Mrs. Somma's Classroom Edit display name

Current requests

Past projects 58

• Technology Free Time

  Funded May 11, 2024

  Thank you so much for providing resources for "technology free" time for our classroom. We try to implement a "fun Friday" at least once a month for the last thirty minutes of the day. During this time, students love to do puzzles and create artwork. We also utilize the materials on inclement weather days, meaning it is raining or too windy to go outside for recess. Going "old school" as they call it is a fun and special treat.

  With standardized testing right around the corner, having screen free activities will definitely be needed. After testing in the morning, students definitely deserve some puzzle and mad libs time in the afternoon. Thank you for providing these resources for my students.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Somma

  This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 2 other donors.

• Cooking Up SEL Lessons With Julia

  Funded Mar 4, 2024

  Thank you so much for blessing our classroom with new books. Focusing on social emotional learning while building our classroom community is such a passion project. Students continue to feel the social ramifications of extended time from school, so finding ways to build community with the help of new read alouds helps them to feel successful.

  My students are starting to realize that many of the characters in Julia Cook's books overlap. They love noticing how the characters not only face some of the challenges that they face (an intentional teaching decision), but also appear within the same class. It's so special to watch them have conversations about how to solve problems involving fictional characters, and then apply these skills to their own lives. By using fictional examples instead of themselves, they access the material and content in a non-threatening way. These books are helping my students learn to solve their own problems. Thank you for being a part of this magic.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Somma

• Clearing the Air

  Funded Nov 6, 2023

  Thank you so much for helping this project come to life! Keeping everyone healthy with a classroom air purifier definitely makes a difference, especially during allergy season! We will be using this for years to come!

  We are also grateful for our new books, which we have been sharing with fellow classrooms. I even visited some kindergarten classrooms during reading week to share the love of these new books. Getting kids excited about books is one of the best parts of being a teacher. Sharing stories, talking about the characters, the book's message, and making connections to both our own lives and other stories is a pillar of our classroom. Thank you for blessing us with new materials.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Somma

  This classroom project was brought to life by Nevada Department of Education.

• Ready for Reading

  Funded Sep 7, 2023

  Thank you so much for donating to our classroom. We have been working our way through our beautiful new books and having powerful conversations. Sometimes the books like That Flag bring out tears and address uncomfortable topics while others make us giggle. Books like Baller Ina inspire students to not just be "one thing" but rather fit into as many boxes as they like. The Noise Inside Boys helps us discuss emotions and that everyone, not just girls, are encouraged to name their feelings and talk about them.

  Each book seems to be a new favorite and we are now able to draw such amazing connections between texts. Reading together is one of the best parts of our day. Thank you for giving us new books.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Somma

  This classroom project was brought to life by The Peterson Family and 2 other donors.

• Laughter and Learning

  Funded Jul 31, 2023

  Thank you so much for donating to our classrooms! We are enjoying our daily read alouds with our goal of over 100 books shared this year. We are reading the book while practicing different reading skills such as making predictions, examining the illustrations, and connecting with the characters.

  So far, we don't have a class favorite because each one is our new favorite! Having common text to connect with helps us to build community and have important conversations about social-emotional skills. We are also sharing the books around the school so that we widen our impact. Thank you again!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Somma

  This classroom project was brought to life by SONIC Foundation and 6 other donors.

• Scientists

  Funded Jun 8, 2023

  Thank you so much for helping me make science fun for our students! We kicked off our young scientists unit by exploring astronauts and space. We read aloud about Dr. Mae Jemison and then created our own constellations. We practiced our fine motor skills with threading constellations, looked at the planets, and talked about all the cool things astronauts do!

  Our next unit will explore magnets and create mazes to go along with picture books. Thank you so much for helping us bring science to life in our elementary classrooms!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Somma

• Transforming Our School

  Funded Oct 9, 2021

  Thank you so much for contributing to our project. We were able to create transformation boxes for not only my students to use, but that we shared with the entire school! We have enjoyed a dinosaur day, rocked our school for the first time, and have many more exciting transformations coming up!

  Perhaps my favorite that we've done so far is in collaboration with Get Your Teach On for Rock Your School. We used our glow sticks and black lights to create a festive learning environment. Our principal ordered the whole staff matching shirts and we laid down red carpet butcher paper for the students to make their grand entrance. Each classroom was able to put their own unique spin on the spirited day of learning, which was so great to see!

  My students had a memorable learning experience, but more importantly, we were able to collaborate and ensure that multiple classes had the same opportunity. Thank you for helping our school be successful with our roll out of transformations as provided by your generous support!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Somma