The first Donors Choose application I chose was from a teacher in Ada, Ok. I chose this teacher because I wanted to critique teachers from my home town. This teacher is asking for an organization cart for her students to organize their personal supplies. I think this teacher did a couple things well. The first thing she did that I believe worked well was describing her students. She mentioned that her students are active students who have the need to have multiple seating arrangements during the day. By doing this, donors have the chance to see how her students would benefit the materials she is asking for her classroom. The next thing that this teacher did well was describe how the materials she is asking for would be helpful in the classroom. I think both of these two things are very crucial to include in a Donors Choose grant. Although she did these two things well, I do think there is one way that she didn't do as well. I believe she can improve on is adding more detail of how it would be beneficial in the room. Besides mentioning the main purpose, it might be helpful to add other ways in would be helpful in the classroom such as eliminating stress on the teacher by teaching independence on the students' end. In regards to the grant itself, I believe this grant is something that is very beneficial and useful in the classroom. As she mentioned in her grant, flexible seating allows students to choose the seat that works best for them. I agree with her that this cart could be helpful with students who are active and need to move around to establish the best learning establishment for each student.
The second Donors Choose application I chose was from a teacher in Norman, Ok. I chose this teacher because we will be student teaching in Norman and I thought it would be interesting to critique a teacher from Norman. This teacher is asking for art supplies. I thought his grant was interesting because it asked for art supplies which means that this teacher is actively trying to incorporate art into the classroom. I found this was a positive. One thing that this teacher did well was use bolded points to make an emphasis on what she wanted donors to know. In her "my students" section, she included what seemed to be a mission statement in her classroom. She touched on the fact that her classroom is diverse but these supplies help build situations where the students can come together and share learning experiences. Another thing I believe this teacher did well was provide specific examples of how these supplies will be used in the room. For example, this teacher mentioned that the students complete an art project each week. One these projects is there "All About Me" project in which they will use these materials requested. These examples tells donors how these students will specifically use these materials in the classroom. By doing this, I think donors would more willing to donate to the cause because they can see how they will be helping. Overall, I think they did a great job writing this grant. I don't see anything that I would change. In regards to the grant, I think this request for art supplies is something that would be very beneficial to the classroom. After taking art integration, I have learned about the importance of including art in the classroom. Therefore, I find this grant is very necessary and crucial to the classroom.
The third Donors Choose application chose to critique was another teacher from Norman,Ok. However, this teacher is requesting something that is something that is not specifically essential in the classroom: team jackets for her special olympics team. In addition, this teacher is targeting students in high school where the other two teachers targeted elementary students. I think this teacher did a great job of describing her students. She mentioned the variety of needs her students have and how all of the students are unique in their own way but are more alike than different. These descriptions allow donors to see how they are getting help students who might daily struggles such as nonverbal communication or help with toilet and feeding needs. In addition to describing her students well, I think the teacher also does a great job of describing why the students need these jackets. She mentions that these jackets will boost team spirit while also protecting the students from harsh conditions such as temperature, rain, and snow. I think this description might evoke a emotional urge to donate to this cause. Although she did these two things well, I think there is one thing she could improve on. The thing I think she could improve on would be going more in depth of how these specific jackets will make her students feel like rest of other teams in the school. She might want to mention the uniforms that other teams have and how the lack of jackets might make her students feel inadequate to other teams. By describing this difference, I think donors would be more emotionally inclined to donate to her cause. Overall, I believe this grant is something that isn't necessarily essential in the classroom but is something that will allow her students to feel as a team, boost morale, and make her students not feel different than other teams at the school.
The second Donors Choose application I chose was from a teacher in Norman, Ok. I chose this teacher because we will be student teaching in Norman and I thought it would be interesting to critique a teacher from Norman. This teacher is asking for art supplies. I thought his grant was interesting because it asked for art supplies which means that this teacher is actively trying to incorporate art into the classroom. I found this was a positive. One thing that this teacher did well was use bolded points to make an emphasis on what she wanted donors to know. In her "my students" section, she included what seemed to be a mission statement in her classroom. She touched on the fact that her classroom is diverse but these supplies help build situations where the students can come together and share learning experiences. Another thing I believe this teacher did well was provide specific examples of how these supplies will be used in the room. For example, this teacher mentioned that the students complete an art project each week. One these projects is there "All About Me" project in which they will use these materials requested. These examples tells donors how these students will specifically use these materials in the classroom. By doing this, I think donors would more willing to donate to the cause because they can see how they will be helping. Overall, I think they did a great job writing this grant. I don't see anything that I would change. In regards to the grant, I think this request for art supplies is something that would be very beneficial to the classroom. After taking art integration, I have learned about the importance of including art in the classroom. Therefore, I find this grant is very necessary and crucial to the classroom.
The third Donors Choose application chose to critique was another teacher from Norman,Ok. However, this teacher is requesting something that is something that is not specifically essential in the classroom: team jackets for her special olympics team. In addition, this teacher is targeting students in high school where the other two teachers targeted elementary students. I think this teacher did a great job of describing her students. She mentioned the variety of needs her students have and how all of the students are unique in their own way but are more alike than different. These descriptions allow donors to see how they are getting help students who might daily struggles such as nonverbal communication or help with toilet and feeding needs. In addition to describing her students well, I think the teacher also does a great job of describing why the students need these jackets. She mentions that these jackets will boost team spirit while also protecting the students from harsh conditions such as temperature, rain, and snow. I think this description might evoke a emotional urge to donate to this cause. Although she did these two things well, I think there is one thing she could improve on. The thing I think she could improve on would be going more in depth of how these specific jackets will make her students feel like rest of other teams in the school. She might want to mention the uniforms that other teams have and how the lack of jackets might make her students feel inadequate to other teams. By describing this difference, I think donors would be more emotionally inclined to donate to her cause. Overall, I believe this grant is something that isn't necessarily essential in the classroom but is something that will allow her students to feel as a team, boost morale, and make her students not feel different than other teams at the school.