Past projects 6
Making Thinking Visible
Funded Jan 23, 2023I cannot thank you enough for your generous donation. The children's faces lit up when I pulled out the chart paper and they realized that we could continue making our thinking visible. Learning a new language isn't an easy task. Students were very excited when I printed out our English picture dictionary with words and added them to their folder. In this particular activity shown in the photograph, students were working together in small groups writing simple sentences based off the pictures. My students were so excited to use their folders with the resources inside of it while showing their thinking on chart paper. They expressed how helpful it was to have the English dictionary and how it made it easier for them to form simple sentences. Now anytime they are asked to write, my students quickly ask if they are able to use the folder with the resources in it. I love this! I no longer feel like I'm "torturing" them when we need to write.
The labels and sleeve protectors are very useful. I type out their writing assignment and stick it in their notebook. Now students know what the prompt was without writing it down or having to recall the question. The sheet protectors hold students' friendly writing rubric. After each writing assignment, students take out their rubric and whiteboard marker to grade themselves or a peer's writing. Then we discuss what the next steps are and students give some strategies on how to get there.
Thank you for assisting me in giving my children the tools that they need to support their learning. This donation has helped my students grow and have made me a very proud teacher.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Fittipaldi
Classroom Necessities
Funded Jan 7, 2022We are so grateful to the new resources you generously donated to us. The students always have clean desks to work on, wipes to clean their hands and pencils with which to write. The lamination sheets have made it easy to create interactive rubrics and a checklist for my students to give themselves feedback on their work and make sure they have completed the assignments. Having these sheets laminated makes such a difference. The students can use the rubrics/checklist over and over again and we don't use as much paper. The pocket charts have been very helpful. Each class has their own pocket chart showing what they are learning. This system is more efficient and now I don't waste instructional time changing the information in the pocket chart for each specific classes I teach. Lastly, our students in K-2 are in love with the reading capes. They come in, grab a cape, sit down and begin reading without being prompted. The capes and masks have given them the confidence they needed to read and write in English.
When my students saw the materials for the first time, they were very excited! One child screamed, "Wow I'm going to be smart like batman!" Other, students wanted to begin cleaning the desks even though I just did that. All students were very excited for the reading capes. I wasn't expecting something so simple could get my students excited about learning how to read.
We have been learning about animals (pets and wild animals). The next steps with my kindergarteners are to put letters, words, and simple sentences we have been learning on the bulletin boards in the hallway and giving my students an opportunity to read them to the older grades. My first and second grade group has been learning how to read words with four sounds and reading fluently. Students will continue to put on their capes and reading like rock stars!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Fittipaldi
This classroom project was brought to life by Clorox and 3 other donors.Becoming a Stronger Reader
Funded Jan 30, 2019I cannot thank you enough for your generous donation. The children's faces lit up when we opened the boxes and we pulled the items out. I could hear the children say, "Wow, I like all the colors.", and "That's the game for me to know English?!, Yay, I like it." My students have so much to say and the with new materials are encouraging my older students to read more difficult passages. They are enjoying them as well as the colorful pictures. When I first introduced the passages, I could hear the students whisper to each other "I like the colorful passages", "I can see the pictures.", "I hope all the reading stuff is like this." While reading our first passages, I heard more vocabulary, students diving deep into the text, such as retelling, the main idea & details, compare & contrast text, etc., and conversations about the text with other students. The students who aren't proficient in English are playing English Language Learning games to increase vocabulary, sorting abilities, reading comprehension etc. These games are colorful, fun and the students are learning at the same time. They are motivated, happy and engaged. They want to learn and look forward to new passages or games (sorting and reading games). As a teacher, it is exciting to have students who want to learn and are asking, "what are we learning today?" with a smile on their face.
Children who are learning a new language need more opportunities to practice skills in that language. Reading, writing, and having conversations in a new language can be a difficult task. This is where these materials support children and their learning. The games allow children to practice skills independently. The nonfiction and fiction passages challenge my students to compare and contrast literature and prepare them for the third grade ELA (English Language Arts) test. All these materials will help my kindergarten through third graders with the NYSESLAT (New York State English as a Second Language Achievement Test).
Some of our students came to school in September only speaking Arabic or Spanish. These materials will help all my students learn conversational skills, vocabulary, read higher level text and be able to discuss elements of the passages. Thank you for assisting and supporting me in helping build my students English skills. The goal is to help all students become proficient in the English language. With explicit instruction and choice time to practice skills learned; our goals can be meet. This donation has increased my student's growth in vocabulary and reading. This has made me a very proud teacher.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Fittipaldi
Making Learning Meaningful!
Funded Feb 23, 2018I cannot thank you enough for your generous donation. The children's faces lit up when we opened the boxes and we pulled the items out. I could hear the children say, "Yes! I like the computer games.", and "I want to play this one." My students have so much to say and now with new material it makes reviewing these skills fun and meaningful. Students get the opportunity to practice skills on the computer independently. They earn computer time when they complete their work. My students are motivated, happy and engaged. They want to learn and look forward to playing games on the computer.
Children who are learning a new language need more opportunities to practice skills in that language. Reading and writing in a new language can be a difficult task. This is where these materials support children and their learning. The phonics kits allow children to practice reading independently. We used the vocabulary cards for sorting, reading and writing activities. The nonfiction and fiction writing kits help children to feel successful during a challenging time in their day. The picture support assists the child. They know the procedure; look at each picture, organize thoughts and say what they would like to write. This gives the children an opportunity to visually plan out their writing.
Some of our students came to school in September only speaking Arabic or Spanish. Now these students have learned conversational skills, following rules/directions, the alphabet, and letter sounds. Some students have started reading and writing independently. Thank you for assisting and supporting me in Making Learning Meaningful. The goal is to help all students become proficient in the English language. With explicit instruction and choice time to practice skills learned; our goals can be meet. This donation has help my students grow and has made me a very proud teacher.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Fittipaldi
Eager Readers
Funded Apr 19, 2017I cannot thank you enough for your generous donations. The children's faces lit up when I pulled the new-leveled books out of the boxes. I could hear the children say, "Yes! More books.", "I can read the next level.", and "I want to read that book first." The leveled books have pushed children to practice the Reading Super Powers (strategies) taught. We use the Teachers College Reading Workshop Program. This program teaches, empowers and increases confidence in our students. We learn how to use our Super Powers (such as pointer powers, rereading powers, partner power, picture power, sound power, persistent power, snap word (sight word) power, book talking power) to read books on all levels. But to especially practice our Super Powers in a book above our level. We learn how to read and discuss books with partners, in a whole group and independently. We have discussed and sorted the books into nonfiction and fiction piles, talked about elements of each type of books and retold or gave information about the books. My students have so much to say and now with new material it makes reviewing these skills fun again.
We have a Reading Road set up in our classroom. Each "garage" has a letter A-I on it, children's cars drive up the Reading Road to the level where they can independently read. At the end of every month, children are tested and cars are moved to the appropriate garage. In the month of May, twenty out of twenty-two students moved one or move levels. Everyone received an award for their hard work in counting to use their Super Powers.
We received our books just in time. Students were able to "book shop" on Friday with new-leveled books to read over the weekend and following week. The children were excited and it helped motivate them to get to the next level. I am proud to say that almost all my children are on or above grade level. Some children are reading at the middle or end of a first grade level. Thank you for assisting me in giving my children a strong reading foundation in their academic career. This donation has help my students grow and has made me a very proud teacher.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Fittipaldi
Games! Games! Games! Makes Learning Fun and Exciting!
Funded Nov 29, 2016Thank you so much for your donation. I can't begin to tell you how much my class and I appreciate it. Games help the students improve in various ways. In the short period of time we've had them, their academic progress has grown. The differentiated game assist children in learning the numbers 0-10 and teen numbers with the play-doh and play-doh mats. Using the Putting Numbers in Order puzzle teaches them to organize numbers from 1-10, 1-20, 1-30. The Pop and Add games assist students in adding two numbers together and how to work as a team - a significant requirement for a well-run, orderly classroom. Using the sight word stamps has helped them to learn so many sight words and their reading levels have increased! The Building Sentence game helps the students improve their writing during writing workshop. And so much more! We are so grateful for the games. I'm so proud of the progress my students have made and they are so proud of themselves! Seeing them excel makes it worth being a teacher!
Thank you again for your generosity and for helping to make these wonderful children, our future successful!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Fittipaldi