Educator Resources

Our small K-8 bilingual school does not have a library. Each teacher tries to provide books in their classroom to lend, but resources are always scarce. I’ve spent my entire classroom budget for two years to try to stock my classroom lending library. I’ve tried to make the funding last as long as possible by using the public library book sales to find books. However, the books are usually in very noticeably used conditions and many of the popular books do not last long as the paperbacks often lose pages or covers when jostled around in backpacks.

I would love the opportunity to create a classroom library that my grade level team could utilize in order to provide literacy resources for my students. Beyond just stocking books, I’d like to curate a collection of reading material that will best serve my middle school students by providing literature that supports our school mission by showing value for multilingual and multicultural backgrounds. Access to reading material that is culturally relevant and connects to the interests of our students is imperative.

Build Your Library is a way to get great literature into the hands and homes of our students. Our goal is to give each and every one of our students a new book each month during the school year. By the time a kindergarten student leaves our school at the end of their fifth-grade year, they will have received close to 60 books for their at-home library. Our goal is for them to take these books home and share them with their family. We encourage them to read the book with their parents, grandparents, and siblings. Hopefully, the books will be passed down to younger brothers and sisters for them to enjoy and develop a lifelong love for reading.

We don’t just give books to the students; we invite the parents in and share with them the importance of reading and model how to read with their child. With each book that is given, the students will also receive a bookmark giving tips on where to read, when to read, how to read, as well as strategies to boost comprehension and fluency, and how to tackle challenging words. We are very excited to have the support of Bueno Foods and the Golden Apple Foundation. Your generous donation will provide a book for each of our eighty-five plus students, from kindergarten to fifth grade, one brand new book for the next three months.

This award is graciously appreciated on behalf of myself, my colleagues and all future students who will benefit from this grant. Our students come from a diverse and rich multi-cultural background (many of whom have special needs). We hope to purchase decodable textbooks that mirror our students and their families’ diversities.

Dolores Gonzales will purchase $1,000 worth of Spanish fiction and non-fiction books for our school library to be used by staff and students.

The books I selected are from specific authors because I believe diversity is extremely important to expose our young people today. To read a book from someone else’s point of view and see a different perspective is educational, in its simplest form. Books will be read out loud in class. Students will have an opportunity to write reflections, summaries, compare characters, and describe the settings in a journal. And above all, classroom discussions of the main idea(s), characters, and address story line questions. Allocating time blocks each week to read will re-enforce their own reading habits, improve their Language Arts skills, and build their communication skills. Students learn by example and incorporating books that are outside their regular content textbooks, will only encourage positive reading habits, for the future. My wish is to influence our youth, one classroom at a time. To plant a seed of interest for reading, so in turn they can be creative. This is a form of giving back to my community. Another why I can pay it forward to support the students that I serve.

Students who live in this rural community will observe the natural phenomenon of weather, classify animals by attributes, learn about adaptations, life cycles, food chains, habitats, and behaviors, and understand how in our solar system celestial objects rotate and revolve.

Nothing says STEM better than Lego! Students will have their own set of manipulatives to practice their mathematical concepts, create their own versions of worlds explored through their readings, and lastly construct and create as they exercise the most important muscle they possess – their brains. 

The project will provide the tools to be able to have student driven biochemistry labs. Students will create driving questions on biological processes we are learning in class. They will then use these tools to collect data and draw conclusions.

With Miss Frizzle in charge, the grant will add lessons that are fun and engaging. Using the lessons and activities presented during Golden Apple’s Let’s Do Science series, students will watch the weather, explore animal habitats, and explore outer space. 

Students will design and conduct a plethora of experiments to understand what plants need to grow and flourish. Experiments will include: hydroponics and aquaponics • watering plants with various types of water • constructing a plant maze • learning about the life cycle of a bean • watching roots grow/growing bulbs • learning how pollution affects plants • experimenting with germination • learning if plants can grow without sunlight and air • experimenting with plant growth and music • learning about the importance of pollination and bees.

Puesta Del Sol STEAM Lab has been designed to promote student interest in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics. The grant will provide materials for stations that allow students, of varying age groups, to explore phenomenon with engaging hands-on activities.