Here is a breakdown of grant rounds 41 – 50 recipients.

Number of Grants Funded: 6 – Amount: $5,563.61

Cumulative Grants Funded: 491 –  Cumulative Amount: $256,301.16

Impacting Approximately 1,073 Students

Summaries:

  1. The Homan Library will construct a Makerspace that will inspire a project-based learning environment where students can create interest driven projects.
  2. This project will improve student learning in technical theatre not only as a recreational activity, but also as a way to allow students to consider possible careers in the field.
  3. Science Olympiad, which engages student s in science and technology, seek financial aid to gain a competitive edge against top academic teams in the state to free up savings for other fees for academic competitions.
  4. Students will be employing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), cooperatively using problem solving strategies to design and construct a variety of devices.
  5. By incorporating technology in my classroom, it will allow Lake Central students to further enhance their art experiences, skills, and careers in a competitive art field.
  6. Students will read animal books at their reading level and complete a research report based on their animal of interest to present to their peers.

Number of Grants Funded: 14 – Amount: $4,503.33

Cumulative Grants Funded: 505 – Cumulative Amount: $260,804.49

Impacting Approximately 1,634 Students

Summaries:

  1. Funds to purchase multiple copies of books written by author, Jennifer Nielsen will promote reading, building author awareness and grow enthusiasm for the authors’ visit in November to Clark Middle School.
  2. The daily math centers will enrich the student s’ mathematical skill s and give them the foundation needed to become successful independent learners.
  3. Grant money would be used to purchase copies of Being a Spacewalker: My Journey to the Stars for the 6th graders at Clark Middle School to enhance the science curriculum.
  4. The request to Equabeam Balances will be used in problem solving math investigations.
  5. The iPad will be used in the Homan Early Childhood / Structured Learning classroom to assist students in communication and the development of speech/language skills as well as the added use of other academic applications.
  6. Students will be employing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), cooperatively using problem solving strategies to design and construct a variety of devices, use their knowledge of the sciences to run labs and answer question s pertaining to different fields of science.
  7. Graphic Novels for English Language Learners
  8. Hands-On Minds-On Learning will help facilitate the inquiry-based approach to promote deeper understanding throughout the curriculum.

Michele Tyler Grants 2016

A. Today’s Young Learners Enjoy Reading is about the passion that Mrs. Tyler had and shared as a staff member in regard to Literature.

B. Using picture books in the middle school classroom is a way to motivate students while stimulating learning; with my notice and not strategy tied to picture books the skills involved will cause close reading will come alive.

C: Funds to purchase audio and eBooks by author, Jennifer Nielsen will promote reading, increase awareness of, and build enthusiasm for the author’s visit in November to Clark Middle School.

D: Implementing high interest novels and Literary Circles to promote active learning with Accelerated Reading in 8th grade. School is not out for the summer, just yet!

E: Students will “travel” to various landmarks in the United States by reading various “Where is…” books.

F: Reading inspiration for our budding your economists and capitalists who play a driving force in our current economy.

Number of Grants Funded: 6 – Amount: $2,542.90

Cumulative Grants Funded: 511 – Cumulative Amount: $263,346.39

Impacting Approximately 642 Students

Summaries:

  1. A wind power-based Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM) activity will provide students with better understanding of how renewable energy works and give them a better perspective of potential jobs when they graduate from college.
  2. 7th grade students will learn about the stereotypes and messages spread through media by engaging in documentaries, discussion, and research, ultimately leading to their clear understanding of the power of media, who is in charge of media outlet, and what they can do to combat stereotypes and negative messages.
  3. It is by loving to read that children become literate, and reading great children’s literature stirs that passion and nurtures a child’s innate curiosity to know more.
  4. Building big literacy is encouraged through the use of big books.
  5. Bibliotherapy project is a researched based intervention, using storybooks and accompanying activities to teach and guide students in grades Kindergarten through 4th grade on a variety of Social and Emotional topics. When properly addressed, students improve academic performance and social functioning within the school environment.
  6. Innovative hands on activities are designed to engage all students in making math meaningful with emphasis on the development of number sense, reasoning, and Problem solving. These activities are designed to encourage students to persevere, THINK, and justify their thinking.

Number of Grants Funded: 18 – Amount: $8,016.08

Cumulative Grants Funded: 529 – Cumulative Amount: $271,362.47

Impacting Approximately 3,554 Students

Summaries:

  1. Flexible seating in the classroom give students a choice in what kind of learning space work s best for them, and helps them to work collaboratively, communicate, and engage in critical thinking.
  2. Moving while learning and growing stronger and healthier through the use of alternative seating choices for students.
  3. Sit and move cushions support focus for self- contained math and resource students to allow students to release energy while learning.
  4. Flexible seating options are among current research strategies to promote student engagement and healthy habits, introducing non-traditional seating options in the classroom offers the opportunity for all students to be in an environment where they can be most successful.
  5. The funds provided will help engage second grade girls in a technology club so that they will become interested in subjects that lead to careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematic s (STEM). Currently, only 25 percent of STEM jobs are filled by females. (Closing the STEM Gap for Girls: Woolley-Wilson, 2016).
  6. Headphones help enhance student scores in their I-Ready test and lessons.
  7. Students will observe, study, manipulate, and label three-dimensional life-size human heart models to enhance student engagement and support the human body systems unit.
  8. Take home bags are a great resource to help build positive family/school connections.
  9. Science Olympiad, which engages students in STEM education, seeks financial aid to gain a competitive edge against top academic teams in the state to free up savings for other fees for academic competitions.
  10. Students will use Legos, adding tape, and calculators to increase their math reasoning abilities through engaging activities.
  11. Little Listeners – Kinder – Writers will be used to encourage students to read with fluency and expression through modeling and promote exciting opportunities for students to expand their vocabulary and details while becoming individual authors and illustrators.
  12. 3D printer for use in creating models in the Design and Modeling class at Clark Middle School.
  13. Our goal is to provide researched based therapeutic resources that positively support academic success.
  14. Music education through hands on learning meet s Indiana State Music Standards. By having these instruments available, all students will be able to grow in their musical development carrying lifelong musical appreciation.
  15. Adjustable Standing Desk will assist those students with accommodations to stand to complete their work with the ability to do so at an appropriate height level.
  16. Students will be employing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), cooperatively using problem solving strategies to design and construct a variety of devices, use their knowledge of the sciences to run labs and answer questions pertaining to different fields of science.
  17. Students improve their critical thinking, sequencing, reasoning, discovery, memory, problem solving, and experimentation with the use of a coding caterpillar.
  18. Fraction towers will be as an investigative tool to understand fractions and decimals.

Number of Grants Funded: 12 – Amount: $5,176.01

Cumulative Grant s Funded: 541 – Cumulative Amount: $276,538.48

Impacting Approximately 5,166 Students

Summaries:

  1. Fun Kid’s Beginning Ukulele Course for 3rd and 4th graders will benefit students in knowing their notation better, learning music symbols, while improving their sense of tempo and beat.
  2. By incorporating picture books into the classroom during our Holocaust study, I can introduce new topics into my curriculum, help students develop nonfiction literacy skills, provide authentic and meaningful cultural perspectives, and help meet a wide range of learning needs.
  3. Grant funds will be used for purchasing a subscription to the National Parks Magazine and the National Park Adventures Subscription Box to enhance the student s’ national parks writing and research project.
  4. STEM kits will invite kindergarten students to engage in literacy activities and solve problems by building, creating, experimenting, and using critical thinking skills.
  5. The centers will help enrich student s’ reading, phonics, and language arts skill s daily!
  6. Students will be employing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), cooperatively using problem solving strategies to design and construct a variety of devices, use their knowledge of the sciences to run labs and answer questions pertaining to different fields of science.
  7. Having a field to practice robotics would help the students learn about robotics, experience a robotic competition, and teach other students how to use a robot.
  8. Students will read animal books at their reading level and complete a research report based on their animal of interest to present to their peers.
  9. The Lake Central High School student body will be able to witness a total solar eclipse on August 21, 2017 using the filter glasses funded by the LCEF grant.
  10. The goal of Second Grade Sleuths is for all students in a second-grade classroom to be exposed to and read the mystery genre at differentiated reading levels and to become “expert detectives” with reading strategies used to navigate through their mystery books.

Michele Tyler Grants 2016 – Round 2

Summaries:

A: Due to lack of interest and motivation in regards to AR, a small class set of books will be chosen to purchase in order to excite the students for AR. Discussion and group readings will be done with the books to assist students in understanding the process of reading a novel “independently” and actually enjoying it while also feeling confident about padding an AR test.

B: The set of twenty Young Hoosier books will expose Clark students to an outstanding collection of fiction and nonfiction titles and giving the opportunity to experience novels they might not otherwise read.

Number of Grants Funded: 12 – Amount: $4,271.39

Cumulative Grants Funded: 553 – Cumulative Amount: $280,809.87

Impacting Approximately 5,166 Students

Summaries:

  1.  For the Ancient Egyptian Papyrus Paper Project, 7th grade students at Kahler Middle School applied their knowledge of the Ancient Egyptians and their language by creating their own paper from papyrus reds and sending messages to one other by using the Egyptian written language of hieroglyphics.
  2. Adding Coding to the Curriculum” will allow my 4th graders to learn about the implement coding skills, which is an up-and-coming field in our world. My students will gain the knowledge to work with these robots successfully.
  3. Providing students ‘ vocational training in art design and vinyl cutting.
  4. “Getting Schooled @ CMS” is a unique opportunity to further grow enthusiasm for the ex[experience of meeting a successful author who promotes education, reading and good character.
  5. Our STEM Fun in Kindergarten will promote critical; thinking and exciting opportunities for students to expand their knowledge of science and math while exploring a variety of materials.
  6. Superhero Training will improve the students’ listening skills, increase their confidence and positive emotions, and teach them how to respond rather than react, and promote posture, motor skills, and balance.
  7. By engaging students in understanding The Science of Color, to achieve their personal best cross the curriculum of study and to be self-directed successful learners.
  8. With Qball, students not only want to participate in class discussions, but they actually learn more when everyone can hear what the teacher and their fellow students are saying.

Michele Tyler Fall 2017 Grants

Summaries:

A: I love technology and I love teaching reading – Headsprout allows me to do both in a gun and innovative way.

B: Reading is a life skill and this grant will enable students in the Functional Skills Program the opportunity to check out books that they can read independently, and find the joy in books.

C: After participating in a groundbreaking district wide 5th grade reading event, students will be inspired to read the remaining books in Chris Grabenstein’s series to further enhance their experience of meeting an entertaining, positive literary role model.

D: The Whisper Phone Selects gives teachers an opportunity to monitor and assist students while improving students’ language skills to create lifelong writers and readers.

Number of Grants Funded:  9 – Cumulative Grants Funded: 562

Amount: $3,992.76 – Cumulative Amount:  $284,866.63

Impacting Approximately 1,113 Students

Summaries:

  1.  As part of a STEM based learning lab, students will gain hands-on experience designing and building models of working electrical circuits including working models of a photo sensor, a flashing light, and an adjustable-volume siren.
  2. Students will be employing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), cooperatively using problem solving strategies to design and construct a variety of devices, using their knowledge of the sciences to run labs and answer questions pertaining to different fields of science.
  3. Grant funds will be used for purchasing a subscription to Nearpod (an interactive presentation and assessment tool) to enhance the students’ learning experience, actively engage all students in the class, and appeal to a wide variety of learners.
  4. As part of a direct experience chick embryology unit, students will develop an understanding of the biology concepts of chicks, embryology, life cycles and habitats.
  5. Through the creation of masks, the complexities of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing will be eclipsed by students being able to “see” the story as they engage in acting and embracing the Bard’s language and timeless themes.
  6. Through the birthday bash and “party” at each center, Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream along with Much Ado About Nothing will come alive for students through students’ acting, improvisational games, and fun with his words.
  7. Second and third grade students at Peifer Elementary school will be able to read and play written music at the keyboard.
  8. A 3D printer gives students the ability to take their thoughts and turn them into something physical through the design process.
  9. Shoebox tasks used as an early intervention for students with special needs and/or autism provide foundational skills and contribute to positive brain and behavior changes.

STEM in Memory of Dan Ranyan

Number of Grants Funded:  4 – Cumulative Grants Funded: 566

Amount: $1,926.89 – Cumulative Amount:  $286,793.52

Impacting Approximately 2,503 Students

Summaries:

  1. Students will be employing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), cooperatively using problem solving strategies to use and operate a microscope properly in order to complete labs and answer questions pertaining to the field of life science.
  2. Dash and Dot are child friendly robots that encourage STEM learning, creativity, and curiosity in the classroom for students of all ages.
  3. Third and fourth grade students will solve the complex Rubik’s Cube by following the step by step instructions and/or will produce designs by creating mosaics with the Rubik’s Cube to foster their collaborative and self-guided learning skills.
  4. Using unplugged activities with hands-on and digital tasks that align with standardized testing skills, students will create problem-solvers that use higher-order thinking skills to persevere through strenuous tasks.  This can assist students that have difficulty completing multi-step problems that build upon each other and require extended patience and attention.

Number of Grants Funded:  9 – Cumulative Grants Funded: 575

Amount: $3,223.37 – Cumulative Amount:  $290,016.89

Impacting Approximately 2,157 Students

Summaries:

  1. Puzzlets, along with Dash the Robot, is an interactive, hands-on gaming system that is used to focus on coding to build developmental, digital, and intrinsic skills.
  2. With the Expanding Expression Tool, students of all abilities will be able to expand upon basic language concepts using a multisensory approach.
  3. The novels In the End and In the After will be used to promote independent student reading, group cooperation in student-lead book discussion groups, and overall enthusiasm for reading dystopian literature.
  4. Falling Towers, by Jewell Parker Rhodes, offers educators a way to discuss the events of September 11th from a historical and social perspective, including themes of community, diversity, and socioeconomic differences.
  5. Third graders will use problem solving STEM kits to enhance their learning and understanding of fables and fairy tales.
  6. Students will learn and hone their Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics skills through their use of build event kits and materials, so that they may be competitive in upcoming Science Olympiad events.
  7. Using a sensory based movement for students will help to regulate their emotions, calm them, and help them to become more focused.

Michele Tyler Fall 2018 Grants

Summaries:

A: In order to meet the diverse needs of my students, I would like to offer many different types of reading materials at many different levels for my classroom library to help my students become lifelong readers and learners.

B: Adding to and updating my classroom library to fit the needs of my current (and future) students will foster independent readers who are successful in all aspects of life.  Better readers = Better thinkers

Number of Grants Funded:  9 – Cumulative Grants Funded: 584

Amount: $5,274.57  – Cumulative Amount:  $295,291.46

Impacting Approximately 1,078 Students

Summaries:

  1. This grant will be used to host an academic book camp for students and their families.
  2. Sensory exploration boxes used as an early intervention to supplement instruction for students with and without disabilities promote communication, play, and social/emotional skills.  Increased confidence, participation, and social interaction leads to increased student independence.
  3. Freshman Biology students will be able to utilize information learned in class to perform a lockbox activity to practice their skills with information about the processes involved with DNA, RNA, and protein by breaking codes.
  4. Proficiency in STEM subjects, starting as young children, is more important than even in order for our children to be successful globally in the future.  Our children will utilize these STEM Bins throughout the week to develop critical thinking, inventing, and problem solving skills using the building materials and task cards that come with the STEM Bins.
  5. “There is no such thing as a child who hates to read, there are only children who have not found the right book.”   This is especially true for some of my 8th graders this year that have not really enjoyed reading until they were presented with some current fiction reads that pertain to things they actually care about.  Adding to and continually updating my classroom library to fit the needs of my current (and future) students will foster independent readers who are successful in all aspects of life.
  6. The goal of Fantastic Fact Finders is for all students in the second grade classroom to be exposed to and read non-fiction books at their reading levels, while using text evidence to comprehend, understand, and write about the “Fantastic Facts” content.
  7. Through exposure to diverse literature, students will develop empathy for others and realize that we are much more alike than different.
  8. The Watson Elementary School community will be implementing a Mindfulness and Social Emotional Learning curriculum based on, MindUp, which is in alignment with Indiana’s newly developed, Neuroscience focused, Social Emotional Learning Standards.

Seed Grant

The Uni library, which consists of 2 portable, custom designed bookshelves, 10 benches, and 400 books, will be driven to various public locations and displayed open-air for all to enjoy.  Lake Central students will be able to check out books that may be returned when the library returns to that location, returned to a local library, or returned to a school library at the start of school.  Anyone in the area is invited to come and enjoy reading a book or listening to one of several planned read-alouds by Lake Central teachers and administration.  The library will be deployed on Tuesday and Thursday from June 11th to August 8th from 9:00-12:00 am.

Download Rounds 41 – 50 Now