and they are broken. Storing traditional headphones was a challenge as the wires would get tangled. Some students wouldn't want to wear them and then the volume in our classroom would be too high. It was just a headache.
The new headphones are wireless and compact. They fold down so that students can tuck them away when they are not in use. I have found that students are much more focused on completing the iPad assignments. They are able to block out what is around them with the headphones on and really make great progress. A few of my students struggle with the noise level of a first grade classroom. When they are wearing their headphones and working, their bodies are much calmer and they are able to attain to their work for extended periods of time. It is such a gift to see headphones positively impact my students learning and achievement.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Verney
This classroom project was brought to life by Two Anonymous Donors and 5 other donors.Reaching Our Goals by Reading Together!
Funded Apr 1, 2015"Look at all these books!" "What's in that big box?" "Can I read the Motocross book?" "When are we doing reading groups?" "Mrs. Verney, can I read to you today?" These are just a few quotes from the students in my class after they received your generous gift. When the box arrived they were excited to open, unpack and organize their new books. My students are happy to come to reading groups each day and see which of the new books they will be reading during our guided reading time.
Each afternoon, we have a 60 minute literacy block. During this time students are working with a partner in "Literacy Work Stations" In their stations they are practicing literacy skills that will help them become better readers. While students are busy working, I am able to pull together small groups of students that are reading at the same level. Each student in our group is able to have their own copy of the book we are reading. They are able to read or follow along as we work together in each book. Students are able to use their copy of the book to reread with a partner and discuss what they learned. I am also able to provide direct instruction to students within the group while the others are working together.
The packs of leveled books that we received have helped me boost student learning by providing the materials I need to efficiently run reading groups. When I meet with students, I am able to target specific skills that the group needs to practice. One of the benefits of students being able to read the same book together is that they are able to help and encourage each other. Since our groups have started, I have witnessed students helping each other sound out words. They are reminding each other of different strategies they can use to figure out those "sticky" words. They are excitedly talking about the photographs and what they are learning about in their book. Not only are these materials helping students become better readers, they are also fostering social skills and positive interactions among their classmates.
I want to thank you again from the bottom of my heart. I was truly shocked that this huge project was fully funded in just 5 days. It was amazing. I am so grateful to have the materials I need to start my guided reading group. My hope is this jump start will help me build the leveled library I need for my first and second grade students. Thank you so much for the jumpstart!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Verney