History & Civics: Reddit Gifts for the Teachers 2016

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The intent of the Dystopian Book Club was for my students to identify similarities and differences between dystopian societies that, on the surface, seem to be extremely different from the second comparison society, the modern United States. Students had their choice of books of varying length and difficulty, and had six weeks to read. During the reading period, they chose from a long list of questions to answer in their weekly online journals, and then collaborated with other students reading the same book to discuss their findings. Much of the student reading took place outside of the classroom, so many of the photos show the collaboration stage, or the journaling stage. Overall, students who professed to not enjoy reading before they picked up their choice of book, realized that they had just not read the right book in the past. The majority of the students were happy about the book they picked and have been re-energized on the topic of reading for the future.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Wregglesworth

Thank you for your support with "Show Me Where It Is!" The pull down maps that you funded have provided a tangible hands on experience for my students. One of the personal catalysts for this initiative has been watching Jimmy Kimmel interview people on the street. When an adult U.S. citizen cannot locate Washington D.C. on a map, it truly hurts my heart. We use the maps with post-it notes and explore what my students best guesses are and then build foundational knowledge and understanding by playing Show Me Where It Is!. It is an engaging game-show like learning routine I use to engage my students.

I wish I had been able to capture some of the Light Bulb moments where my students "got it". Some of the best conversations included peer to peer coaching based upon the borders of Canada and Mexico. It is interesting how much political chatter my students pick up outside of class. These maps have given us the ability to look, touch, and discuss.

Thank You!!”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Noe

Your donation towards our classroom project allowed for the purchase and/or creation of alternative seating options for students who struggle with attentiveness in today's classroom. I was able to use the alternative seating in my 6th grade ELA and SS classes as well as with additional struggling students participating in our multi-age, extended day program. These seating options allow for movement throughout the learning time without distracting other learners. In addition, the personal movement helps the student to stay focused and on task.

Posted by Time.com, Education Market Association found that "virtually all teachers wind up paying out of pocket for supplies... on average most spent nearly $500 (per year) and one in 10 spent $1000 or more." (Time.com, 2016)

I truly appreciate donors such as yourself helping educators go above and beyond to bring the supplies, materials and alternative resources to help our students succeed. From myself and many other teachers helped by donors like you, THANK YOU!”

With gratitude,

Ms. Quaranta

I am so appreciative of every donation. This past year, you helped to lift the learning in my classroom. Students in my classroom have technology at home but when they get to school, we are limited due to budget restraints. The Kindle Fire and the Microscope helped the students experience more than another video game.

The microscope was most unique. The knowledge about microscopes usually isn't experienced until the 5th grade. Our classroom proudly owned one this year as a result of your contributions. The Time for Kids provided authentic text and real world learning. Our textbooks are outdated! The current magazines aren't. With them, the students escaped the biased knowledge of a limited viewpoint and extended to a multi-faceted global view. Many don't read the newspaper or watch the news but they loved being able to experience the world at their level.

The students that have reading comprehension or various reading interest enjoyed the Time for Kids and the Kindle Fire. The Kindle Fire was used not only to experience learning games but to also create QR codes and read QR codes. The QR codes could contain items like short videos, trivia questions, writings, or audio.

This project exposed my class to new heights and dimensions in discovery and inquiry learning beyond the pages of a textbook or worksheet. Thank you for your partnership to support higher learning and thinking in my classroom and beyond.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Ellison

Thank you so much for contributing to my new 5th grade classroom. I have always loved teaching social studies, but have found that the content is very difficult for young minds to understand. Integrating language arts and social studies has prove to not only help them understand but connect with and comprehend on a much deeper level.

Through the use of the books that you helped purchase, my students were able to master several reading and writing standards. We used these books as read alouds during our unit of study, but also used them in whole group and small group instruction to teach drawing conclusions, inference, problem solving, and character analysis. During these types of instruction students were engaged in the act of reading and discussing these books in whole group lessons and in literature circles. Writing stories to depict the time period that we are studying or about the book and characters took place daily.

Our units also included integrating the arts. As we studied the Roaring Twenties, we read books, researched, and wrote about how Jazz and the Harlem Renaissance played a role in history. The students created expository writings based on their research and created paintings of an instrument during that time. We study famous artworks of instruments and techniques. They also learned dances that went with each decade and performed them for the school and parents.

As you can see, my students loved using literature to learn history this year. They would beg for me to read to them, ask to borrow books, and couldn't wait to discuss their learnings after reading. Thank you for helping my students to be successful and happy 5th Graders!”

With gratitude,

Mrs. DORSEY

My students so enjoyed using the resource of clay to make their Indian pots. We have been studying about California Indian tribes, and this was a nice fun way to finish out our unit, experimenting with making our very own pottery. Some were actually quite good!!! One of my students said, "Now we are just like the Mojave!!"

My students were very excited, jumping up and down, as I passed out the clay. They have not had many experiences to work with this sort of material, and were eager to try their hand at something new, that still connected with the learning.

Seeing the success of this project this year, I am eager to continue to enrich my students with art and extracurricular activities during next year's activities!!”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Harget

Thank you so much for giving my students the opportunity to become more internationally minded through reading! When my students learned that we had been given these new books they were SO excited to start reading. The structure of our reading of "Parvana's Journey" was whole group reading and small group literature circles. Some days we would read a chapter as a class and others, students would get into groups to read and discuss their thoughts/feelings.

The lessons that my students learned as they read about Paravane's many adventures were numerous. They identified themes in the story such as courage, perseverance, the importance of family, and self-discovery. Reading "Parvana's Journey" opened my students' eyes to a different culture and gave them the opportunity to walk in the shoes of someone whose life is completely different from their own. Despite these differences, my students felt connected to her emotionally and found her story relatable. Reading "Parvana's Journey" was a privilege and we feel so lucky to have had this amazing novel donated to our class!”

With gratitude,

Ms. Stults

I want to thank you so much for your kind donation to my classroom. Through your generosity, we have been able to study politics, learn about robots, take trips back in time to see the dinosaurs, and learn how to be better people through character development. Scholastic magazines are truly an asset to our class and one that everyone looks forward to. I feel it also jump starts the kids interest in current events and keeping up with the news. An educated student turns into an educated adult, and having an interest in current events is always a good thing!”

With gratitude,

Mr. Yawitz

The monthly arrival of Scholastic News is always something my students to look forward to each month. When I first thought of Scholastic News; I hoped it would expose my students the world around them and to science. This hope was more than met by Scholastic News. If fact it also showed my students how the world around works. The magazine component is fantastic but the online component provides even more impact for my students. The online component provides my students with videos that are connected to the content of the magazine. These videos are full real world information that my students can understand and discuss as a whole class.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Friedman-Brentlinger