GRANT AWARDS
Round 41 - Fall, 2007 (Page 1 of 2)

PRIMARY/ELEMENTARY LEVEL AWARD

Title: Make It and Take It
Level: Elementary
School: Marion Elementary School , Belle Vernon Area School District
Contact:   Susan V. Neuman, Tanya Bitonti, Bernadette Sokol, Jane Bonari, et al

This program takes its inspiration from the successful Make It and Take It Nite for fifth graders and adapts it for a daytime event for third graders.  The children will participate with their parents in five stations, run by University of California students, designed to introduce or reinforce a variety of math concepts.

Title:  Math Fair
Level:  Elementary
School: Cardale Elementary School, Brownsville Area School District
Contact: Jolene Hough

This program intends to put fun into learning math as fourth and fifth graders host a variety of math activities for the kindergarten, first and second grade students.  Math skills that will be reinforced through the activities include: greater than/less than (duck pond), ordering (roll ’em, roll ‘em, roll ‘em), measurement (frog jumping contest), calculator skills, mystery number, and money (make a dollar) to name a few.  With the math fair activity, older students will develop their math skills further as they prepare for the event and the younger students will be inspired to see math can be fun.

Title: What Do You Want to be When You Grow Up?
Level: Elementary
School: Cardale Elementary School, Brownsville Area School District
Contact: Brandee L. Chrobak

This program seeks to show children the possibilities and opportunities offered in various careers.  By reading, interaction with community members, and participating in classroom discussions and lessons, the students will learn about what they can be when they grow up – especially careers that they may not be familiar with in their experience.  The culminating activity will be for the students to present their career dreams to their peers by drawing and/or writing of what they hope to do in their future. 

This project finds third graders learning about the human body, its organs and functions as they make a life-size human body mobile.  After learning about each organ and its role in the body, students will make a picture of the organ to glue onto a large cutout body.  After the study and the models have been completed, a display, “The Third Grade Hanging Body Museum,” will be placed in an empty hallway to be viewed by all.

Title:  Banding Together for Fitness          
Level: Elementary
School: Charleroi Elementary Center, Charleroi Area School District
Contact: Brian Corrin, Luke Mollis

This grant seeks to address the problem of students’ physical well being by adding a new dimension to their physical education program.  Introducing exercise bands to the repertoire of the students’ physical activity will improve their muscular strength, flexibility, and endurance will also improving their cardiovascular endurance.  The program will incorporate music, which will improve rhythm and coordination.  The program will be used at the beginning of each class and is adaptable for students of all needs.

Title: Pennsylvania Projects - Show What You Know
Level: Elementary
School: Charleroi Elementary Center, Charleroi Area School District
Contact: Tadem Perok, Becky Jo Spiker

Through this grant project, students will be given the opportunity to show off their knowledge, talent and creativity as they learn about their home state, Pennsylvania.  Students will make 5 projects about their state – the attractions, activities, history, timeline, map and symbols.  These projects will give students a different way to demonstrate their knowledge vs. the paper and pencil tests.

Title: ABC and 123
Level: Elementary
School: Charleroi Elementary Center, Charleroi Area School District
Contact: April Wright

This great idea will give students the opportunity to strengthen reading, writing and math skills through literature and manipulatives.  Using Alpha Tales, Word Family Tales, and Number Tales, children will be introduced to stories that deal with each letter of the alphabet and its sound, to stories with the most common word families contained in them, and to stories that are linked to number recognition and math.   Using letter/number magnets, matching pictures & letters and creating take-home-books are among the activities geared to reinforce the book lessons.  The children will also be exposed to rhymes and poetry during this project.

Title: Meet Me on the Carpet
Level: Elementary
School: Charleroi Elementary Center, Charleroi Area School District
Contact: April Wright

This idea provides an ideal place within the classroom for students to engage in physical movement, participate in small and large group activities and reinforce letters and numbers through interactive play on a colorfully designed area carpet.  A variety of strategies can be employed to involve students with different learning styles.  The area will also become the place for story time, song and dance, and playing learning games.

Title: Make the Reading/Math Connection
Level: Elementary
School:  George Washington Elementary School, McKeesport Area School District
Contact: Barbara Carey

This program will use literature to make Math more meaningful and useful to the students.  Children will be engaged in math activities related to selected children’s books.  Activities can be adapted to teach and reinforce the skills taught in Kindergarten through Grade 3.  Students preparing for the PSSAs will utilize this program, in addition to it being used in the Math Lab, classrooms and after-school tutoring.

Title: All In Together
Level: Elementary
School: Monongahela Elementary Center, Ringgold School District
Contact: Elizabeth Lewis

In this project, students will use jump-roping rhymes to integrate physical fitness, counting, reading, and writing lessons.  Students will learn the rhymes by reading and writing them in class.  They will practice jumping without a rope coordinating it to the rhymes.  Jump ropes will be used with the rhymes during recess.  This activity will promote a safe, fun physical activity while building reading fluency and strengthening counting skills.

Title: Everybody Likes a Bit of Bling
Level: Elementary
School: Monongahela Elementary Center, Ringgold School District
Contact:  Mary Jo Brady

This program adds a bit of “bling” to various 3 dimensional arts projects as students are invited to express their creativity and let their imaginations soar in their artwork.  Projects that will be enhanced through this grant include the Native American Kachinas and banners, the African Masks, and the various Mother’s Day projects.

Title:  Family Factory
Level: Elementary
School: South Allegheny Elementary School, South Allegheny School District
Contact: Gail Ungar

In an effort to promote more parental involvement in school, this program will engage students and parents in evening art sessions modeled after Andy Warhol’s Factory where his friends and artists would gather to create collaborative artworks.  After being introduced to Andy Warhol and examining some of his artwork and learning about printmaking, students will make silkscreen block prints of their hands and other images.  Completed works will be displayed at the district’s Celebration of the Arts in the spring.

Title: Clothes Across the Continents
Level: Elementary
School: South Allegheny Early Childhood Center, South Allegheny School District
Contact: Joanne Cloherty, Judi Lydon, Marianne LaBarbara, Terry Martin, Heather Sopp, Jackie Moranelli, Jen Voland, Janet Loy, Aimee Jackson, Amy Hvozdik, Joan Packrone, Lori Kline, Bethanie Patrick, Gail Ungar

This grant program will link Science, Social Studies, Music, Art, Reading and Writing lessons as students examine clothing and customs from around the world.  As an extension of the science lesson on fabrics, students will explore the world by initially looking at the clothes worn in different cultures.  They will learn about traditional clothes as related to different cultures, climates, and social settings.  The first graders will learn about Ellis Island and their own family history.  Research, reading and writing, geography, climate, language, music and art will be connected to this study.  As a culminating activity, students and their families, community members, faculty and administrators will participate in Celebrate the Arts event, a Trip Around the World, where each classroom will represent a different country and exhibit what they have learned.  The event will conclude with a musical performance that will feature song and dance from around the world.

Title: Birds Count
Level: Elementary
School: South Allegheny Elementary School, South Allegheny School District
Contact: Audrey Aubrecht, Patricia Kostik, Karen Kadar

In this great idea project groups of 30 students will participate in ongoing birding activities.  After bird behavior and identification lessons are taught in the classroom, students will participate in monthly birding events collecting and submitting data to the online PA Bird Atlas, E-Bird, and Urban Studies.  Students will also share their observations with the student body via a school bulletin board and the school television network. 

Title: WSAE - South Allgheny News Program
Level: Elementary
School: South Allegheny Elementary School, South Allegheny School District
Contact: Jennifer Randic, Kari Valletto, Marijo Speidel, Scott Schork, Pete Pascarella, Robin               Reinhard, Kris Watts, Amy Zombek, Dom Debellis, Kelly McClelland

This project will initiate a “news in the community” broadcast run by elementary students to the morning announcement broadcast.   News items will include book reviews, character education skits, sports updates, this day in history, and district/community happenings.  Academic skills of reading, writing, listening, and public speaking will be reinforced through this project as well as an awareness of the happenings in the school and community.

Title: Excellent Experiments
Level: Elementary
School: Homeville Elementary School, West Mifflin Area School District
Contact: Heather Vidic, Gina Hilligsberg

Excellent Experiments allows third and fifth grade students to conduct seasonal science experiments together.  Students will engage in monthly experiments, reading and following directions and writing lab reports. Students will also read a science related story selected literature using scientific method as a focus. Parents will be active participants in this program directly involving them in the education of their children.

Title: Proud to Be an American
Level: Elementary
School: Homeville Elementary School, West Mifflin Area School District
Contact: Heather Vidic, Jennifer Zitelli

Proud to be an American is a hands-on social studies, history, geography, reading, writing, grammar, speaking and cooperative learning project that focuses on  a monthly topic related to America’s past.  Topics include The National Anthem, the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, Betsy Ross, Benjamin Franklin, Independence Hall and the declaration of Independence, and Mount Rushmore.  Students will read stories, create a mini-book, make crafts write letters centered around each theme. The project will enable the students to make connections to history and build a lasting understanding and appreciation of their country.


Title: Read to Me
Level: Elementary
School: Jefferson Elementary School, West Jefferson Hills School District
Contact:   Michelle Gardiner, Julie Aleski

This program seeks to develop a program that will promote parent participation at home to help increase the reading abilities for below grade level readers (Title 1).  Twice a month students will sign out a book to read with their parents and complete an activity page that will include specific story structures.  The goal is to get 90% of the students and families reading at least 3 times each week resulting in reading success for each child.

The goal of this grant project is to introduce historic African American artists and their work into the art curriculum.  Students will explore new art techniques and methods. Student art works will be displayed at the Spring Exhibit of the Arts.

Title:  "Nature's Treasures" Scavenger Hunt
Level:  Elementary
School: H. W. Good Elementary School, Yough School District
Contact:  Stephanie M. Bogac, Lou Candelore, John Schmook, Leann Steban, Lynn King, Shawn            Kohlhepp, Doug Kasic

Using field guides to identify trees and birds, students will walk through local trails on a nature scavenger hunt.  Small groups of students and their parent/guardian will not only observe nature, but the effects of humans on nature.  Students will learn how to identify local trees, birds, wildflowers and landforms.  They will also record data of their discoveries including taking certain measurements.   A narrative reflection will be composed by each student about his/her observations and experience.

Title: It's Story Time
Level: Elementary
School: H. W. Good Elementary School, Yough School District
Contact: Kelly Bergman

This project will encourage children to use their dramatic creativity to retell stories read in class.  Using flannel boards, puppets, masks, and props students will practice retelling stories showing their understanding of the characters, sequence, and other details.

Title: Once Upon a Time in Kindergarten
Level: Elementary
School: Mendon Elementary School, Yough School District
Contact: Kelly Veltri, Elaine Yackovich, Rosemary  L. Castine, Magge Cales, Rachel Coletta

This grant will create a storytelling center in each Kindergarten classroom where students will have the opportunity to experience all the wonders and benefits of reading. In the center, children will listen to stories read by the teacher and at various times by parents, community members or older students in the school and the kindergarten children themselves.  Stories will come alive and become interactive through the use of flannel boards and other props.  The goal of this program is to have a more complete and comprehensive reading experience that will enhance understanding, increase vocabulary and oral skills, acquire new knowledge and develop a love of reading.

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