Past projects 2
Basics for My Elementary Special Education Class
Funded Sep 1, 2018Thank you so much for your tremendous generosity. You have truly made a difference in my classroom for my students. As a teacher, one of my primary goals is to equip students with the tools they need in order to be successful independent members of society. I believe this starts in the classroom. If students can learn to function independently in the classroom environment, they have a better chance of transferring these essential skills outside of the classroom. With your donation money, you have enabled me to purchase supplies for my classroom that facilitate the independence and organizational skills of my students.
Each student received a black bin. Within the black bin contains the students' folders and notebooks. As a class, we have been working on retrieving and returning items from the bins, as well as keeping the bins neat and tidy. The students know what belongs in the bins and can access their bin whenever they need the multiple materials inside. Your donation also enabled me to purchase rainbow bins for the classroom. These bins provide beautiful color, but also equip my students with more organizational tools. Each bin is clearly labeled with a classroom supply (i.e. crayons, markers, colored pencils, etc.). When an activity requires one of those materials, the students can be self-directed and retrieve what they personally need to complete an assignment.
The agendas assist my students in developing independent homework organization skills. Each day we write down our homework in our agendas. This task requires my students to recognize the correct month and day of the week so that they record their homework in the proper place. Before these agendas, my students would simply throw their homework in their bags, shove it in their desks, or not complete it at all. Now, the agendas act as a tool that promotes accountability. Additionally, the roller drawers serve a very similar function within my classroom. The roller drawers are a staple for the homework return system. When the students arrive each morning, they know to place their completed homework in their respective drawer. This allows the students to return their homework without requiring the assistance of an adult. Because the students know the system, they successfully begin their mornings with this independent task.
Because of your support, my students now have a bright bean bag chair in our reading corner. The bean bag chair serves as a designated area in which my students can read independently or just breathe if they need a chance to "cool off." This bean bag chair is a safe, comfortable place for my students.
You have made such a difference in my classroom. Please know how touched we are by your thoughtfulness and generosity. We will use these materials to enhance our organizational and independence skills so that we can be more successful both inside and outside of school!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Price
Tablets to Close the Achievement Gap! (High-needs Special Ed. NYC)
Funded Mar 24, 2018Words cannot adequately express our gratitude here in Classroom 311. Your generous donations enabled me to purchase tablets for each student in my class, as well as chargers and cases to protect the tablets. While the students knew that we had applied for the grant, I do not believe that they had hope this would come to fruition. When your beyond thoughtful donations came pouring in overnight, it became clear that this would no longer be a possibility, but actually would become a valued tool in the classroom. Now, this technology is ingrained and intertwined within the curriculum to enhance my instruction and further engage the students.
The tablets have been a device that I have utilized in my lesson planning to intensify both Language Arts and Math lessons. We do end-of-year reading testing with each student in order to better track student learning and progress. So far, each student has increased his/her reading level, and I firmly believe the tablets aided in this growth for the students. The tablets contain targeted reading and phonics practice, which appears as game-like for the students. This has made some very basic concepts incredibly captivating for the kids. Additionally, the tablets aid me in being a more effective math teacher as they bring word problems, fractions, etc. to life! We use the tablets for various math activities, which presents the information that I teach in a different way. This enables the students to better and more holistically comprehend the material we are learning.
My students come from extremely low-income homes and are the most unassuming children I have ever known. Instead of worrying about the latest video game, TV series, or clothing line, they are focused on how to get food for their families or clean clothes, the most basic necessities. These tablets have been one of the most surprising gifts they have ever received. Receiving these tablets as a means to better their learning in the classroom has been a refreshing light in my students' lives. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for impacting these little lives and huge hearts.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Price
This classroom project was brought to life by Verizon and 6 other donors.