Once again, I'm growing a creepy mustache to support children in rural WV schools and I graciously ask for your support. Please sponsor my Mustache by picking a classroom project from the list below to support. And wish me and my Mustache luck. (By the way, DonorsChoose.org is a 501(c)3 charity. See below for approvals from Charity Navigator and the Better Business Bureau.)
Thank you for you kindness and generous donations to our classroom. This is my first donor's choose project, and I must say I was skeptical at the thought of complete strangers caring enough to impact children's lives in rural West Virginia. However, through your actions, you have amazed me and my students.
Reading is a gift given to children that can change their lives. It opens doors through all walks of life. Giving these students a comfortable safe place to listen and read is heart warming. Not only did the twenty students this school year enjoy the bean bags and listening center, but students for years to come will have the opportunity as well.
Rest assured that your donations have been and will continue to be put to good use. Thank you! If I could give each of you a hug, I would! I'm sure my students would as well.”
I wear the Gandhi quote "Be the change you wish to see in the world" on a ring every day to remind me that I can change the world with my actions. YOU have helped to change the world through your donation to our classroom project! Many of the students that walk through my door each day do not live in a world of literacy. They do not go home to a bookshelf stocked with books that can take them to new worlds; they did not know the joy that a book can bring, or the new worlds that can be visited through the pages of a book. They know it now. "The Hunger Games" opened my students' eyes to the adventures they can go on without ever leaving their home. They "hated reading" and claimed that no book could ever be as good as watching a movie. Book 1 changed that; and with your help, Book 2, "Catching Fire," reinforced it.
To teach "Catching Fire," I decided to give my 7th graders a little more freedom than I gave them with "The Hunger Games" in the fall. I created Book Club binders that held all of the vocabulary, character information, and study guides for the entire book. Then I assigned my students to a Book Club based upon a combination of criterion. The students were responsible for filling out a calendar with the due dates that their group had selected to read each Part of the book, and for completing a series of tasks each time their Club met. The students loved that they got to decide how much to read on their own, without me telling them. Some groups devoured "Catching Fire" while others took their time and savored every page. It was completely up to them!
Now that we've finished reading the book, I can look back at this year and say that, with your help, I've given these students something BIG to remember about the 7th grade: The Hunger Games. Since the book will become a major motion picture next year, the students are bugging me for an 8th grade field trip to the movie theater... we'll see about that! I know that these books, and your kindness, have truly impacted these kids' lives. Thank you for changing the world.”
Thank you so much for the donation's that purchased our hotplates. I've uploaded some pictures of my students working on labs where they used the hotplates. We are so appreciative of all the donations. My students are always amazed that people that don't know them are so willing to help them get needed equipment. It makes them a bit more careful and considerate with the things that we work with! These plates will make it possible for us to do many labs through many years of science labs!!
My class would like to thank everyone who donated to our classroom project. I am very grateful, along with my students, to everyone for caring about the quality of their kindergarten experience.
It has been a great experience for them!! We have discussed in class caring about each other, and caring about what happens to people that we haven't even met. We have participated in donation programs at school (Math-a-thon, Jump Rope for Heart), but this is the first time they actually got to experience a donation actually influencing them.
We have had a lot of fun exploring letters and sounds, and playing games on our new rug!! Thank you once again for caring about my students!! ”
First and foremost to all of the donors; thank you, thank you, thank you! Reading is and always has been such a joyful part of my life. With your funding of this project, I will be able to give that same gift to my students for years to come. We have already begun planning for this project with our first presenter coming in next week. Our reading race will begin on Monday as we follow the real mushers during the Iditarod. This is a project I have worked hard on and your kindness has allowed me to bring it to a whole new level! I am so very appreciative!”
I wish you could have seen the looks on my students faces when they received the upper level nonfiction library. There is a beautiful array of topics to choose from. As soon as they were unpacked and on the shelf, my students began reading them with great anticipation. They are used throughout our school day to enjoy at the students' leisure. I have also read several of the books during oral reading time on the carpet. The bright, colorful books have been the center of lively discussion and open up the students' small world to see a global picture. Reading scores and vocabulary acquisition will tremendously improve.
Thanks so much from the bottom of our little second grade hearts. It is caring people like you that will ensure that my students are the bright "face" of the future. We truly appreciate your thoughtfulness! ”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Burton
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