Past projects 25
Tasty Tidbits for Tremendous Growth
Funded Mar 15, 2024Having a variety of snacks readily availble is so impactful on student success. My students come from a community where not all of the parents can provide a filling snack from home. Having snacks on hand means students can have something to fill them up when they are hungry, because learning can't happen when basic needs aren't met.
My students truly love the variety they have to pick from. Having a mix of sweet and savory snacks means they can try new things, or satiate their craving for something specifc. I even have students who seek out crunchy snacks right before an assessment because they know it will help them with their anxiety.
We consider ourselves incredibly fortunate to have community members like you in our corner.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Rounds
Headphones For Auditory Learning
Funded Mar 4, 2024The impact of these new headphones is immeasurable. In my classroom, we use headphones during our foundational skills block. Students use a program that requires them to hear letter sounds and words - the quality audio required for this activity is crucial to student success. The new headphones have helped students really show growth and success during this programming.
The headphones are also used when students are able to make free choices during recess and our Friday afternoon free time. Students can use their headphones to play math or reading games online, or even access audio books. The best part is watching them use the "chain" function of the headphones while listening to an audio book. Each headphone set has an audio jack built into it so more than one student can listen to the same audio. I've seen up to 10 students "connected" to the same audio book while they were completing other work. I think this is the most exciting part of these headphones.
My students and I consider ourselves incredibly lucky to have community members like you in our corner.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Rounds
Lucky Lotto Library for Lucky Fourth Grade Readers
Funded Oct 14, 2022My students earn Lucky Lotto tickets any time they do anything for or talk about school. They log this time; for every 20 minutes they earn a ticket. At the end of every month I pull one ticket from our treasure chest and they win a brand new, free book.
Your generosity has supported this rewards program in my room. In years past, I've relied on bonus points through our book orders or my own pocket in order to make this program work. When kids are reading in my room, the lights are dimmed, piano music plays, and students get lost in their pages. This project really boosts that environment.
Students are so excited when I open the treasure chest and go over their options for books. They love every title and it takes the winner so much time to decide.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Rounds
Super Snacks for Super Learners
Funded Aug 22, 2022It with the utmost gratitude that I write to you. My students have benefited from your gracious donations over and over. They have had snacks that fueled their learning. This boost to their brains shows in their successes as learners.
My students were so psyched when they saw box after box filled with snacks roll into our room. We did an unboxing where they got to see everything we got thanks to your generosity. Now, students access our snack drawer whenever they are hungry so they can continue their learning.
I cannot thank you enough for your support this school year.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Rounds
Snacks for Strong Whole-Student Learning
Funded Dec 14, 2021We cannot thank you enough for your generosity at this uncertain time. We are using the snacks provided by this project to fuel our learning throughout the day. Students were so incredibly excited when the boxes rolled into our room with our custodian. They were even more excited by the variety of snacks; they have days where they want something sweet and days when they want something salty.
The snacks stay in a drawer where students can access them whenever they need to eat. This basic need, food, is so important to their growth not only physically, but also academically. When their needs are met, they can learn and grow like pros.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Rounds
Snacks and Supports for Strong Whole-Student Learning
Funded Sep 5, 2021It is really hard to explain the impact of this project without getting slightly emotional. It's so important for a student's basic needs to be met and one of the biggest, besides sleep, is food. When a child is hungry, they simply cannot learn. Their minds focus on the lack of food and nothing else.
This project truly makes sure the basic need of food is met. The snacks provided by this project fuel our learning all throughout the day.
We are forever grateful for your generosity especially during these uncertain times.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Rounds
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill Gates and 5 other donors.Periodicals for Critical Thinking Fifth Graders
Funded Aug 25, 2021The impact of your donation will ripple through our entire year as we receive new issues of Time for Kids and Story Works. Through these periodicals, fifth graders at OAES will learn so many crucial reading and critical thinking skills. These skills include: finding theme or main idea, understanding characters deeply, navigating non-fiction through text structure and text features, and a better understanding of current events that impact their own lives.
One of the best features of Time for Kids is how they share the viewpoints of other kids like my students. One article was about whether or not zoos should still exist. It shared perspectives from four 9-11 year old kids. I then asked my students to take a stance on this topic and support their thinking with evidence found in the text of Time for Kids. I was blown away by their ability to not only eloquently state their stance, but support it with great evidence that they've read on their own.
Through Story Works, students have learned how to identify not only the main character in a story, but also the universal themes within. These skills will carry them into future units in fifth grade and well into middle school.
The impact of your generosity spans the entire school year, but has reaches well into the future.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Rounds
Storyworks for 4th Grade Learners
Funded Sep 30, 2020Students in my classroom are incredibly fortunate to have champions like you cheering them on and supporting them. They have the opportunity to learn and grow through the current events and stories from this Storyworks subscription while they expand their knowledge of text structure, text features, and more.
Storyworks is a lively addition to our ELA programming that will aid us whether we are learning in person or remotely. The digital resources for this subscription only augment the learning of each student by opening their minds to new thoughts.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Rounds
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 2 other donors.Last Minute Do-Dads for Fourth Grader Learners
Funded Aug 11, 2020Students around the World are experiencing school in ways their teachers have never thought imaginable. Having the tools needed to learn successfully means that my students have a better chance to express their learning and growth in many ways.
The earbuds are vital to our classroom as they ensure each student can access videos to learn without disrupting others. The erasers provided by this project help us to remember that "Mistakes are expected, respected, inspected, and corrected." This is an important chant we have in our room.
Finally, the stretchy fidgets are amazing tools for when we need to focus, but are having trouble doing so. The highlighters allow us to identify key details in texts provided by me.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Rounds
This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 4 other donors.Classroom Library for Looping 4th to 5th
Funded Aug 3, 2020Brand new books are pretty great. Brand new just-right books are absolutely amazing! My students were in awe at the sheer amount of new books that flooded the shelves of our classroom library.
Authors like Gordon Korman, Sharon Creech, Roald Dahl, and Natalie Babbitt open doors to worlds and experiences new to our lives. Students are driven by "collecting" titles by their favorite authors and this collection of new books will help them do just that.
My students crave page-turners that will liven up their brains while expanding their world.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Rounds
This classroom project was brought to life by Tyson Foods and 4 other donors.