Past projects 34
Flipping the Classroom
Funded May 5, 2020Again, I find myself overwhelmed by your continued generosity. The Wacom tablet has been an absolute game changer during this remote learning period. With the tablet, I've been able to create both live and pre-recorded lessons for my students. The ability to handwrite annotations, draw diagrams, and circle important sections of a text have helped to make my remote lessons more fun, interactive, and engaging. Even as we most likely return to in-person school this fall, the Wacom tablet will continue to be a part of my teaching.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Weissman
This classroom project was brought to life by SONIC Drive-In and 2 other donors.Help Us Hear!
Funded Sep 25, 2019It's been a few weeks since we received our headphones and I wanted to write to you all with an update. Having used them almost daily, I can safely say that these headphones have been nothing short of transformative. While our school is lucky enough to have one-to-one computers, our lack of headphones severely limited the learning activities our students could take part in. You all changed that.
With their headphones, our students and teachers are able to unlock a whole new world of resources and information. Students are able to watch colorized videos of World War I, listen to Woody Guthrie's songs of the Great Depression, and record their own podcasts. None of this would be possible without your help.
A simple thank you just isn't enough. You have truly changed the game in our classrooms and made school more fun, engaging, and independent for our students. It warms my heart to know how many of you care for students who you will probably never meet. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Weissman
This classroom project was brought to life by Verizon and 9 other donors.Whiteboards Everywhere!
Funded May 20, 2018It's been a few months since this project was funded and I'm sure many of you have been wondering where your hard earned money has gone. Our new whiteboard tables arrived at the end of last school year, with barely enough time for our outgoing 8th graders to get their hands on them (there were a lot of disappointed groans). Our new crop of 8th graders this year, however, have been having the time of their lives with these invaluable classroom resources. Nearly every single day students ask if they can write on the table or sketch out their ideas. Learning has become even more fun, as students bring their ideas to life and work collaboratively with those seated around them to solve problems, swap ideas, and plan their attack to mastering assignments. This coming week we'll be pushing our tables together to draw the national borders that led to WWI. None of us can wait.
Of course none of this would be possible without your incredibly generous donations. I've been lucky to have a few of my crazy ideas funded on DonorsChoose and the amazing support of my family, friends, and total strangers never fails to leave me speechless. To know that so many care about providing a quality education to students they most likely will never meet is motivating, heartwarming, and tear-inducing. I can't even begin to thank you all for your ongoing support and promise to continue using these resources in a way that provides maximum benefit to each of these special and amazing kids.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Weissman
Escape the Norm With Breakout EDU!
Funded Feb 15, 2017A few months have gone by since this project was funded and I wanted to take some time to update you all on the positive impact it has had on our classroom. About 3 weeks after the project was funded, we received four large nondescript cardboard boxes in the main office. I was called to pick them up and brought some student volunteers to help me carry them. They were immediately fascinated by what could be in the box. As they worked on an independent activity, I quietly opened one of the boxes on my desk in the back of my classroom. Soon, every student had their eyes fixed on me as I pulled locks, a flashlight, invisible ink pens, and all sorts of other strange items out of the box. I noticed the wandering eyes and decided to explain to the class what it was. They were immediately hooked.
We tried our first Breakout game the same week and students immediately fell in love. They had an unbelievable time trying to figure out the riddles that would open the next lock, all while not realizing that they were practicing their reading, writing, math, reasoning, problem solving, and logic skills. I have never seen such concentration and teamwork from any group of students. Since that first game, students have regularly begged and pleaded with me to play again.
I know I already profusely thanked each and every one of you for your donations, but it bears repeating. It warms my heart to know that you all care enough about the education of our next generation and the mission of our schools that you would donate significant amounts of your own hard earned money. Please know that I, but more importantly my students, greatly appreciate this.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Weissman
Help Our Classroom Enter the 21st Century!
Funded Feb 2, 2015It's been about a month since we received our new iPads and I cannot begin to tell you the impact they are having in my classroom. In just a few short weeks, my students have engaged in research based projects, completed web scavenger hunts, and created/edited their own videos. They have a newfound excitement upon entering my classroom and not a day has gone by where I haven't asked "Mr. Weissman, can we use the iPads today?" None of this would have been possible without all of your help and support. I've said this many times already, but it truly warms my heart to know that there are people out there who are willing to contribute their hard earned money to support a group of students they will never meet. You all have given my students a chance at success that will serve them for the rest of their lives. On behalf of all 127 of my incredible 9th and 11th grade students, THANK YOU!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Weissman
Classroom Clickers: Getting Every Student Involved
Funded Jul 2, 2014Thank you once again for your generous donations to my classroom. With your help, I was able to purchase a TurningPoint Student Response System and accompanying laptop. With these tools, I have been able to turn my classroom into a fully immersive and engaging experience where all students have the opportunity to have their voices heard.
My students are loving all of the exciting activities that we are able to do with our new technology. The most popular of these so far has been classwide Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? which allows students to test their knowledge of certain subjects.
Again, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. You have helped make an impact on the life of my students.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Weissman