Red Clock Projects

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One afternoon in my classroom, earlier this year, "Oh, a box!"

"What's in it, Mrs. Knowlton? Is it our DonorsChoose stuff?"

As I opened the box, several children clustered around me, "BOOKS! Wow! Look, T, this one looks good."

"I want to read this one! Can I read this one, Mrs. Knowlton?" They pulled the books from the box faster than I could find them on the packing slip.

"This is so COOL, Mrs. Knowlton, look at all the books!"

As you can see from the conversation, your generous gift has been much appreciated! The students in my classroom LOVE all of the new books! We have had a wonderful time exploring many different events and eras in history through both fiction and non-fiction. The students have really increased their non-fiction reading strategies, and the background knowledge they gained from the non-fiction helped them comprehend the historical fiction choices I paired with them.

The students in my classroom have explored life in the tenements of Boston in the early 1900s and how the Irish potato famine affected the population there. They have been moved by stories inspired by Holocaust survivors and American Civil Rights activists. In every reading group the students were inspired to 'go deeper' and do research on a variety of historical events, eras and people. In today's classroom teachers always seem to need to do more with less and that often means more content with less time. Having students get excited to learn Social Studies during reading class certainly helps!

The other materials funded with this grant were folders and colored paper. I have shown my students several videos of lapbooks created by other students and they are champing at the bit to learn even more Social Studies! They can't wait to choose American History topics to research. The paper and folders will be turned into their own personal lapbooks -- interactive books -- that will show what they know about their topics. I can't wait for our first finished project so I can upload some photos.

It is supportive, caring people like you who make it possible for students in my district to have the tools they need to learn and be creative. Thank you so much!”

With gratitude,

Ms. Knowlton

Our class was very excited to receive the Chromebooks for our classroom. The day they arrived the students were very eager to set them up and get them working. The kids created a classroom account and then were immediately able to get to work! We set up a rotating list so that each student who needed was able to get on the computer throughout the week.

My students have used the Chromebooks in many different ways. They are used daily for students to access Edmodo. On Edmodo the students are able to track their homework, read updates from their teachers, and submit written assignments. The students also have used the Chromebooks to track their grades in every class. Tracking their grades has helped many of the students to follow up with missing assignments, and keep their grades high! The Chromebooks have also provided the students with the opportunity to practice and remediate math skills through khanacademy.org, and reading skills through Reading Plus.

The Chromebooks we received through this project on DonorsChoose have definitely boosted the students' learning by helping them to become more responsible for their own learning. It has boosted my teaching as well, by providing more opportunities for students to practice the skills they have been taught.

Thank you so much for donating towards this project! Your generosity has benefited many students.”

With gratitude,

Ms. Tumbelty

My students are very excited with the button machines. I pin on 2 sight words on my shirt everyday and one picture of my students. They are motivated to learn the sight words. This will improve their fluency and reading abilities. I also made buttons of other teachers to give out to my students. I also made buttons of their personal pictures. My students are appreciative that I wear their picture all day. They feel important and valued. This activity is an "outside the box" concept to deepen my relationship with my students.”

With gratitude,

Mr. Cancio

Thank you so much for giving the laptop to my students and me. My students have been very excited to receive this new laptop for our class. I knew I was excited, but my joy has grown as I have seen them working with it and enjoying it. As the laptop is in Windows 8 and I was not familiar with Windows 8, I watched a YouTube video to learn about how to work with it. It will probably not surprise you to learn that several of my students have actually been teaching me because of having used Windows 8 with a friend or family member. The students are showing me different things that I did not know, such as shortcuts to other windows. On the other hand, most of the students have been like me, learning how to use Windows 8 and take advantage of all that it has to offer. I love seeing the students excited to share what they know! That in and of itself is very gratifying to a teacher!

The laptop has given the students the flexibility for which laptops are so wonderful. We have often pulled up pictures in the middle of a lesson so that students can actually see what something looks like, which is critical for the understanding of English as a Second Language students. Students have read stories on PowerPoint presentations to reinforce reading skills. Some have practiced multiplication and division facts. Students have watched Prezi presentations to reinforce what they had read about the gift of cherry blossom trees in Washington, DC. Students have played games to learn idioms, another critical area for ESL students. They have gone to different sites (pre-selected by the teacher, of course) to decide which site it most helpful. This week some students will use the laptop for research to help understand how the tilt of the earth's axis causes our seasons. Other web sites will also be explored as we draw closer to the end-of-grade testing. All of these activities and more are made possible because of your gift.

Your gift of the laptop has given me a tremendous boost personally as an educator. A few of the donors are friends and colleagues, but the large majority of donors are people I have never met. Wow! I have taught for many years in several different schools, but I have never had this experience of support from across the US for my classroom in this way. Your generosity has touched me deeply. I have explained to the children that people from all across the United States helped to provide the laptop. Their eyes grew big with wonder. They feel special, as do I. Your kindness pushes me to be the best I can be for the children. It also drives me to be generous as well. They are learning about giving in addition to academics because of you and your gift. Thank you again from the bottom of my heart!”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Wilhelm

Thank you so very much for your generous donations to my project. With your help, I was able to create individual "student offices", where my students feel free to explore their own creativity without worrying about the other students in the room.

Even as adults, we often worry about what other people think about our work. These "offices" have successfully created an environment where students have a place of their own to write or just think.

My students enjoy being able to go to their "offices". I love seeing their faces as they emerge with something they have created.

Thank you again for supporting my classroom goals!”

With gratitude,

Ms. Rosenthal

Thank you so much for these resources to organize my classroom library. My students were so excited to see so many new book bins for our classroom. Now they can go right to their favorite genre and most importantly a book that is on their level! I love watching them head right to the bean bags and then to the new bins and get excited about reading a good book. Your kindness as a repeated classroom angel is very appreciated. It is all about the children and as I watch my classroom come together to work better for them certainly humbles me with gratitude.”

With gratitude,

Ms. Wallace

Thank you so much for your donation. The books have made a tremendous impact on my students language acquisition. They look forward to their turn to get to read all of the wonderful books we received because of your thoughtfulness. Words can not describe how amazing it feels to hear a student who once struggled so much to read, be able to read the books that were donated since it is something that interests them. The books have started a love for reading in every student in my class. If they can read a page with out stopping, they immediately get really excited and have to come and read it to me. Without donors like you, this would not be possible. My students wanted to make sure that I let you know how grateful and thankful they are to you and your giving hearts! Once again, thank you!!”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Cuellar-VanAken

I can't begin to tell you how grateful my class and I were when we found out that we would receive the carpet we so dearly wanted for the classroom. My students got so excited that they keep asking each day, when would it be there! When the carpet finally arrived, the students didn't want to leave off of it. They looked, pointed, giggled and laughed and started rolling around as to make sure it was really there. They also started pointing and reciting the alphabet and numbers. I really appreciate all your generous donations that helped to make one of our classroom dreams a reality. This carpet will help become a great addition to my classroom for not only my current students, but the many more students in the years to come, who will cross my door way. Again, I send out my heartfelt thanks to all my donors who made this project a wonderful success!!!!!”

With gratitude,

Mrs. P.