Our spring grant cycle for 2012 concluded with the following grant awards totaling $2,030.
K-4 Social Studies/Reading Buddies Program
Created “Reading Buddy Bins” organized around social studies topics, adding to resources already in place. The Reading Buddies Program pairs older and younger students to read and discuss books together, fostering both literacy and social studies goals. Teachers are developing lesson materials and activities for the books in the bins. The topics supported by this grant include Martin Luther King, Jr., Women’s History and United States Presidents. Elementary teachers and the elementary librarian worked together to select titles addressing the social studies curriculum and the Common Core Standards.
H.S. Living Environment Students
Students participate in an ecology field trip aboard the Cayuga Lake Floating Classroom research vessel. Students learn and conduct data collecting techniques; their data is added to a Citizen Science database. Students also take a walking, working field trip up Taughannock Creek to learn firsthand about stream ecology and geology. These outdoor experiences are prepared for and followed up with classroom discussion, graphing activities and written analysis questions.
Ulysses Philomathic Library
Two LeapFrog LeapPads were purchased to encourage young patrons (ages 2-5) and parents to enjoy stories and games in the development of early literacy skills. A family workshop teaching and exploring technology and literacy is planned.
Thank you to all of our donors for making these grants possible and the resulting educational opportunities for our students.