Past projects 6
Decodable Readers for the Win!
Funded Dec 20, 2022Thank you so much for your generous donation. The science has shown over and over again that systematic phonics instruction helps children learn spelling patters and increase their reading ability. Once a concept is taught and applied into individual words and sentences, the students get to apply their knowledge into texts that have the spelling pattern that they learned.
There's nothing better than a student grabbing a comfortable chair and grabbing a book to read to practice the concepts that are being taught.
Thank you for bringing joy and a love of reading back into our space.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Begin
This classroom project was brought to life by an Anonymous Classroom Supporter and 9 other donors.Help Students Take A Step Forward
Funded Sep 29, 2022I just wanted to thank you for the difference that you have made in the education of my students. My groups are comprised of students that need additional assistance to develop their reading skills to become proficient. The white board and flexible seating has made it so much easier and more comfortable to learn these essential skills!
The white board gives us a place to review concepts that have been taught and teach new concepts to build their understanding of letters and sounds. The magnetic design and bins make it much easier to build words with letter tiles and give it a clean look to store them when they are not in use.
The students look forward to engaging in the lesson using the new flexible seating. There is an excitement when they enter the room that is difficult to capture. They are engaged in the lesson and able to put all of their focus on developing their reading skills.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Begin
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 4 other donors.Can You Hear Me?
Funded Aug 16, 2022It is with my deepest gratitude that I thank you for supporting my project and my students. Teaching is a profession where even the smallest of things can have a major impact in your student's ability to access the curriculum, make gains and practice skills independently. This project was one of those little things that made a huge impact.
It might seem silly to think that headphones can be a game changer in a classroom. For students struggling with reading, it made the difference in a few students' ability to listen to audiobooks and become engaged readers captivated by a storyline. For other students, it gave them the ability to access specific materials to help them practice skills on their level and progress through the curriculum. Headphones allowed for individual students to use technology to help them move through their learning process.
All classrooms struggle with noise control and students who struggle with learning the curriculum in larger settings benefit from focused instruction at their level. This is where your impact was felt. While students moved in and out of small guided groups with me, they were able to practice what they needed independently without interrupting other students' learning. Again, we thank you for the difference that you have made”
With gratitude,
Ms. Begin
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill Gates and 5 other donors.Small Groups Work!
Funded Dec 3, 2019Due to your generous donations, we were able to obtain an additional easel and cushions for our classroom.
With these types of supports, we were able to pull additional small groups within the classroom and use the board to help demonstrate concepts and provide visuals for the children who need it. The easel provided a key component to make lessons accessible to all of the children within our classroom. We are truly grateful for this.
Our cushions allowed the students to have flexibility of where they could complete their work. Working within a classroom with students with special needs, the ease of knowing that they could move if it was necessary was a great help.
Thank you for supporting our classroom.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Begin
This classroom project was brought to life by An anonymous classroom supporter and 7 other donors.Look! Up In The Sky! It's a Bird!
Funded Jun 20, 2019Thank you so much for your support. With your donation, we have been able to increase the students interest within studying New York City and learning about the birds around them. The materials provide the students with the ability to use binoculars to study birds in their natural habitat. It also provided for engaging texts with vivid colors so they can develop questions and answer them.
Our students were so excited to receive the materials. They lit up and asked, "Are we really allowed to use these?". Some of the children had never looked through binoculars before. Children gathered around anxiously to look at the different birds and point out the things they noticed and the questions they were developing. They are fully engaged in the work and we couldn't be more pleased.
With this donation, we were able to make real life connections to the places where they live and the animals that live around them. The parents have complimented us on sparking their interest and can't wait to see what other ways we include real life connections to the subjects they need to learn about.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Begin
This classroom project was brought to life by Google.org and 11 other donors.Learning 21st Century Skills Through Bird Studies
Funded Mar 27, 2018This project impacted 60 second graders and excited them to look at the world around them.The For the Birds program came in and taught the students the fundamentals about birds, about various types of birds and migration habits. The students began studying rock pigeons and house sparrows which are native to their NYC neighborhood. The program incorporated various other subject areas such as maps, literature and graphs.
The highlight of the program was the bird walk in Central Park. The students were excited to be accompanied by Audubon volunteers. They were divided into small groups to help provide individualized instruction. The students studied their neighborhood and discovered a wide variety of birds in their natural habitat. They kept track of the birds that they saw using tally marks. At the completion of the tour, they saw the home of Pale Male, which they were thrilled by!
This will have a lasting impact on all of the students that were involved. It is well known that the second graders are involved in a bird study and many of the students were looking forward to it. You can notice the difference when they walk to the playground and can correctly identify different types of birds.
Thank you again for sparking their young minds.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Begin
This classroom project was brought to life by Ripple and 28 other donors.