While I don’t have any pictures I do have stories about how amazing Secret Stories have been in supporting phonics in my classroom. My most struggling students this year made HUGE gains in their reading and writing due in part (a huge part) to Secret Stories that I was able to purchase through the grant provided by the Escondido Education Foundation. The little stories that “explained” letters making new sounds together was just the hook my student needed. Students were using phonics patterns in their writing that hadn’t been officially taught yet and they were eager to learn new secrets each week. Imagine that! Excited about learning phonics patterns!!! Students would bring writing up to me and I had to ask if anyone had helped them, their answer was always “no, I looked at the Secret Stories.” After seeing the huge gains in all things reading and writing that were made in less than a full school year I can not wait to see how much it helps my students next year!
As for the wireless microphone balls, those have been great as well. They ended up being a bit more work than expected so they don’t come out as often as I anticipated which actually makes them even more exciting when they do come out! Students WANT to participate because they get to use the microphone ball.
A HUGE thank you to EEF for providing the funds for this project! It has made a huge impact on my students this year, it will make a huge impact next year and it has given me something new to be excited about each day. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!
– Stephanie Schiman, Rose Elementary