{"monthlySchoolDonationEnabled":true,"callToActionDisplayName":"Tongue River Elementary School","outOfStateSupporters":40.0,"allowSchoolLevelGiving":true,"hasFundedProjects":true,"projectGratitudeData":[{"teacherId":10432470,"projectId":10132655,"letterContent":"Your generosity in purchasing a class set of novels for our 5th graders has made a meaningful and lasting impact on student learning—thank you.\r\n\r\nBecause of your support, every student now has consistent access to the same high-quality text, which allows us to engage in a true novel study experience. Instead of working in fragments or sharing limited resources, students can read, annotate, and revisit the text daily. This has strengthened their comprehension, vocabulary development, and ability to think critically about what they read.\r\n\r\nThe impact on engagement has been especially noticeable. Students feel a sense of ownership and excitement when they each have their own book. They are more invested in discussions, eager to make predictions, and confident in sharing their ideas because they can reference the text directly. Our classroom conversations have become richer and more collaborative as a result.\r\n\r\nThis opportunity has also allowed us to build important literacy skills such as close reading, identifying themes, analyzing characters, and supporting ideas with evidence—skills that are essential for their continued success in middle school and beyond.","fullyFundedDate":1773733764458,"projectUrl":"project/flip-the-switch-on-reading-excitement/10132655/","projectTitle":"Flip the Switch on Reading Excitement!","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Olson","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp10432470_orig.jpg?crop=273,273,x102,y14&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1770781145399","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/10432470"},{"teacherId":10432470,"projectId":10093071,"letterContent":"The use of Apple TV in the classroom has had a clear, positive impact on both student learning and engagement.\r\n\r\nApple TV allows for seamless screen sharing, which makes it easy for teachers and students to instantly display work, model thinking, and share ideas. This immediacy keeps lessons moving efficiently and reduces downtime, helping maximize instructional minutes. \r\n\r\nAdditionally, Apple TV helps foster a more collaborative classroom environment. Students can easily work together, provide feedback, and learn from one another by viewing and discussing shared work. This promotes deeper understanding and strengthens communication skills.\r\n\r\nOverall, Apple TV enhances instruction by making learning more visible, interactive, and student-centered—leading to higher engagement and improved understanding across the classroom.","fullyFundedDate":1770914610683,"projectUrl":"project/small-screens-to-big-dreams-apple-tv-fo/10093071/","projectTitle":"Small Screens to Big Dreams: Apple TV for Student Learning","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Olson","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp10432470_orig.jpg?crop=273,273,x102,y14&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1770781145399","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/10432470"},{"teacherId":10061459,"projectId":9997024,"letterContent":"Thank you Jim and Angie for the classroom materials that have made a big difference in classroom organization and easy access for my students.\r\nHaving the ipad docs have been a blessing and have provided easy access to all students leaving the frustration of retrieving, returning and recharging their ipads. The students comment weekly on how nice it is to have easy retrieval and returns.\r\n\r\nThe students have also benefited from the privacy folders. They are able to do their assessments and other work privately if they prefer. They are pretty funny when they peak around or above the folders to see me. :). The organization box for task cards also have provided for easy access and organization for students to access materials they need for remediation practice, daily flashcards and toothy cards.\r\n\r\nThe magic erasers and math manipulatives are also a big hit!\r\n\r\nWe are pleased with all of your donations and greatly appreciate ALL you have donated for our class.","fullyFundedDate":1768367460288,"projectUrl":"project/second-grade-supplies-for-efficient-lear/9997024/","projectTitle":"Second Grade Supplies for Efficient Learning","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Simmons","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-10_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/10061459"},{"teacherId":3305985,"projectId":9581616,"letterContent":"In a kindergarten classroom, where young learners aged 5-6 have short attention spans, high energy, and developing language skills, slideshows tailored to social studies (e.g., Native Americans, Presidents, Monarchs) and science curricula (e.g., animals, plants, farms, weather, five senses) serve as powerful visual tools. These digital presentations, often created with tools like Google Slides, incorporate colorful images, simple animations, short videos, and interactive elements. When aligned precisely with curriculum standards, they transform abstract concepts into concrete, relatable experiences. Below, I outline their impacts on engagement and knowledge retention, drawing from educational research and classroom practices.\r\n\r\n1. Boosting Student Engagement Kindergarteners thrive on multisensory input, and slideshows capitalize on this by blending visuals, sound, and interactivity—far surpassing traditional lectures or worksheets. Visual and Interactive Appeal: Bright, high-quality images (e.g., a slideshow on \"Life Cycles\" showing a caterpillar transforming into a butterfly with click-to-reveal animations) capture attention immediately. Studies from the Journal of Educational Psychology show that visual aids increase engagement by 40-60% in early childhood settings compared to text-only methods, as they stimulate curiosity and reduce fidgeting.\r\n\r\nMovement and Participation: Slides can include polls, \"turn-and-talk\" prompts, or simple games (e.g., \"What sound does this animal make?\" with audio clips in a science unit on farm animals). This kinesthetic element encourages whole-class chanting, hand-raising, or group pointing, making passive listening an active experience. In social studies slideshows on \"Community Helpers,\" embedding short role-play videos (e.g., a firefighter demonstration) prompts children to mimic actions, sustaining focus for 15-20 minutes—double the typical kindergarten attention span\r\n\r\n Overall Impact: Engagement rises as slideshows turn lessons into \"mini-adventures,\" reducing behavioral issues and increasing eagerness for repeat viewings.\r\n\r\n2. Improving Knowledge Retention and Understanding Slideshows break down complex curricula into digestible chunks, leveraging dual-coding theory (words + images) to strengthen memory pathways in young brains. Concrete to Abstract Progression: For science topics like \"Weather,\" slides start with real photos (sunny day vs. rainy), progress to simple diagrams (water cycle with arrows), and end with predictions (e.g., \"What clothes for snow?\"). This scaffolding aligns with Piaget's preoperational stage, where children learn best through symbols and examples. \r\n\r\nRepetition and Reinforcement: Built-in reviews (e.g., recap slides with \"What did we learn?\" questions in a social studies unit on \"Columbus\") reinforce key facts. Animations reveal information sequentially, preventing overload—ideal for kindergarteners processing 3-5 new ideas per lesson.\r\n\r\nReal-World Connections: Embedding videos or photos from everyday life (e.g., plant growth time-lapse in a \"Plants Need\" unit) helps children connect curriculum to their world, enhancing long-term retention. A meta-analysis in Review of Educational Research found multimedia tools like slideshows boost knowledge recall by 20-30% over verbal instruction alone in early grades.\r\n\r\n Overall Impact: Students grasp and retain core concepts (e.g., \"producer/consumer\" in social studies or \"solid/liquid\" in science) more deeply, as visuals create memorable mental anchors.\r\n\r\nThank you for supporting the entire Kindergarten teaching team, district-wide, in improving their lesson delivery and engagement with their students.","fullyFundedDate":1756235742576,"projectUrl":"project/student-engagement-through-slide-present/9581616/","projectTitle":"Student Engagement Through Slide Presentations","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Woodward","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-3_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/3305985"},{"teacherId":8433142,"projectId":9178157,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for your generous support! The resources provided through this project—visual timers, student incentives, and tools that offer alternative response options—have made a noticeable difference in our classroom. The visual timers have been especially helpful for students who benefit from clear, structured transitions and time management support. They've made classroom routines smoother and helped students stay on task with less anxiety. The student incentives have been a powerful motivator, encouraging positive behavior and academic effort in a fun, meaningful way. Perhaps most exciting for the students are the new ways they can respond during lessons and to provide for themselves what they need to complete their work—such as writing on the table dots or using comfortable noise cancelling headphones. \r\n\r\nThese resources have truly helped create a more inclusive, responsive, and engaging learning environment. We're so grateful for the impact you've made!","fullyFundedDate":1742945699294,"projectUrl":"project/addressing-the-whole-child-sel-adhd-a/9178157/","projectTitle":"Addressing the Whole Child: Sel, Adhd, and Sensory Needs Met","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Yalowizer","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-2_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/8433142"}],"pageName":"schoolpage_39524","usesDonorsChoose":true,"infoPageType":"school","demographicsInfo":{"numStudents":255,"numTeachers":20,"percentFrplEligible":45,"percentAsian":0,"percentBlack":0,"percentWhite":83,"percentIndigenous":5,"percentLatinx":2,"showFreeAndReducedPriceLunchInfo":true,"showDemographicsInfo":true,"sourceTooltipString":"the National Center for Education Statistics","gradesServed":"K - 5","studentTeacherRatio":"12.8:1","demographicsDataSource":"MDR School","equityFocus":true,"titleOne":false,"metroType":"RURAL","ncesMetroType":"RURAL_REMOTE"},"inStateSupporters":60.0,"schoolId":39524,"financialInfo":null,"twitterShareText":"Learn more about Tongue River Elementary School on @DonorsChoose:","schoolName":"Tongue River Elementary School","canonicalPageUrl":"schools/wyoming/sheridan-county-school-district-1/tongue-river-elementary-school/39524"}