Past projects 15
Awesome Lessons for Awesome Kids
Funded Sep 25, 2020Thank you again for your wonderful donations. They have been used repeatedly the last few months to provide highly engaging lessons and activities for my students. Recently they have been used to expand our investigations into West Africa and China. Your donations have provided for history escape rooms, history CSI, and multiple hands on activities that have allowed students physically build their knowledge of history.
Students often approach class with a sense of excitement and curiosity as to what exactly we will be doing that day. The culture of active learning has helped students learn to love history, and the access that I have to these materials has directly helped create this love in students.
The final steps in this project are to keep utilizing these gift cards and access to keep my students engaged and learning history. I personally want to thank all of you again. You have made this incredibly tough year for our students that much better by your generosity.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Stuchell
This classroom project was brought to life by San Diego Gas & Electric and 2 other donors.Diverse Resources for Diverse Readers and VR to Boot
Funded Sep 16, 2020Thank you so much for your support of my classroom. Students often struggle to identify with characters in books because so often they do not represent their race, identity, or gender. These books have brought in diverse characters for all students so that they may find heroes who not only look like them, but identify as they do as well. This is beyond important in helping to stem the tide of bullying and self harm in middle school.
Access to VR has also dramatically increased the learning opportunities present in my classroom. We have already witnessed the glory of the Roman Colosseum and dangers of a gladiator fight. Students were thoroughly engaged by the fact that they were on the floor of the building and learned numerous different facets through their experience. The discussions made possible a connection between our current sports culture and the sports/games culture of the Romans.
Moving forward I hope to continue to us VR to help students not only understand the size and scope of a civilizations achievements, but to give them a palpable experience of what it actually was like. The more we can use VR, the more likely we are to break barriers and encourage students to explore the world. This is only possible thanks to your generous donations.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Stuchell
This classroom project was brought to life by San Diego Gas & Electric and 8 other donors.Breaking Through History by Breaking Out
Funded Sep 16, 2020Thank you so much for your awesome donation. Today was the first day where I could utilize some of the materials in this donation. The student excitement and engagement was palpable throughout the room. The excitement, the learning, the fun were visible for all to see. Using these tools as a learning experience which has kids not just read and answer questions but engage in meaningful debate and teamwork is awesome. I wish you could have all seen it.
When my students first saw that they were going to be doing an escape room for work they were incredulous. They simply could not believe it. Then when the materials were broken out and they saw the locks and the materials they started to get super excited. No longer was it just answering questions and moving on. Now it was a race, now it was a challenge, now it was fun. Simply put, my students spent 45 minutes combing the history of West Africa and were fighting to get the right answers. In middle school, you cannot buy this type of learning if you tried. It was all possible thanks to your donation.
As we move forward I hope to utilize these materials more frequently to help students engage in history. Students love to be challenged, and this tool will allow me to challenge them mentally in ways which I was not capable of doing before. You have made this possible. You have impacted students for years to come.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Stuchell
This classroom project was brought to life by San Diego Gas & Electric and 6 other donors.A Comfortable Place Outside
Funded Jul 24, 2016To begin with, I just want to thank all of you for donating to my students and my classroom. The willingness of strangers to help other strangers is something that continually astounds me. My students will benefit from this table for years to come and it thanks to the generosity people who will most likely never meet my students or see my classroom.
This table has had an immediate impact in my classroom. The table allows for 6-8 students to have a comfortable place to work outside. They are elevated off the ground but more importantly are a position to engage their peers at the table for assistance and guidance. By bringing the students off the ground it also allows me to observe the students from within the classroom. While I still spend plenty of time going from inside the classroom to outside the classroom to assist and observe, it allows me to go outside with the intention of answering questions and facilitating student learning.
My students have been excited since they first saw the table. I have been asked daily if students can work outside at the table. While we were engaged in our first project the table was constantly filled with students. In middle school that is a sign of excitement and success. When students actively advocate for something you know they really want that. My goal moving forward with this table is for it to be a constant option for students to select to work at. This option allows learning to break out of the rows and desks and drudgery of a normal classroom.
Again, I would like to thank you for your gift to my students. It may seem like a small gesture, but that small gesture is having and will continue to have an impact on hundreds of students. Thank you.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Stuchell
Alternative Seating for an Alternative Classroom
Funded Aug 18, 2016First off, I cannot thank my donors enough. I have said it before and I will say it again, I am constantly amazed by the willingness of others to support students who they have never met. With that thank you again out of the way I am truly excited to tell you about the impact these beanbags have made in my classroom. For starters, when they arrived I did not have enough room to utilize them in my room due to my seating arrangement. However, that did not stop me from seizing an opportunity to set expectations and establish some classroom culture. First, the bags were stacked at the back of the room, and then in either a moment of genius, inspiration, or something else I printed out some angry eyes and taped them onto the top bag in the stack. This created Bob. Bob the beanbag man who would glare at you from the back of my classroom. When I rearranged the classroom Bob was moved to the front of the classroom. This created a great way to establish a relationship with my students because it showed them that I have fun in this classroom and that I will share that with them.
However, as my fun with Bob continued I realized that I needed to get the students sitting in the beanbags as soon as possible. So, with our first small project I opened up the area for student seating. The students have been extraordinarily receptive. No sooner do we start working that the bean bag area is full and the students are excited to be working. Also, given that they are right next to my desk it helps facilitate students in asking questions. I am really excited to see how this will continue throughout the year and might even start conferencing with students in them. Overall they've been an awesome addition to my classroom and I am so grateful for the donation.
When my students first saw the bags, I have to say the look on their faces was perfect. It was a mix of, what are those? Do we get to use them? When can I sit in them? And finally, shock as I sat down in one in front of all of them and told them to keep working. I think this also helped set the culture of my classroom exactly how I wanted it. My classroom does not do things the traditional way. Even though it was not anticipated, these bags have helped me create that environment and culture.
Lastly, I cannot thank you enough. Truly, this has helped me move my classroom even closer to what I want. It has given my students a reason to come into the room excited to learn. Thank you.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Stuchell
This classroom project was brought to life by Quill.com and 2 other donors.