Past projects 10
Match Me! Show ME!
Funded Mar 4, 2024Having these materials for my students to use has been so helpful. The impact of having a student's marker drying out and them simply getting up and taking a new one has been incredible. I no longer get interrupted or have to tell them I'm sorry but they will need to get paper and pencil instead.
My class is so excited to have whiteboards. We had a mismatch of them and now each student has one with a lined and blank side and they can easily all match me and what I ask them to do. The lined side really helps with them printing neatly. It wasn't even something I thought of and is an unexpected bonus.
Thank you so much. We are so blessed by your generosity.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Zawadzki
This classroom project was brought to life by Kleenex and one other donor.Show What You Know!
Funded Sep 18, 2023Having dry erase markers and erasers for my students to use on their individual whiteboards has been so amazing. My class uses them daily, specifically during phonics and math. Due to the fact that these were a class donation, my students treat them with so much care. They understand that strangers thought of them and went out of their way to help them succeed so we have lost very few.
When we are learning and using these resources and a marker dries out, I no longer need to panic about where I will get a new one. I am able to reach into my desk, hand that student a new marker and have minimal distraction to my lesson. This is so helpful as the less distractions there are the easier it is to keep them engaged.
My students and I are very lucky to now focus on what matters most which is showing me what they know. Thanks so much!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Zawadzki
Organization Is Key to Success
Funded Aug 18, 2023We have begun reorganizing our library and these new bins are amazing. We are so excited to have bins that are not taped together. I had some of my students unpack the boxes and they were so excited. Others were so excited to help put the books in the baskets while others browsed to pick a new book for our DEAR time.
As we continue to organize and place books in baskets I am so excited to hear them talk about how we should arrange the books. Some want to go by genre while others think we should use different color baskets for different levels. I think we might arrange them a few different times before we all agree on what we like best.
Thank you so much for helping give my students an amazing opportunity to grow their love of reading and to be able to take part in the process of arranging a classroom library. We are forever grateful!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Zawadzki
This classroom project was brought to life by The SONIC Foundation and 10 other donors.Staying in the Zone While Teaching from Home!
Funded May 5, 2020I am starting off my first school year remotely and am so grateful for your generosity in the spring. The materials I received not only helped my spring class but will continue helping me with my new class. Being fully remote is not something I have ever done and having so many materials to get started is amazing.
I know my students in the spring enjoyed all the read alouds as did I, but the math manipulatives were my favorite. It is something I used daily in my classroom and to all of a sudden have no access to them was tough. The first day I was able to use, the ones that I received, from my house, my class was overjoyed and my ease of teaching improved greatly.
Thanks so much and I look forward to seeing these same impacts this fall.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Zawadzki
This classroom project was brought to life by SONIC Drive-In and 4 other donors.I Do! We Do! You Do!
Funded Dec 31, 2019I can not even believe how much impact this document camera has had on my class and I have it less than a week. I have used the document camera to teach math and phonics but I must say that my favorite thing to use it for is read alouds. With so many English language learners in my class it is so helpful for them to see a teacher's finger pointing to the words being read. It also projects the book much larger than when just reading directly out of it, so small details in the illustrations can be magnified. Students are loving coming up and pointing to words they are not understanding or parts of the pictures they are using to help them answer the questions during the read aloud. This document camera has also allowed for students to read part of the book that is being read aloud to their classmates. My student teacher and I are loving it and as a class we can not thank you enough and are so appreciative of your generous donations.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Zawadzki
This classroom project was brought to life by Verizon and one other donor.Back to the Basics!
Funded Sep 12, 2019My class and I are so grateful for all the amazing supplies. They were so excited to get all the supplies. Their faces lit up as they opened the boxes. They were so thrilled with all the supplies but were most excited about the notebooks and dry erase markers.
On Thursday each student got to chose a notebook and we began learning about scientists and the importance of keeping notes on what they observe while running experiments. Normally the students just want to do the experiment and be done. These kids were so thrilled to take notes with their brand new pencils and record their observations in their new journal.
In math we do daily lessons and a big chunk of that is on whiteboards. Giving each student their own marker to use and allowing them to pick the color they wanted also has made a big difference. One student asked " When this marker dries out I can I get a new one?" To be able to tell him we had plenty thanks to your generous donation was an amazing feeling. Normally I would say, only if we have extra. Thanks so much!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Zawadzki
It's All About the Proof!
Funded Aug 30, 2017My students were so excited to get the new clipboards, dry erase boards and colored pencils! I have used all these supplies a few times since they arrived last week and already see such an impact. The clipboards are perfect for getting up close to the board to copy a chart and I have begun my plan for teaching the class how to use them for note taking during read aloud. We even made a fancy box to store them.
The dry erase boards and markers make math so fun. When I told them they were not going to need paper and pencil to do our fluency but instead we were going to use the dry erase markers and boards the class was so excited. One student even asked if they could store them in their cubbies instead of in the math center which was my original plan.
When they opened the colored pencils they all thought they would be for drawing or coloring. When I told them they could use them sometimes for that but that my plan was using them to keep our notes organized they were very excited. Yesterday they used blue pencil to box the nouns during grammar. They thought that was pretty cool.
Thanks so much for your generosity! My class is one lucky group of kids thanks to all of you!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Zawadzki
This classroom project was brought to life by Sergey Brin Family Foundation and 3 other donors.The World Around Me is Exciting, Teach Me About It!
Funded Dec 16, 2015I am so excited to have these beautiful new books as part of my classroom library. My scholars are just as excited. They arrived just in time for wrapping up one of the two informational text units I teach in reading. The next unit will begin in the spring. In the past, I found myself scrambling to come up with quality texts at appropriate levels and now I have exactly what I need to successfully teach these two units.
These books are great for helping me teach text features. Many of these books have beautiful maps, charts, graphs, and photographs to support the learning. I sat back yesterday and watched as my students began their performance task; create a text feature book that states various features and how they help you as a reader of informational text. My class did not have to borrow books or find books at their levels; they all had informational texts in their independent reading bags thanks to your donation to guide them through this task.
In the spring they will begin learning how to compare multiple texts on the same topic and become experts on a topic. As I collect the books at the end of this unit I will have scholars help me organize them by topic so they will be ready for our next unit. We be be organizing them in our new book bins. My scholars now have multiple books on space, pets, animals, insects, and so much more. I know I have plenty of choices to engage all my scholars and I can't wait to watch the wonder in their eyes as they become experts and have an opportunity to really delve deep into many topics.
I cannot thank you enough! From the bottom of my heart thank you for giving these scholars a chance to experience quality texts and giving them the opportunity to share these books with their family and friends and to become excited to learn about the world around them.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Zawadzki
For the Love of Reading!
Funded Dec 12, 2014Thank you so much for funding my project! My students love the new books and the listening center. The animal books came at the perfect time as we were just about to begin our informational text unit in reading. The bright photographs and the bold headings really help my students understand text features. The fact that I have 6 copies of each text allows me to use them in a small group setting as well.
The listening center is a huge hit! So many of my reluctant readers are now begging to read.The wireless headphones help keep the center easily accessible as we don't have tangled cords or a storage issue. The audio books came with 4 copies of each and my class has found a nice routine to use the center and then transition to writing about what they read. For many of my students hearing the story and following along in the book makes writing about books so easy.
My teaching has been impacted in such a positive was as it is so easy to teach eager learners. All my scholars want to read and write and even get excited about it now, before these new resources I could only say this about some of my class. Before the new books and the listening center I was struggling to come up with multiple copies of the same text to use in strategy groups. Now I have access to so many great books.and I am now well on my way to getting all my learners where they need to be to smoothly transition to grade 3 next year.
I am sorry this took some time but as you may already know we were hit with unusual amount of snow this winter and we had many snow days. I wanted to really use and enjoy your donations before I sent a heartfelt thank you. I can not thank you all enough! Thanks again from the bottom of my heart!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Zawadzki
This classroom project was brought to life by People's United Community Foundation People's Unit and 11 other donors.Reading is Great but My Classroom Library is out of Date
Funded May 20, 2009I can not begin to thank you enough for your generosity. The books and book bins you donated to my class were much needed. I can not tell you enough how much my class is enjoying them. My goal as a teacher is for all my students to love reading and these books are really helping with that. I have students of all levels and now I have books to match all their needs. Each year I am given $100 to spend on my class and since I am a newer teacher I needed a lot of materials. I was able to get a few books but nothing like what you donated. Included in these books are texts from many genres, that is so important. The informational texts are great for building vocabulary and the students who are reading those are already using new words. It is great to hear them so proud of themselves. At recess time they brag to their friends about all the great books they received. They are also bragging about all the information they are learning. Some students are even teaching others the new words they are learning. Reading is becoming fun for them and as a teacher you could not ask for more than that. Because of your kindness many students for years to come are going to enter my class knowing that they have access to quality books. Without donors like you my library would be less that average, now it is so much more.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Zawadzki