Past projects 2
Helping Autistic Learners!
Funded Oct 27, 2024Your donations went to provide my classroom with so many resources to make our classroom feel like a home.
The item that has the biggest impact and that will last for years to come is our new rug. Having a rug in the classroom not only provides our student a comfortable space to sit it is so much more! It provides a visual of where there body belongs when learning with a group, it allows for a cozy space to read with a partner, its where memories are made through sharing ideas with partners and connecting about topics. This rug transformed our learning space and we are forever grateful!
Another favorite material donated from the project were the writing tablets! Our students were SO excited to have this new resource in the room. These tablets are used throughout the day for learning: in the morning students use them to record attendance and solve math problems for how many days we've been in school. During word work students write words and sentences on it but their all time favorite way to use it is to draw on it during our choice time at the end of the day!
The next favorite by the teachers is the headphones! These headphones allow for students to work independently on tablets for learning without distracting others in the classroom. They also work to help our students with autism not feel overwhelmed during fire drills or assemblies by blocking out the loud noises in the environment!
We are forever grateful for your support and donations so that we can have all these special materials in our room!!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Keyzner
Podcasting in Kindergarten
Funded Jul 25, 2017As a Kindergarten Teacher I am always looking for was to motivate my students to learn while having fun. I work in East Harlem New York in a Title 1 School. Many of my students do not have exposure to technology tools or even computers at home. With this project I was able to introduce something they had not heard of before, a podcast, and teach it to them in a way that they would understand. We started by talking about what things we listen to (music, nature, our surroundings) and explained that a podcast is something that people don't see but only hear. We then moved into listening to other podcasts created by children (this was difficult to find!).
I then gave my students ownership over what they wanted to talk about and teach on the podcasts. They choose to act out and record story books! Our first podcast was done sitting around a circle using our amazing snowball microphone! What's so cool about this microphone is the feature that allowed everyone to be heard around the circle equally! The students then created an opening and closing for their episodes and picked the music for it. What was most engaging was the opportunity to make sound effects! We used our voices and materials in the classroom to create effects to enhance the podcasts. Our second podcasts we used our "on the go" microphone as we created a set for the students to act out the three little bears. Teamwork was apart of this activity as students needed to pass the microphone to the correct person, find there spot on the set, remember lines, and remember who was going to speak next.
The tools provided through the funding of this project have enhanced my students listening and speaking skills, fluency, and presentation skills. There is one child in particular who sometimes had a difficult time projecting her voice for others to hear and I have really seen improvement through the editing and recording of these podcasts. I thank you greatly for your contribution and I am excited to share more with you as the year goes on.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Keyzner
This classroom project was brought to life by Sergey Brin Family Foundation and 2 other donors.