Past projects 4
An Environment for Diverse Sensory and Learning Needs 🤫❤️
Funded May 24, 2023Thank you so much for your kindness and generosity. As a teacher in a Title 1 school in New York City, the needs of our students can't always be met. With a classroom where the majority of students are special needs and where a proportion of those students are on the autism spectrum, a warm, inviting, and comfortable learning environment is always top-of-mind for me.
Your donations have enabled us to continue to create an environment that decreases stress and distractions for students. Students learn to share the beanbag chairs and to use them in a manner that promotes a healthy work ethic and to monitor and regulate their own physical needs. In a school where we share our physical space with three other schools, the noise, particularly noise from the classroom above us can be particularly bothersome. The chair socks you purchased for us really helps diminish noise in our room to help students focus and not be distracted by the loud banging of chairs on the floor.
Your support has be beneficial to two classes of students – those who got to use the materials at the end of last school year and my current students. Your impact has been tremendous to our learning community and I sincerely appreciate your generosity!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Thai
This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Supporter and one other donor.Comfy Classroom
Funded Sep 20, 2022Thank you again for your generosity and kindness. Since September, my students have benefited from an environment where they can feel safe and comfortable. As an educator working with students on the spectrum specifically, and with all types of learners generally, my co-teacher and I have been able to create a space where students feel willing to take risks, to understand their physical and emotional needs, and to feel a part of a learning community. The cushions you provided have helped make our shared space exactly that – complementing the warm lighting, use of stuffed animals, and break space that have turned our classroom into a space students enjoy. The cushions are so popular that we have a rotation system to allow all students who want to work on cushions to have the option to use them at least three times every two weeks. For absent students or students who don't want to use the cushions, we select alternates using a random name picker – there are never enough cushions for students who want to use them on a daily basis. They're a part of our community and students (and sometimes teachers) love them!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Thai
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 3 other donors.Printer for Books!
Funded Feb 12, 2022Thanks to your generosity, my students were able to print drafts of their stories and poetry throughout the spring as they worked to publish their book. Students could type and print hard copies of their stories to revise, give and receive feedback from their teachers and peers, and for those without technology at home, allowed them equal access to their classwork.
We worked for months on our book and in the end, my 6th graders published a book called, "Big, Juicy Stories," which included stories and artwork from their 6th grade year. They read excerpts of their stories, talked about various aspects of writing and storytelling, and sat in a panel to answer parents' questions about what it meant to be published authors.
Thank you for allowing us another means to access students' abilities and providing them with a way to work regardless of their families' means. It was a successful endeavor and couldn't have happened without your selflessness!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Thai
Curating Our Humanity: A Thematic Book Collection
Funded Aug 3, 2014My students are so excited about their new library. Not only are these titles new to them, but they're connected to big themes that help us all to understand the human condition better. Because of your generous donations, my students are doing something they've never done before -- they're writing literary analyses of themes based on these books, not because I'm telling them to, but because they're reading on their own and thinking about big ideas, the universal experiences that make us all human.
Research has shown that one of the greatest predictors of student academic achievement is the number of words they're exposed to. Reading has become so much a part of the culture in my classroom that at this point, two months into the school year, some students have met my minimum goal of 2,000 pages. Many more, however, have surpassed this goal, ranging from 3,000 - 6,000 pages read thus far! Imagine the impact of all this reading will be on their academic lives and, ultimately, their futures! You've helped make this happen and can credit for infusing great books into my students' lives.
Once again, from classes 601 and 602, thank you for your support!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Thai