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At the conclusion of our Ancient Rome unit, each of the students shared one of their favorite parts of study during their final presentations; many of the students remarked that studying the rise and fall of Julius Caesar was the highlight of the unit. This, of course, is thanks to you! Without your generous donation of the class set of Julius Caesar books, it would have been extremely difficult to bring him to life in the way we were able to with each student having access to a book.

As a mid-unit, mini project, the students worked in partners to create timelines of Caesar's life that depicted him either as a "Hero of Rome" or a "Power-hungry Dictator." It was beautiful seeing the students scour through the books, digging for information. Their projects, also, were phenomenal. It is because of your donation of the books that I feel confident the students have a remarkable understanding of the rise and fall, not only of Rome, but also Julius Caesar!”

With gratitude,

Ms. Bunger

When the box of brand new historical fiction books arrived, I laid them out in our meeting area and invited the students to form a circle around the books to observe the various titles and to discuss the impact of these books. The students were in awe of the generosity of your donation. They described their personal feelings of not being the type of student people generally cared about and feeling so much more encouraged because of your donation. One student in particular explained that he would work to be a better student because someone wanted him to become a better reader by buying him all these books.

After our conversation about your donation and the important work they must do with this gift, they each choose a book to begin reading. I think it was one of the hardest decisions they have made. Many of my students who previously didn't want to read because they "couldn't find anything interesting" could not wait to return to their seat to begin reading.

You generosity have afforded my students an opportunity to experience history in an exciting and enriched way. I can't wait to begin forming book clubs around particular themes in our history. What exciting work that will be!”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Vasquez

I cannot express how thankful my students and I are to you for donating to this project. My students are now able to experience nonfiction through these biographies that are on their level and interesting to them. Every single student in my classroom has read one of the "Who was..." biographies that you helped purchase for our classroom. Many of them have read multiple ones because they LOVE them so much! The students are always recommending various ones to other students, and so far, the class favorites are Elvis Presley and The Beatles.

The Wax Museum was a HUGE success, and my students learned so much from reading, researching, and pretending to be a person from history. They got all dressed up and told their story in a first-person perspective. We had Abraham Lincoln, Amelia Earhart, and two Albert Einsteins in our museum!

Because of your generous donations, my students are able to read biographies and experience history first-hand. Thank you for helping bring such an authentic learning opportunity to them. We appreciate your generosity!”

With gratitude,

Mrs. McAllister

Our learning project was a resounding success thanks to the support all of you graciously provided! I have taught the California Gold Rush for years, but I can say that this year the students really enjoyed the subject matter and learned more than ever before.

What made the difference? The kid-friendly approach of the fun history books was so accessible that students asked to borrow them to take home to read. I was thrilled, of course. Never before have they asked me to include social studies research materials as part of the lending library. The most enthusiastically received books were the You Choose/Interactive History Adventure gold rush novels. Students all read it more than once. Some as many as 11 times! These great little books taught them more about the various routes to the gold rush and the dangers and challenges travelers of the time faced than any of our text books. The copies of By The Great Horn Spoon were also really enjoyed; this novel helped one of my weaker readers become more motivated and taught the class a lot about the precarious nature of life in a mining camp.

Also including the hands-on work with the photographs and the charcoal added several dimensions to the learning. We learned how to use photographs from the time period as primary sources. Studying these pictures allowed even my second language learners to get a good sense of key events. The art portion of the project required students to learn how to take portraits, use photo booth software to put themselves in a gold rush scene or use effects to make their pictures look old fashioned, and then we learned to reproduce these scenes in charcoal. While this was a challenge, the students rose to the occasion and produced some impressive scenes. Many of them acquired some important art skills like a deeper understanding of value, contrast and proportion.

At the conclusion of our unit, the students were eager to prove how much they learned. They presented their work in a gallery fashion and explained what they learned to parents and our principal. When we went on a field trip, the students were eager to teach the docents what they knew! I couldn'€™t have been prouder of them! You can be sure I will teach this unit next year using these materials. It was more than I could have hoped for. Thank you all so much!”

With gratitude,

Ms. Anderson

The students have enjoyed reading this book. they have been able to see the importance of history and how it relates to them. Thank you for donating your valuable resources to help my students. They have greatly benefited from your generosity.

The students were able to use the book to see another side of history. The textbook they have gives the students the perspective of the government and the wealthy while this book has given them the perspective of the common people.

They used the book to write about and discuss the Gilded Age and the Spanish American War. They were able to see how these times in American History affected the common people and how they responded to these actions. ”

With gratitude,

Mr. Jones

I would like to thank you for your generous donation of US History Regents Review Books and additional resources. My students have been studying hard and preparing themselves for their upcoming state exam with the books you donated.

Unfortunately, we did not have enough textbooks for the students to take home. Getting "their own" review books really inspired my students to study more, particularly at home. I was happily surprised when they began to come to school asking questions about the information they read in their books while studying at home. They went further and took responsibility for their own learning and asked for specific topics to be reviewed in class as we near the day of the test.

I trust that this new confidence my students feel will carry over to test day, and help them pass the regents exam.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Rosado

Thank you SO much for your donations! You are all truly amazing for supporting education at a time when funds are very limited. You have impacted the students in my classroom tremendously. In addition, the resources that you have helped my classroom obtain will continue to reach many learners for years to come.

My students read the novel "Patty Reed's Doll" during a unit about pioneers and westward expansion. They truly loved the book and it gave them insight into what moving west was all about in a journal format. They were able to learn about the struggles as well as highlights of being a pioneer. During the unit, the students were also able to write in their own pioneer journals, using "Patty Reed's Doll" as a model. It was an amazing learning experience for all of my students.

Thank you again for your kindness and generosity. You have helped bring history to life in my 5th grade classroom! My students and I are extremely grateful. ”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Rivers