Mrs. Chamorro's Classroom Edit display name

Current requests

Past projects 11

• Words, Words, Better Words

  Funded Sep 9, 2024

  When I first posted my project, I was filled with doubt. I feared no one would see the value in funding my request for traditional, hard-copy dictionaries and thesauruses. Yet, to my astonishment, YOU believed in my vision and made it a reality! The impact has been more profound than I ever imagined.

  The first time my students encountered a hardcover thesaurus, their reactions were priceless. "What is that?" they asked, their curiosity piqued. I explained that it was a treasure trove of words waiting to be explored, ready to enrich their Gen-Alpha language. Initially, I restricted the use of online dictionaries, encouraging them to dive into these physical books. Over time, they began to stumble upon words that sparked their interest and creativity.

  Now, these invaluable references have become a go-to reference in the classroom. Just last week, during our school's Holiday Candy Gram sale, my students eagerly turned to the thesaurus to craft sweet, charming messages for their crushes. They expressed their feelings in a way that was both heartfelt and clever, all thanks to the words they discovered.

  Thank you for making learning not just informative, but also fun and engaging! Your support has truly transformed my students' experience, allowing them to connect with language in meaningful ways.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Chamorro

  This classroom project was brought to life by CFP Foundation Extra Yard for Teachers Week.

• Skaters Wheeling Into High-interest Books!

  Funded Nov 30, 2022

  My ultimate goal as an educator is to make my students feel seen. Without that, learning becomes a chore, but once you tap into a student's interests and passions, learning and curiosity just blossom. In my classroom, I have a handful of rowdy and high energy boys who absolutely love skating. They park their skateboards behind my desk and if it was up to them, they would spend the entire class period scrolling over skateboarding videos on their social media page. Thanks to you, I can make them put their books away and offer alternatives where they can read and learn with all about skating, while practicing their reading comprehension skills. Once they saw the books were about skating, they finally picked up a book from our classroom library. I am very grateful for your contrinutions. Without you, I would not be able to afford buying such books!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Chamorro

  This classroom project was brought to life by an Anonymous Classroom Supporter and 3 other donors.

• Between Art and a Sad Place

  Funded Sep 21, 2022

  It has been such a pleasure to see this project come into fruition. During lunch time, my classroom door is open to any student who needs a relaxing space to unwind, relax, or simply take a break from the vortex of middle school lunch time chaos. Before my students had access to such a plethora of art supplies, they would sit around and get lost in their smartphones anytime they had free time or came to visit during lunch.

  Now, I see students using art as a way to express their interests and motivations. I have one particular student, who I did not know, loves art and has flourished in my academic classroom as a result of finding opportunities throughout her school day to express her artistic side.

  Thanks to your donations, my students have access to quality art supplies and are finding endless ways to experiment with them. My walls are now an art gallery of student work.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Chamorro

  This classroom project was brought to life by LOFT.

• Bilingual Books to Bolster Vocabulary Building

  Funded Oct 11, 2022

  My biggest challenge in the classroom is inspiring students to learn and reflect on their lives through reading literature. Many of my students only read out of a textbook and have no books they love. I model a love of reading through read alouds and book clubs, but I did not have the books needed until you stepped in.

  Now that our classroom library is reflective of the students I teach, reading and discussing is much easier to do. Every two weeks, students choose books to independently read and discuss with me. Before your donation, students were not excited about choosing books or partaking in discussions about what they read. However, after your donation, students are increasing their interest in reading books. My check out log is always having to be refilled because I run out of space with so many students wanting to read books.

  In particular, I have student who is very quiet, but her eyes light up when she tells me about the book she is reading. She just arrived in the country and is learning English, but having a book in Spanish motivates her to keep growing her literary analysis skills she can use in any language. Thank you for stewarding a love of literature in my classroom.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Chamorro

• Validating LGBTQ Experiences in Our All Inclusive Class Library

  Funded Jun 8, 2022

  The day the books and the LGBTQ+ pride flag arrived, my students were both confused, surprised, and utterly delighted to see such a selection of books for the very first time in their lives. That's right, most of my students who identify as LGBTQ had never seen their experiences reflected in a story or book before. For those students who were aprehensive and outright homophobic it was a show of solidarity that this was a safe space for all. In fact, some of the students who were at first confused or aprehensive, came around and perused some of the book titles. After hanging the pride flag, I have had so many students stop by and appreciate it, ask questions, or share that they identify as LGBTQ+. Both the flag and the books have been positive conversation starters for all of us. And for those delighted students who wished to see themselves in books, they have read every single book and are asking for similar titles. I have two girls who asked if they could do a book club with some of the books. I have never seen so much enthusiasm in discussing books with their peers. I am so grateful you decided to steward empathy, compassion, and a love of reading in my classroom.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Chamorro

• Don't Be Alone at Lunch!

  Funded Apr 7, 2022

  Before you funded my project, I thought it would be a cool idea to open up my doors at lunch for all the quiet kids to come hang out. After you funded my project, my heart was delighted to see so many unlikely friendships sprout from sharing a love of art and games. Kids who never talked to each other were learning that they had a love of art in common. They bonded over board game conversations.

  In fact, what I thought would be a quiet place to relax during lunch became a chatty place to hang out. Laughter and joy was heard and felt in the classroom. Even after the art supplies were exhausted, students still showed up for lunch to eat with their new found friends.

  I cannot express my gratititude for choosing my students to donate to.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Chamorro

  This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose community & an Anonymous Partner and one other donor.

• Student Led Coup of My Classroom Library

  Funded Apr 7, 2022

  Making my book project possible was a total game changer in my classroom. My independent reading time was transformed, from students misbehaving to quietly reading. Once these books arrived, I had multiple students checking out the books, reading, asking for more, and recommending all of the titles to their peers.

  Our conversations about books were also elevated. I could discuss literary techniques and craft referencing the books they loved to read and many more students felt comfortable discussing literature in class.

  Perhaps, the most inspiring moment has come from seeing my reluctant readers perusing the classroom library with much more interest than ever before. I have a student who could not name the last book he read for pleasure and now he is on the third book of the Five Nights at Freddies series.

  I am so appreciative for your gift as it is stewarding a love of reading within my students.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Chamorro

  This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose community & an Anonymous Partner and 2 other donors.

• Grab a Friend and a Good Book!

  Funded Jan 13, 2022

  Teaching in the age of social media, makes it rather difficult to engage students in classroom learning unless they have a riveting topic in front of them, then they cannot get enough.

  In my classroom, we do whole class novel reading Monday-Wednesday, where I model how to analyze and annotate the text. On Thursdays and Fridays, students engage in Literature Circles, small reading groups with friends, on a self-selected book. Using the strategies they learn in whole group, they get to apply them to books they love and have discussions with friends about them.

  I wish you could have seen their faces when they saw copies of Demon Slayer and My Hero Academia as an option for Literature Circle books. They were bubbly and eager to read. Since then, students come in early to peruse our amazing book selection made possible by your donation!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Chamorro

  This classroom project was brought to life by Panda Cares and 2 other donors.