Teachers -- Whispercast

[rosesandpetals]

I have never used it before and just set up my class account and holy crap -- this is going to make a huge difference for them. Our school doesn't have a library (like, not a small library or a badly funded library, just no library at all) so this is going to give my kids access to so many books *for free*. And they can even get on it from home if they have the internet. And I can sort books by lexile level and "send" them to specific accounts. And it's going to stop the kids from being embarrassed about reading the "baby" books because no one can see what they're reading.

Okay, I'm sure you've heard about it so I'll stop gushing but I am so freaking excited to get this going on Monday. They don't get to read enough so this is going to really help, especially with picking books they're interested in.

[rosesandpetals]

Also, going from a private school to an extremely low-income inner city school, the difference is even worse than I imagined it would be. Like holy crap, a school without books?!

[sallyanne]

They are like ebooks they can read on the computer at school?
That is a really great idea that you are able to give them appropriate books without creating a bullying situation.

[rosesandpetals]

It is run by Amazon so you can read all the amazon e-books on it. Tons of them are free, some you have to buy so I will probably buy a couple but mostly use the free ones to "send" to their accounts.

It wasn't bullying so much as they were just self-conscious for other kids to see the books they were reading so they act out to get sent out of the room instead of reading. They get pulled to work with a specialist but it just wasn't enough time.

[auroraloo]

If your school doesn't have a library, what do kids read???

Have you started a classroom library?

[rosesandpetals]

They have a reading textbook with stories in it and leveled readers we do in small groups. That's it. I have a handful of kids who I know read at home but the rest don't get any practice.

Of course I have a classroom library but it doesn't have nearly enough books. My school is considered one of the highest poverty schools in the area. My administration right now is fantastic and working on funding for a library but a few years ago I guess there were issues and they're still recovering from that.

We have a 3rd grade reading guarantee in my state. All these free e-books are going to make a huge difference for them. Huge.

[dizzycooks]

That's an awesome resource, I know nothing about so thanks for sharing. Also, have you done a donors choose project? Get in it stat!! Get a classroom library, books bags and get those books going home! Do you use scholastic? Would your kids buy anything? Even small purchases would help you add to your library!

[rosesandpetals]

The 1st grade teacher has been here for 8 years and she said she's only ever had 4 scholastic forms returned. I don't know if they can't afford it or don't care that much or both. We had parent teacher conferences last week and one parent showed up. One. I have 24 students. It's really sad.

I submitted a donation request to half price books, apparently the one near me is very generous with giving away boxes and boxes of books.

I mean, I do what I can but there's really no replacing a library... whispercast is going to make a huge difference, though. I'm really excited about it.

[lexus]

Oct 24, 2015 21:19:37 GMT -5 rosesandpetals said:

The 1st grade teacher has been here for 8 years and she said she's only ever had 4 scholastic forms returned. I don't know if they can't afford it or don't care that much or both. We had parent teacher conferences last week and one parent showed up. One. I have 24 students. It's really sad.

I submitted a donation request to half price books, apparently the one near me is very generous with giving away boxes and boxes of books.

I mean, I do what I can but there's really no replacing a library... whispercast is going to make a huge difference, though. I'm really excited about it.

How do you currently buy books? I don't have much to donate but you are breaking my heart over here. I'd be happy to mail you a giftcard or donate on donors choose.

[auroraloo]

Roses, do a donorschoose project, for real. I would donate to it. Write up the project and once it's approved, post the link here, or on FB and I'll donate. If you're not on Twitter as a teacher, get on Twitter, and psot it there too. Do some Twitter chats, and get recommendations.

Booksource.com sometimes runs contests to get a brand new library with over 500 books, check into sites and look at those too.

Even if your students can't order from Scholastic, make yourself an account, and when you buy books from there, you get bonus points on your purchases too, which you can turn around and use to purchase more books, or other resources you may need.

[rosesandpetals]

I will look into booksource. 500 books sounds amazing.

I made a donors choose project but it is still being approved. Thanks, that's nice of you... I've never done donors choose before and I wasn't sure how interested people usually are in donating. I'll post the link here once it gets approved.

[usm]

Check out First Book. They would be a great resource for your class and your school. They give books for free or very low cost to low income schools.

[auroraloo]

Oct 24, 2015 22:59:08 GMT -5 rosesandpetals said:

I will look into booksource. 500 books sounds amazing.

I made a donors choose project but it is still being approved. Thanks, that's nice of you... I've never done donors choose before and I wasn't sure how interested people usually are in donating. I'll post the link here once it gets approved.

I've done several donors choose projects, and I have one awaiting approval right now I've gotten mp3 players for audio books, 10 audio books, an Amazon Echo, and I'm awaiting approval on an Echo remote and a lit circle set of "All-American Boys". I love donors choose. 

Also, during the first week of your project, they usually give you a code that people can put in to double their donation at no cost to the donor. I got my Amazon Echo ($250 project) funded in 3 days because of that code, I only needed $125 in donations. So that first week, promote the hell out of it on social media. 

Also, if you're union, check with your union's website, they also have listings of grants you can write. I can hook you up with some peer-reviewed research that proves a classroom library is just as, if not more, important as a school library. 

There's also www.adoptaclassroom.org which isn't as popular, but it is free. 

[quesyrah]

What type of books do you need? I would be happy to donate actual books or money/GCs so you can choose what your kids need.

[rosesandpetals]

Oct 25, 2015 11:38:23 GMT -5 quesyrah said:

What type of books do you need? I would be happy to donate actual books or money/GCs so you can choose what your kids need.

I teach 3rd but a lot of my kids are below grade level. Most of their lexiles are 300 - 500, a few are lower. Really any genre as I don't have many books in my library. I will post the donors choose link here but if you want to send books, I can PM you the school address. Thanks so much, I really appreciate it.

[auroraloo]

When you advertise your DC link, make sure to mention it's tax-deductible! That helps some people over the edge of donating.

[mamaalysson]

Oct 25, 2015 12:37:55 GMT -5 rosesandpetals said:

Oct 25, 2015 11:38:23 GMT -5 quesyrah said:

What type of books do you need? I would be happy to donate actual books or money/GCs so you can choose what your kids need.

I teach 3rd but a lot of my kids are below grade level. Most of their lexiles are 300 - 500, a few are lower. Really any genre as I don't have many books in my library. I will post the donors choose link here but if you want to send books, I can PM you the school address. Thanks so much, I really appreciate it.

I have boxes of my old classroom library books that are just packed away in my attic, I taught K, but think I have some early chapter books. PM your school address and I'll see what I can put together for you.

[dizzycooks]

Same. I'll send you some things if you pm me.

[rosesandpetals]

mamaalysson and dizzycooks PM's sent!

[jcm]

Same here. PM me what you need. DD's school is having a book fair at her school next week so if there is anything from Scholastic in particular let me know & I can get it for your. DH also mentioned that Costco most often has sets of Scholastic books and they're like a dollar a book. If you set up the Donors Choice thing post the link & I will donate. It's heartbreaking to hear of a school with such little resources. DD goes to a small private school & we're helping to build their stock of books for their small but growing library. We'd love to help another school do the same.

[quesyrah]

PM me too please

[rosesandpetals]

Thanks so much everyone. All these donations will make a huge difference for them. PM's sent!

[NandaB]

Oct 26, 2015 6:38:33 GMT -5 rosesandpetals said:

Thanks so much everyone. All these donations will make a huge difference for them. PM's sent!

Me too! I have some paperbacks from my classroom that I'm not using. I am happy to send them your way.