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This teacher needs your help!

Ms. Lam from La Mesa, CA is requesting supplies through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

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Fully Funded

Ms. Lam's classroom raised $575

Bringing Life to Poetry - Magnets & Bananas, Oh My!

My students need Magnetic Poetry, Magnetic Lapboards, and Bananagrams,

Classroom photo
Ms. Lam Helix Charter High School
La Mesa, CA Grades 9-12

Poetry is life. Poetry is words and language that are able to tap into the essence of life. But, in the 9th grade college-prep English courses that I teach, my students view poetry as “old, dumb, and lame.” These views truly sadden me and have become a obstacle that I must overcome. I have worked to change their views on poetry through interactive classroom activities that will demonstrate to my students that poetry is as vital as any cell phone or mp3 player. I have strived to make poetry a catalyst within my classroom that will swiftly and dramatically improve the academic skills of my students who very often are unprepared for the rigors of a high school college-prep curriculum. I want poetry to influence my students' lives by changing their attitudes towards school, words and language, and college, so that when students complete my course they will remember at least two major ideas, “Poetry is life” and “They are going to college.” But, with the wave of recent budget cuts, I am unable to get any resources that I can use to accomplish these aims. If resources are purchased for my 9th grade college-prep courses, including magnetic poetry (100 word titles in a vinyl pouch) and magnetic lapboards (to place the magnetic poetry), and Bananagrams (featuring 144 letter tiles that are face down in the middle, from which students choose their tiles), I will be able to create dynamic lessons that allow students to manipulate language in an interactive way to create poetry. These lessons for creating poetry will change the ways my students view language. And, the ability to effectively use language in a variety of ways, ranging from writing poetry to writing research papers, is part of meeting college-prep English Language Arts standards. If you have ever loved poetry and the way that it can make life worth living, please help my students experience the power of poetry. As the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge stated, “Poetry: the best words in the best order.” And in the words of the poet W. H. Auden, “A poet is, before anything else, a person who is passionately in love with language.” Any support that you can give to this project will be greatly appreciated. Your donation will fund poetry, magnets & bananas, oh my!

This project will directly impact historically underfunded classrooms.

More than half of students from low‑income households

120 students impacted 4 donors
Ms. Lam Helix Charter High School Grades 9-12

This project will directly impact historically underfunded classrooms.

La Mesa, CA View local requests

More than half of students from low‑income households Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more

120 students impacted 4donors

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Where Your Donation Goes

Where your donation goes
Materials Cost Quantity Total
Bananagrams® • Nasco $14.95 13 $194.35
The Magnetic Poetry Book of Poetry Dave Kapell, Sally Steenland, With Sally Steenland, Sally Steenland (Introduction) • Barnes and Noble $12.55 10 $125.50
RR621 - Magnetic Write & Wipe Lapboard • Lakeshore Learning $6.95 10 $69.50

Materials cost

$389.35

Vendor shipping charges

 $38.94

Sales tax

 $28.23

3rd party payment processing fee

$5.84

Fulfillment labor & materials

$9.00

Total project cost

$471.36

Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

$103.47

Total project goal

$574.83

How we calculate what's needed

Total project goal

 $574.83

3 Donors

-$287.41

Donations toward project cost

-$235.68

Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$51.73

match offer

-$287.41

Match offer toward project cost

-$235.68

Match offer to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$51.73

Still needed View calculationHide calculation

 $0.00

Our team works hard to negotiate the best pricing and selections available.

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DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. Lam and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.

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