The Intersection's Giving Page

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I am writing to express my gratitude for your generous donation to my project "Engaging Literacy Through Storytelling" which you helped to fund through DonorsChoose. My students have enjoyed using the engaging storytelling pieces to retell many classic children's stories. We have recently used Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What do you Hear? during a winter unit. The kits are so enticing that the students ask to use them all the time. They are learning critical reading skills each time they get them out, so they are used a lot!! It is really fun to watch them learn as they read the book, organize their thoughts and perform a retelling of the story for their friends. What a fun alternative to worksheets!

My students' reading levels are improving each day and I have watched their confidence grow along with their newly acquired literacy skills. Thank you for your help in putting them on the road to success.”

With gratitude,

Ms. Garner

Thank you so much for the wonderful resources that you helped to provide for my classroom through DonorsChoose. The students love using the new games and activities to learn critical literacy skills. I have been able to use the materials to turn the teaching of reading and language skills into exciting adventures! The students beg to use the sight word and bingo games, and I constantly see them using the magnetic words to make sentences. The publishing center is one of their favorite free time activities. My school district did not have the funds to provide these resources for my classroom, so we would be doing without if it wasn't for generous donors like you!

Thank you again for making a difference in the lives of my 2nd graders :)

”

With gratitude,

Ms. Garner

Thank you so much for making a large contribution to our project " All out of Gas" Building Solar Energy Models. April is our starting point to begin investigating solar energy. The weather is more conducive to completing and experimenting with the models my students will create. They will get instant feedback on the success of their model by going outside and completing several experiments to determine the effectiveness of their model.

About 30 students in class and afterschool students are working on different models that represent different levels of solar energy interaction. This is the first time many of my students have seen solar packs and solar operating equipment. They are so excited. Many of them are looking up additional information about solar energy on their own time and bringing in articles. Before going on Easter Break, students used the building kits to explore different ways to construct moving vehicles. Students wrote down what methods worked and what adjustments needed to be made to advance the construction of their models. This step is so important. Students design and test the workablilty of their designs. When they begin to work with the solar units they will have more experience with trial and error in structural design. Pictures will be forthcoming in the month of May.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. F.

It has been such an honor to receive these wonderful instruments and cultural items for my students to learn about other countries. We have been enjoying thoroughly the rainstick, mini-steel drums, poi poi, cuica and finger cymbals. In fact, the steel drums and rainstick were used in a play that my 3rd graders performed just today!

Being in such a rural area, we don't often get to think about things outside of our county. Many of my students haven't even been outside the state! It is a global marketplace these children will enter when they graduate, and you have helped give them a small glimpse of life and people outside of what they know. Hopefully, it will help them gain an understanding of diversity and tolerance that they might not have had otherwise.

Again, thank you for your generous support of the arts in education! Without the arts, we would eventually run out of things to read and write about.”

With gratitude,

Ms. Tickel

Thank you all for providing the materials we need for our science fair displays this year! Students are well under way with their projects, and are very excited about their research. I am passing out the display boards in a few weeks once our research is complete, and my students could not be more excited to begin their display construction.

I cannot wait to see their faces when the winning projects get the blue science fair ribbons from this project; they are going to feel really good to be recognized with real ribbons.

Thanks to you, this is going to be the best science fair yet.”

With gratitude,

Ms. Blackburn

Thank you so much for your generous donation. Our students are thrilled with the result. As you can see from the photos, our activity has been a great success. The fifth grade class set up stations in an unused classroom. Our six stations included 1) food chains - the swimming pool was used to show predators, prey and how living things find food. 2) life cycles - we had two puzzles at station 2 and a cut and paste project at station three showing the life cycles for frogs and butterflies, 3) station 4 was our painting station, students painted the life cycles of one of animals we discussed, 4) station 5 was our fossil/classification station - students sifted through sand and placed what they found into groups, 5) our final station was a reading table - our fifth graders helped read stories about animals.

Both the older and younger children were impacted with this project. The younger children enjoyed the attention and were introduced to important concepts they will study later on. The older children had the opportunity to design and implement lessons. As you know, we remember 90% of what we teach and this was a time of learning for all children involved.

After each group (and we did the entire pre-school - first grade) we had a "debriefing". One student was selected to facilitate and another was chosen to write. The children discussed what went well, what required improvement and what we could do in the future to make our project better and more effective. The teachers and children involved in this project enjoyed themselves as they learned and, hopefully, developed positive attitudes toward both school and science. Thanks!

LInda Keteyian, Priest Elementary.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Keteyian

Your donations toward our new chart paper easel mean so much to me and my students. Having the easel makes teaching writer's workshop so much easier. I am able to write comfortably on the chart paper and large enough for all of the students to see. They enjoy using the chart paper and easel to create posters for the classroom and various projects. The storage bins at the bottom of the easel also come in handy! We appreciate your donations beyond words. Without people like you to support underfunded, urban schools these students would miss great learning opportunities.

Thank you, thank you, thank you,

Ms. Lopez and her classroom”

With gratitude,

Ms. Lopez

Thank you so much for supporting our instructional program by donating digital cameras to our classroom. The Moving Me: An Autobiographical Photo Essay project was a big hit with our students. By being able to use digital cameras students were able to learn a new language of storytelling. They were able to explore visual strategies by taking pictures that had personal meaning. They were then able to develop their understanding of sequencing and transitions by using a storyboard. And finally, they were able to improve upon their written language skills by adding text to their photo essays.

The powerful effect of the project went beyond the instructional skills learned. Because of the very personal nature of the project, students felt empowered and motivated to learn. These positive learning experiences improved the overall quality of our learning environment. And by being able to share their personal lives and off-campus experiences with others, the kids were literally able to visually experience how their own lives are full of meaning and importance. By experiencing success, students undoubtedly improved both their sense of self and self-esteem.

These experiences were further reinforced when the children shared their photo essays with others beyond the classroom. They not only broadened their own worlds but they also expanded the perspectives of others by the sharing their stories. Thank you all for providing us with these wonderful learning opportunities.”

With gratitude,

Ms. Ribeiro