Past projects 11
Phenomenal Phonics!
Funded May 6, 2024Thank you again for your generous donation! The white boards and thin dry erase markers are an essential part of our phonics program. There is nothing more satisfying for my students that being able to write a letter or sound or word they hear during an oral dictation and code it in different colors. We have trained them to annotate vowels (long or short) and consonants that change sounds when paired (digraphs). For teachers like me, these tools allow for immediate assessment and identification of accuracy or confusion so that I can address them in the moment. Students love the freedom that dry erase markers allow when revising their letters and words. They especially love to show their work publicly by holding up the boards for all to see. These simple supplies create community and make learning fun!
Although it is the end of the year with so many culminating activities, and we have not had time to do regular phonics lessons as often as we would like, my students are enthusiastic about having brand new supplies ready to use in the fall. They have claimed their boards and colors! We assured them that we will start the year off strong with our shiny new boards and colorful markers! Thank you for getting my students excited about learning the sounds and patterns of English.”
With gratitude,
Ms. DiScipio
Emerging Older Readers Dive Into Books!
Funded Nov 27, 2023Thank you for helping create successful and enthusiastic readers! As soon as the books arrived, I started distributing them in my classroom library. The students were instantly drawn to them: the compact size, the shiny, attractive illustrations on the cover with images of characters that match their ages, the accessible text with spelling and phonic patterns that all of the students have been learning for the past few months.
The students were instantly able to notice the CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) and CVCe (consonant-vowel-consonant-silent e) patterns throughout the texts. And they were very interested in the stories. As a teacher, I was so pleased to see my students reading age-appropriate content while being exposed to critical phonics patterns in these beautiful texts. All of these wonderful features are exactly what was missing from our library. My students were so eager to borrow the books. Some of them started giving recommendations to their classmates about what book to read next! A teacher's dream come true! Hooray!
I am so very fortunate for the generosity of people like you. Thank you again for bringing us this marvelous collection. My students and my future students will certainly benefit from your gift for years to come.”
With gratitude,
Ms. DiScipio
Lights! iPad! Action! Our Digital Stories
Funded Jan 22, 2023A million thanks for supporting my project! This was the first time I ever attempted anything like this, a digital storytelling project. My students are new to the country and still struggling to navigate a new language and culture. They were hesitant to share their stories, at first. And they were reticent to write because of their limited English proficiency.
However, when I explained the process and how we would use use ipads to create videos of their stories with narration (in 2 languages) and digital geographically accurate settings, they quickly became intrigued. So far, my students' reactions and motivation levels are far beyond anything I imagined. And we are still only halfway through the project. They are writing longer and more expressively, learning about the structure of narratives and brainstorming ways to develop scenes and use photos and videos to bring them to life.
One added and unexpected benefit is how they are using the ipads to research the geographical regions where their stories take place. I didn't realize when we started, how vast their experiences are. One student is telling the story of his journey to the United States which covers Mongolia, Saudi Arabia, Europe, Arizona and finally, New York. He is learning about how our earth is divided into hemispheres and continents and he is very excited to share his journey! They I will definitely be expanding on this project in the future.
I am so grateful for your support. Thank you for making this happen!”
With gratitude,
Ms. DiScipio
Beguiling Books for All!
Funded Nov 28, 2022Thank you for donating our new emergent library! My students' faces were beaming when we first opened the kit! They poured over the texts and would not put them down. Your gift has already shifted the tone in my classroom during independent reading time. There is a palpable excitement in the room. My students and I are very grateful!
We use the texts during independent reading time. Because of the accessibility of the texts, my students are able to read for sustained blocks of time. In particular, my 5th grade newcomers are transfixed by the mystery genre texts with characters that represent their own age group. It is refreshing and inspiring for them to see diverse characters in the stories.
Additionally, we are using the texts for book clubs since there are multiple copies of the same titles. This will help foster collaboration, and accountable talk around texts. I thank you for making this happen!”
With gratitude,
Ms. DiScipio
Judgment-Free Journal Writing
Funded Nov 16, 2021Thank you for the beautiful journals! Because of so many disruptions and quarantines, I held off presenting them until we had full, in-person attendance. Then finally, we opened the boxes to a lot of fanfare and excitement. A few days before, I wrapped them in mysterious white paper, and each day I put symbolic clues on the wrapping. By the time we opened the boxes, the students were captivated! They personalized the journals immediately, and we have been writing in them ever since. Even recently, when we had to quarantine again, many students were so grateful to have a personal journal to write in at home. I can not stress what a joy it is to see young people passionate about writing. The journals are perfect!
We now have a schedule where we journal and draw every Friday. Sometimes we free write, and other times I give a prompt and the students respond. The last prompt was, "If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why? They wrote for 45 minutes straight without interruption. Believe me, this is a a rarity. Now they look forward to Fridays with an enthusiasm I have not seen in a long time. Thank you for making this happen! Next, I plan to use the journals to write about family histories for our upcoming personal narrative unit. I can't wait to see where they go with their ideas!”
With gratitude,
Ms. DiScipio
Technology and Safety for All!
Funded Sep 30, 2021When your donated chromebooks arrived in our classroom, my students could not contain their excitement! We put them to use instantly. I have around 26 students in each of my three classes. With limited chromebooks in our school, it is challenging to keep the students engaged while working on writing tasks. The three chromebooks you contributed allows me to conduct small group instruction with half of the class, while the other half uses chromebooks to work on their writing assignment. I can not emphasize the importance of having the flexibility to have individualized instruction with small groups, while other more independent students work on their own. It is truly an essential part of my teaching.
At the moment, my students are publishing book reviews and they are very eager to share their writing on our class blog. We are using the New York Times as a model. With the chromebooks, students can access their text digitally and browse examples of book reviews I posted on our class site. They use the chromebooks to type up their reviews and respond to feedback by me when revising and editing their work.
As you can imagine, they love new technology! The silvery, smooth cover of the chromebooks sets them apart from older models. And the speed! You can can see in the photos I shared, how motivated my students were to get started writing. Even my most reluctant writers were impatient to get to work. Thank you for your very generous donation and for your part in helping my students learn and grow.”
With gratitude,
Ms. DiScipio
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 8 other donors.Artistic Expression and Social-Emotional Learning
Funded Apr 28, 2021From the moment the art supplies arrived, my students' affect changed for the better. They gleefully explored the special markers, sketch pencils, blending sticks, and the water colors. I made sure to put time aside daily for them to express themselves artistically. Since then, they have created portraits, still lifes, fantastical sketches and even some sketch diaries. The diaries are particularly helpful because they visually depict their feelings and dreams for the future. Having the right supplies has transformed my classroom and allowed students to find a productive way to channel all the intense feelings that have accompanied this pandemic school year. Thank you, thank you, thank you, for making it happen! I am eternally grateful!”
With gratitude,
Ms. DiScipio
This classroom project was brought to life by Optimum.Bedazzling Book Blog!
Funded Feb 23, 2021The impact of your generous donation became evident immediately! During the past year of this pandemic, resources were limited. Yet the need to maintain engagement, and create some sense of normalcy in school remained critical.
Because of your generosity, my students were able to complete online projects and have regular access to new reading material. They use the chromebooks to contribute to their book blog on a weekly basis, instead of waiting for available devices in the school. I am now able to plan my lessons with the certainty that my students will have access to technology.
In addition, the libraries that you sent us included a collection of texts, both fiction and nonfiction, that represent culturally-diverse characters and real world topics. For example, several of the books you sent contain themes around social issues of children on the cusp of adolescence, just like my students. Consequently, reading interest increased, and I'm happy to report that since your contribution the students eagerly reach for the new collection of books. The books are already getting weathered and worn- a delight to any teacher's eye. The chromebooks live permanently in my classroom which keeps my students motivated to read and write reviews.
We are so grateful for your donations, and we hope that this message truly captures the impact of your gift. Thank you for supporting us!”
With gratitude,
Ms. DiScipio
Mobile Social Studies Resource Center: Learning on the Move!
Funded Sep 4, 2019We are so thrilled with our new mobile library cart and chromebook stand! We finally set up our cart and we are ready to kick off our indigenous Peoples of the Americas integrated writing and social studies unit. We are a departmentalized grade, which means three different classes come to our room for writing lessons. This is a research-based unit of study where students will explore an essential question around geography, culture, and conquest and write historical reports. Now that we have our mobile cart, we are able to share books and technology among three 5th grade classrooms. We designated classroom librarians who put baskets of books on the cart and deliver them to 2 of our other classes throughout the day. Instead of having fewer books in each class, we can easily distribute the entire collection for specific periods. In addition, the chrome book stand allows us to make the chrome books easily accessible to students.
Our students knew we submitted a project to Donors Choose, but they were not expecting the cart to be so big! We opened the box together and took out all the pieces. I think the pictures speak for themselves. They were thrilled and even volunteered to help assemble it. Several students immediately volunteered to be the guardians of the library. Our students were especially excited about the chromebook stand because prior to your generous gift, chromebooks were stacked in a closet. This was cumbersome and even dangerous. Only teachers could remove them safely. Now the chrome books are stored in the stand and students simply slide them in place. They can independently use technology during research time. They love the independence and they take great care when handling them.
All of your donations have made our classroom more accessible and instilled a sense of ownership and responsibility in our shared supplies and resources. Now that Columbus Day is here, the timing is perfect to begin discussions about the indigenous people in the Americas. Our mobile library and easy-access chromebooks will allow students to dive into texts, websites, national archives and explore multiple historical perspectives that question the relationship of power, geography, and culture.
Thank you for making this possible!”
With gratitude,
Ms. DiScipio
Magical Worlds Meet Magical Tools!
Funded Feb 19, 2019May is approaching, and we are finally beginning our Fantasy writing unit. Our students have been waiting for this month to use the wonderful, professional marker sets you purchased for us. Thank you for your patience with this response. This week, the enthusiasm in the room is palpable! I am so grateful for your generous donation. Because of your gift, the students are experiencing what real graphic artists use to create their work. It is remarkable to see how quality products inspire students to produce their best work. They are still at the drafting phase of creating their fantasy graphic stories. However, they are already being very deliberate in planning how to use their special markers to create magical worlds with different tones, moods, and themes. I hope you know that your generosity is what made all this possible. You have ignited a flame for these young artists. Thank you for making our Fantasy graphic novels magical and vibrant!”
With gratitude,
Ms. DiScipio