Watch projects in action, and hear from educators about difference your support makes:

DONOR DOLLARS AT WORK
SINCE 1984

2,370

total number of mini-grants awarded

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59,250

students served by mini-grants

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$3.5 million

total amount awarded to Vigo County schools to date

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135,500

students served by school-wide grants

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GRANTS IN ACTION!

District-wide Grant Feature:
Math Magic Writing Wonders

     The Writing Wonders component for 3rd - 5th graders was developed around three weekly themes. Students learned about the theme, received direct instruction related to a specific writing genre, then had independent working time to develop a writing project. Because the students would be doing remote learning, all lessons were created in Google Slides and then were uploaded into Nearpod.  Nearpod was used to make the lessons as interactive as possible. Questions were added to high-interest videos, information was reviewed in a “gamified” way, collaborative boards allowed for all students to see and “like” each other’s responses, and students went on virtual field trips.  Students used their newly issued Chromebooks to participate, and these extra, engaging resources were made possible by a grant from the Oakley Foundation.
     In the first week, students learned about the five main types of bridges. They looked at many photos and videos and explored some of them on Google Earth to learn about the features and pros and cons of each type of bridge. They followed written directions to build a bridge from a deck of playing cards and used Play-doh to demonstrate the concepts of tension and compression. During that week, students wrote an informative piece in Google Docs which included information about one of the five bridge types, a photo of an actual bridge of that kind, and a photo of the bridge they constructed from cards.
    During week two, students took a virtual trip to New York City where they learned about famous landmarks. They watched videos and took virtual field trips to make them feel as if they were visiting the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, Central Park, the 9/11 Memorial. The students assembled a small cardboard model of the Statue of Liberty and Empire State Building. The last day allowed them to experience the New York City subway system. Their writing project was creating a travel brochure to persuade visitors to choose New York City as their vacation destination. Each day, students explored a landmark of their own choosing during their independent work time. After learning about how to use imagery, hyperbole, and other persuasive elements, students designed a colorful trifold brochure touting the tour of NYC sites they chose.
    Lessons for their final week of Writing Wonders were based on the theme of baseball. Students learned the basics of the game, got a 360° virtual tour at some famous stadiums, did research on famous players and ballparks, and learned about the Negro League and All American Girls League. The writing challenge was a fictional narrative about a boy and his grandpa who spent a day at a ballpark. Students learned to introduce characters, write dialogue, create a conflict, and solve the problem. They incorporated what they learned about baseball parks, players, and the old-time Negro and Girls Leagues into their story. After sharing on the final day, they collaborated on a silly baseball mascot story, tested their baseball knowledge with a game-based online quiz, and played a baseball version of Scattergories.
     Math Magic Writing Wonders also had a middle school component. Middle school students participated in a novel study of I am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education, but Christina Lamb and Malala Yousafzai. Each day students read and discussed chapters from the book. Along with checking for understanding of the novel, the content led to many discussions of eradicating child illiteracy and a woman’s rights and human rights in Pakistan in the face of religious and political intolerance. The content led to many engaging discussions.
The elementary and middle school math curriculum focused on various problem-solving strategies organized into daily topics and teachers utilized Jamboard, Nearpod, Blloket and various online resources. Art of Problem Solving resources were also incorporated to enhance the mathematics experience. Students received access to Beast Academy Online (BA) and a copy of the Beast Academy Puzzles. BA Online helps young students master math concepts through interactive practice, challenges, and puzzles.
Although having students in person at all times is optimal, it is quite evident that with hard work from both teachers and students, (and inserting some fun into learning), success can be achieved.

Katie Rademacher-Smith, second grade teacher at Davis Park Elementary, recently delivered four books to each  of her student's doorsteps, and the children happily waved from a safe distance. Her "Rademacher’s Readers" mini grant seeks to improve reading fluency and build the personal libraries of families by providing every classroom student with weekly non-fiction magazines and two books every month. I Survived: The Children's Blizzard, 1888, was completed as a class shortly before schools were closed. In her conversations with families, she has used this story to remind students that significant challenges can be overcome, and to encourage families to keep a journal/scrapbook to document our current period of living history. 

Mrs. Rademacher-Smith added, "Now more than ever, students need a variety of reading materials in a personal library.  Several families have reported appreciation for these materials and told me how the current collection of books is being shared within their families during this time of togetherness. When I conceived this project, I had no way of knowing how important it would become.  Thank you for sponsoring this project and allowing me to provide quality reading materials to my students."

​Download the 2024-2025 Impact Report to learn more about your impact.

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