Past projects 17
Bringing Creativity & Mental Wellness Into The Classroom Post Pandemic
Funded Sep 16, 2021Thank you so much for supporting me and my students. My students this year hold a very special place in my heart, as they were formerly my 3rd graders during the beginning of the pandemic and now they are my 5th graders. I was very excited to get them back into my classroom and wanted to make this year fun and exciting or them.
When my students first saw the resources they were not sure what the Cricut machine was and how we would be using it. Once I showed them what it could do, this project took on a life of its own and is changing every day. They were eager to share their ideas for how we can use this to improve our school community both physically and socially.
My students have decided that they will design their own slogans or recreate slogans they have seen that are inspirational and motivating to others. They are also working on reminders for others to become more active in taking care of our Earth.
As my students graduate this year they will be leaving us, however their mark will be left as we transfer their slogans and designs into vinyl slogans that will fill our hallways. We are trying hard to instill character traits in our students that will help make our world a better place.
My next steps for this project will be to create individual t shirts and reusable water bottles with my future classes. Thanks again for helping me bring this project to life and for giving my students a feeling of empowerment to become an active part in making changes in our world they want to see.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. DeChirico
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill Gates and 11 other donors.Protect Our iPad
Funded Jan 2, 2021Thank you so much for helping me get a protective case for my classroom I Pad. I am now able to walk around my classroom with my I Pad to assist my students without being afraid it will shatter if it falls. It is also helpful for me at home while teaching remotely because the stand on the case allows me to keep the I Pad standing up next to my laptop so that I have a clear view of my students while I am teaching from my lap top.
The I Pad pen is very useful for teaching math especially. I can share my screen and model my mathematical thinking for my students on the screen as easily as I would be able to write with pencil and paper. This allows me to easily reach my students while maintaining social distancing when we are in the classroom as well as when we are working remotely.
Thank you for giving me the materials I need to help make this challenging school year feel a little less stressful and overwhelming.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. DeChirico
iPad needed to Support Remote Learners
Funded Dec 1, 2020Thank you so much for helping me get an I Pad for my classroom. The I Pad has been useful for me both in the classroom during in person learning as well as at home for remote learning. It has made the challenges of teaching in a blended learning environment much more manageable for me and my students.
When I am working with students in the classroom and they are having difficulty navigating some of the programs we use or accessing assignments that are posted I can go into the google classroom as a student and assist my students in trouble shooting. I am able to go through the motions as a student on my device and then I can walk my students through the same process step by step while being able to maintain social distancing protocols that are in place in our school building.
During remote learning the I Pad is very useful to help me view my students in a google meet in 1 screen while I am teaching while I am viewing the work they are working on in the moment on my lap top in google classroom. This is very helpful because it allows me to monitor both the engagement and focus of my students while they are working in addition to being able to offer them immediate feedback on their current work.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. DeChirico
This classroom project was brought to life by FamilyAlbum and 6 other donors.Health and Safety First
Funded Sep 17, 2020Thank you so much for al of the PPE supplies I have received. Having multiple re useable masks is very helpful so that I have a new mask available for each day. The children's disposable masks have made it much easier to help my kids when they come into school with face coverings that are too big for them. Having the disposable kid masks also gives me the ability to replace their masks if they fall on the floor or get dirty during the day.
I am most thankful for the hand sanitizer, gloves and disinfecting wipes. The gloves help me safely assist my students in disposing of their breakfast and lunch since they are now eating in the classroom. They are also used when I wipe down the students desks multiple times throughout the day.
The hand sanitizer is kept right by the entrance of my classroom door. My students use it each time they enter and leave the classroom. They also have it easily accessible to use before they eat. It also comes in very handy when the kids need to blow their nose, they know to use hand sanitizer to get rid of those germs.
These materials are helping me and my students feel safe and healthy during in person learning.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. DeChirico
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose 20th Anniversary Fund and 9 other donors.Engaging Remote Learners With a Document Camera and Mindfulness Activities
Funded Oct 23, 2020I am so grateful to everyone that has donated to this project. One of the biggest challenges I face is that my students can not see what I am reading to them. The document camera has come in just the right time to help with that.
I am now studying non fiction reading and writing with my students. With the use of the document camera I can show my students the non fiction text features that good readers use to help them learn information. I can model how good readers don't just glance over photographs, but they use them to connect to the information they are reading. Being able to see these colorful real life photographs in the book we are reading for read aloud as well as using for them during our strategy lessons is so helpful in increasing student engagement and increasing comprehension. I can also model and point out other features and how we use them such as captions, scanning a table of contents to choose what part to read, using headings and subheading to think about main idea and details, using a glossary, etc.
I am very excited to begin incorporating the mindfulness and calming activities into our morning meetings. It is so important right now to work on helping our students deal with their emotions during this pandemic.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. DeChirico
This classroom project was brought to life by OshKosh B'gosh and 3 other donors.Bringing Diversity Into the Classroom
Funded Mar 2, 2020My student were beyond thrilled to see all of the new books that have been added to my library. I now have 3 baskets of books with diverse characters. As soon as these books were added into my library the kids could not wait to get their hands on them.
I noticed that the amount of time reading as well as student engagement has increased. The kids could not wait to read their books and return them so that they could then choose another one. Being able to read about characters that are like them and their classmates was very important to them. It gives them a sense and feeling of self worth as well as compassion and empathy for their classmates.
These books could not have come at a better time. I look forward to using them with my new class next year, especially to help promote equality in a time where there are so many uncertain things happening and such horrifying events around culture.
Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who donated to this project!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. DeChirico
This classroom project was brought to life by A group of anonymous donors and 5 other donors.Color our World!
Funded Dec 27, 2019Thank you so much for getting my students the color ink and paper they needed in order to complete our non fiction writing unit. They kids were extremely engaged and excited about publishing their information books.
Each student had the opportunity to research their topic with me to find images to help them come up with ideas for new chapters or important details they could add into their information books. Many of the students included their images in their final projects. They included photographs and wrote their own captions just like real world published authors do.
I look forward to continuing bringing color into all of our work this year! Thanks again!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. DeChirico
Color Our World!
Funded Nov 18, 2019Thank you so much for all of your donation that helped me bring a color printer into my classroom. It came at the perfect time. It was very helpful in keeping my students engaged and enthusiastic about our non fiction writing unit.
The kids used the color printer to print images about their topic that they chose to write their information books about. Each child was able to search for images that could spark ideas for chapters they could write to teach others about the topics they each felt they were an expert on.
My students were very proud of their final products. The color printer helped the kids include color photos to help them make their books look more like real world non fiction books. It really helped them feel like real published authors.
My students and I can not thank you enough!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. DeChirico
This classroom project was brought to life by PLUS1 and Beast Coast and 11 other donors.Getting Fit While Helping End Child Hunger!
Funded Jun 10, 2019My class is so excited about being able to help other children that are not as fortunate as them. They are very motivated to be active and I have noticed that they are building a strong sense of community. Each of them knows that they play an important role in the team we created with UNICEF Kid Power.
I have noticed that many of the students check in with each other to see how many steps they have and have been saying kind and encouraging words to support and motivate each other. We have been doing a check in 1-2x per week on our class dashboard and leader board to view our progress as a class.
Our next step is to increase our activity level within the classroom with brain breaks. The kids are excited that they will be getting out extra energy through dance and singing each day in the morning and in the afternoon.
My class from last year still checks in with me and is checking to see that my new class is keeping the mission going. "Super heroes spread kindness all around the world!" It is so great to see that they see the value behind helping and spreading kindness to others. This is my most successful project so far. Thank you to all of the donors who supported this mission and helped make it a reality for my class.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. DeChirico
Getting Fit While Helping End Child Hunger!
Funded Dec 13, 2018My class is so excited about being able to help other children that are not as fortunate as them. They are very motivated to be active and I have noticed that they are building a strong sense of community. Each of them knows that they play an important role in the team we created with UNICEF Kid Power.
I have noticed that many of the students check in with each other to see how many steps they have and have been saying kind and encouraging words to support and motivate each other. We have been doing a check in 1-2x per week on our class dashboard and leader board to view our progress as a class.
Our next step is to increase our activity level within the classroom with brain breaks. The kids are excited that they will be getting out extra energy through dance and singing each day in the morning and in the afternoon.
They are eager to share our project with other kids within the school and our class door decorations reflect the work we are doing. "Super heroes spread kindness all around the world!" We are getting others interested in getting involved in this cause as well. It is so great to see that they see the value behind helping and spreading kindness to others. This is my most successful project so far. Thank you to all of the donors who supported this mission and helped make it a reality for my class.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. DeChirico
This classroom project was brought to life by US Fund for UNICEF and 14 other donors.