Grants Update Page

OPPORTUNITY FOR CHANGE GRANT: CLASSROOM LITERATURE LIBRARY FOR PBL SENIORS

The PBL Education Foundation is pleased to announce that the first Opportunity for Change Grant for the 2009-10 school year has been awarded to Nancy Streitmatter, senior English teacher at PBL High School. Streitmatter has been awarded $500 to build a classic and contemporary world literature library for her classroom. The collection of books serves two purposes. A portion of the selections includes semi-autobiographical works specifically matched for narrative projects. The remainder of the selections includes classical works from such authors as Tolstoy, Dickens, Austen, Eliot, Wilde, Dostoyevsky, Dumas, Hugo, Tolkien, and Lewis. Contemporary author selections includes Carlos Ruiz Zafon, Salman Rushdie, Kazuo Ishiguro, Kiran Desai, Anchee Min, Hermann Hesse, Lisa See, and Dai Sijie.

In her application for the grant, Streitmatter wrote, “This year will be the first year for world literature as the focus of Senior English. I want students to see that their lives are connected to the world around them. To do so, they have to relate to different cultures and understand how those cultures were developed. They need to understand what influences an individual and his or her world. Literature from various ages and backgrounds will provide a window for that understanding. To receive a full view, students need to be exposed to literary canons as well as contemporary masterpieces.”

Streitmatter was able to purchase 68 books with the funds that she was awarded. She said, “This organization has been instrumental for me to achieve my curriculum goals. I appreciate all that you've done.”

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E-READERS COME TO PBL HIGH SCHOOL LIBRARY VIA OPPORTUNITY GRANT

Through an Opportunity for Change Grant awarded by the PBL Education Foundation, Dave Harber, librarian at PBL High School has been able to purchase 2 Sony E-readers for use by faculty and students. An e-reader allows users to download digital books and periodicals into a slim, paperback-sized device. E-ink technology displays contents to readers, even in bright sunlight. One e-reader can store 300 hundred books or more, depending on length.

In his grant application, Harber noted that e-readers are "fast becoming the preferred medium for the delivery of reading material." The rising cost of newspapers, magazines, and novels is largely responsible for creating interest in a non-traditional and more economical reading format. By purchasing two of these readers for the high schools, Harber is hoping that students and teachers will become "familiar with the means to access e-books and . . . develop a proficiency with this alternative to printed text.

Harber said that one of his main goals in purchasing the devices was "to get people talking." Teachers and students can explore uses of the readers in and out of the classroom. He predicts that as prices continue to fall, e-readers may someday replace the traditional textbook. It might well become much more economical to issue each student one electronic device loaded with five or six full textbooks than to purchase those same textbooks in the traditional format.

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WRITING CENTER ENVIRONMENT FOR ALL 5TH GRADE CLASSROOMS THANKS TO OPPORTUNITY GRANT AWARD

The PBL Education Foundation is pleased to announce that an Opportunity for Change Grant has been awarded to Lisa Niewold, fifth grade teacher at Eastlawn School. Niewold, representing all of the fifth grade classrooms, was awarded $500 so that teachers could create a writing center environment in their classrooms. Reading comprehension and critical thinking games and word magnets for sentence building were purchased with the money. In addition, teachers were able to purchase motivational supplies such as stickers and various kinds of glitter pens and gel pens.

The fifth-grade teachers have developed 5-day weekly writing plans, with Friday being the culminating day of each plan. On Fridays, students are able to use supplies that are reserved only for the writing centers. By limiting access to these motivational supplies, teachers are able to make writing time something special, a time that students are more likely to look forward to. According to Niewold, “The students can’t wait to use the fun pens and stickers to write their stories and to use the word magnets as a group to make funny sentences or poems.”

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OPPORTUNITY GRANT FUNDING BENEFITS YOUNG READERS AT PBL JUNIOR HIGH

Two groups of junior high teachers have been recent recipients of Opportunity Grants from the PBL Education Foundation. Katrina Reber and Jessica Hendershot were awarded $500 each for the purchase of Kindle e-readers and downloadable books. The two 6th grade teachers intend to establish “Kindle Corners” in their classrooms, which students can use during various times of the day--during sustained silent reading time or when they are finished with classroom activities. Unlike other e-readers, the Kindle has a “text-to-speech” feature, which will benefit struggling readers. Students can also adjust the size of the text on the screen to facilitate reading. According to both teachers, the readers will benefit their teaching because they will be “an excellent way to motivate struggling readers, provide additional learning opportunities to high-achievers, and would allow our students to have unique exposure to new educational technology.”

Another group of junior high teachers wrote grants to purchase books to add to classroom libraries in support of the “I-Read” classes. The grants were written by Jodi Coplea, 6th grade; Raquel Eshleman, 7th grade; and Charley Kietzman, 8th grade. These teachers explained that “I-Read” is a class that was created two years ago to add more reading instruction to the Jr. High schedule because they wanted to increase not only test scores, but also students’ love of reading: “It was a core group of teachers that took on creating the class and ‘teaching teachers’ how to teach it. There was no funding available, so anything spent in the classroom or time for training was all on the teachers. With a lot of hard work, sweat, and tears, the class was a success; test scores have been on the rise ever since.”

The “I-Read” concept includes libraries in many classrooms, not just in language arts. The $500 which has been granted to each of the three teachers who wrote the grants will be divided among many classrooms. The message that the teachers want to send is that “reading is everywhere and is important no matter where you are; it’s not just something you should do in a reading class.”

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JR. HIGH PANTHER MATH LEAGUE PROGRAM CREATED WITH FUNDING PROVIDED BY OPPORTUNITY GRANT

Thanks for funding from an Opportunity Grant, Rob Pacey, sixth-grade teacher at PBL Junior High School, has proposed a one-hour, once-a-week after school practice during January and February in preparation for competition in the annual Illinois Math League Competition for middle schools. Students will compete individually and as a team. There is no limit on the number of students from a school who may participate. Pacey's project grows out of his own experiences as a student at PBL. "Representing PBL in math contests at the high school level not only improved my performance in math class, but it also pushed me to excel in all subject areas," Pacey said. "I think junior high school students could also benefit from a similar experience. The Panther Math League would also seek to enhance the continued success of the PBL High School math team."

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SIXTH & SEVENTH GRADE LITERATURE/LANGUAGE ARTS PROGRAM AWARDED OPPORTUNITY GRANT FUNDING

Hillary Sawyer, sixth- and seventh-grade literature and language arts teacher uses a portfolio system in her writing instruction, through which students evaluate their progress over time by comparing current work to older work. The portfolios of each student's total writing output need to be accessible on a daily basis. Heavy portfolio boxes, which are currently being used, are bulky and in the way, she said. The new rolling portfolio carts will fit under the classroom counters where they are easily accessible during writing workshop. Then they can be rolled down the hall to the computer lab or to a neighboring classroom for conferencing or collaboration. According to Sawyer, the portfolio system "will organize and professionalize the students' work."

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$4,000 PBL GRANT TO BE USED FOR ESTABLISHING JUNIOR HIGH LEVELED LIBRARY

The PBL Junior High Problem Solving Team (PST) has been given a $4,000 PBL grant to establish a "leveled library." The grant will allow the junior high to purchase books aimed at specific reading levels. In recent years, book companies have begun offering books that are "cross-leveled." Teachers can find books which have been classified according to more than one reading-level evaluation method.

The team intends to purchase six copies of each book that is chosen so that they may be used in small groups in content area classrooms, such as science and social studies. Hillary Collier, who wrote the grant for the team, stated, "With this money we can begin to build a leveled library for teachers to use as a resource when working with students who are at or below a 5th grade reading level. These students represent our Special Education, Response to Intervention, and English Language Learner populations. All teachers will be able to pull from this leveled library to serve struggling readers in the classroom"

Collier went on to say, "The goal is that all students will be affected in some way, shape, or form. This grant will be the beginning of a leveled bookroom--the goal is for it to grow from year to year. This first year we would like to focus on struggling students. In the future, as our library grows, we would like it to reach a 12th grade or post high school level."