Team Dog

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Every time a project is funded, I feel so grateful for all of the support and love that floods our classroom. No matter the size of your donation, the impact of your contribution has been felt in the form of joyful readers.

My scholars love meeting new characters during their reading adventures. Whether it is a mistake Lily made, a joke that Piggie and Gerald told or the endless request of a little mouse, my scholars close each book with a new outlook on life and an investment in reading.

As my scholars prepare for second grade, these texts enrich their comprehension skills and aid with their fluency as they invent voices for each character on successive readings.

I cannot thank you enough.”

With gratitude,

Ms. Acharya

Your generous donation has done so much for my students. The books are beautiful -- shiny, new, brightly colored, and easy to read. The children in my room love the books that you sent to them. They have been read, requested, and reread more times than I could ever keep track of. They have been shared with classmates and taken home to be read to younger brothers and sisters. A few of them have been proclaimed "my most favorite book" and then hugged.

One of the greatest challenges my littlest readers face is finding a book that they can read, cover to cover, all by themselves. It can be so hard to motivate students when things are difficult. Having a big stack of books that the children were truly able to read on their own has helped me tackle that challenge. I am very grateful. My students got off to a great start because of your donation.

Our district, like so many others in Michigan, is currently facing a budget shortfall. Without your generosity, my classroom would never have received these incredible books. Thank you very much!”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Mitchell

My students and I would like to thank you for your generosity in supporting literacy at our school. The books I was able to purchase with your donation has had a huge impact on my students and their love of reading. The students are overjoyed at the variety of reading material that I am able to offer them this year thanks to your involvement with Donors Choose and my project.

The students are reading more this year than compared to last year due the increase in books of their reading and interest level. Your donation has improved classroom discussions, and the students are able to make more connections to other content areas based because they have the opportunity to access rich, complex texts.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Grace

My students love Piggie and Elephant books by Mo Willems and the majority of the books that you ordered for me were Mo Willems Books! They are Piggie and Elephant hogs you might say.

We have our own book boxes that we are allowed to keep 8 books in for our read to self portion of Daily 5 and I had to limit it to 2 Piggie and Elephant books because some of my students would put 8 Piggie and Elephant books in their book boxes and then no one else had a chance to have the books.

My students have also been video taping themselves read Piggie and Elephant books because they love the voice that the books have. These books have increased my students voice that they use in other books they read and it has also increased their fluency!”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Johnson

My students were beyond excited to receive these books for our literature units on the genre of realistic fiction! Because the books are new, students are very excited to be the group to have the privilege of reading them first. Each student was eager to learn which book they would be reading in their book clubs.

My students are using these books to participate in "Book Clubs"--small groups of students reading the same books with partners and then meeting together in their small group to discuss their thoughts about the book. Your generous donation provided for 3 levels of books for the realistic fiction genre. (Since I "loop" with my students and teach them in third and fourth grade, I have only used How to Steal a Dog, Because of Winn-Dixie, and Shoeshine Girl so far. I will use the other three titles when I have a new crew of third graders.) There is a book for students who are reading above grade level, a book for students reading on grade level, and a book for students reading below grade level. Students don't really know which group they are in because they are all reading the books in the same genre, so this allows all students to participate without concern if they are reading below grade level. As a class, we read the realistic fiction book Shiloh together for our instructional read aloud. These "Book Club" books you have provided have similar themes to our instructional read aloud book, which allowed students to make connections between the texts.

Since I have had book clubs in my class before, I know the impact that this teaching structure makes on students who are working to improve their independent reading skills. Students are able to think critically, make connections to other texts, write about their reading, discuss (with text evidence) their thinking with their partners and in "meetings" with their small groups. Students also learn the key characteristics of a specific genre and learn how to apply it to other books they may read in the same genre. Not having to search every public and school library in the area for enough copies of the same books has been so nice for me, as the teacher. Having these sets of books in the classroom and available when I need them is invaluable. I will be able to use them for years to come with many different classes of kids. Thank you so much for your generosity!”

With gratitude,

Ms. Bayha

I can not thank you enough for the huge impact you have had on my class by donating to our Books, Books, Books project! Reading is one of the most important aspects of learning as it branches out into all the other subjects!

Your donation has provided my students with the abilty to choose books on their "just right" reading level which will help them grow in understanding and ability! With a shift to balanced literacy, it is so important to have a variety of books for the students to choose from.

I selected books that are high interest for my students and this helps them get active and involved in their own learning process! Thank you again for taking the time to donate to such an important issue, our kids!”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Brawt

My students love the sensory items you provided for my classroom. I now have a yoga ball for each student! It took a few days to teach them to use them a tool to help them stay focused and not a dodge ball but it was worth it. You can really see the difference in how they work at their desks. My kids also loved the other sensory items. The Koosh ball is the most popular! I set up all the small sensory items in a bucket at the front of the classroom. This way my kids can go and grab the item they want and need to help them focus. It has been amazing to see how well they use these tools. They take such good care of them and they make sure that they go back in the "sensory bucket." I think this is because they recognize that these are not toys but tools that really do help them in the classroom to stay focused and relieve anxiety. You have really helped me boost my kids attention span and independence! Thank you! Thank you from both myself and all my students!”

With gratitude,

Ms. Doss