Past projects 10
Building Civic Pride: LEGO Models of Monuments for Civics Week
Funded Feb 28, 2025Thank you so much for helping fund this project in time for Civics Week! I look forward to sharing the results with you. Our students are enthusiastic about creating this legos and reading the books about the monuments that compliment the legos.
Thank so you very much for your generosity.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Mercaldo
Enhancing Learning and Engagement in our Diverse Library
Funded Jul 23, 2024Thank-you for supporting our school library! The materials in this order really made an impact with both organizing student work and displaying student work and important information. The bins included in this order were used to organize folders for 25 classes which was essential to keep student work organized. The organization has really helped with the library classes and library overall. The bins are plastic, durable and color coded by grade level.
In addition, the clear plastic frames have been used to display student work around the school as well as inform staff of important events, resources, and inclusive heritage months and holidays.
Thank-you for your support of our school and school library.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Mercaldo
High-Interest Graphic Novles
Funded Jan 10, 2022These graphic novels were very popular amongst my students this past school year. Let's start with the Dork Diaries. The girls in my three sixth grade classes would check these books out from the library constantly throughout the school year. As soon as they would finish one book, they would check out the next one in the series. Many of them read all 13+ titles! Even the reluctant readers, who started the school year declaring that they were not a fan of reading, couldn't help but embrace the Dork Diaries series. I saw this engagement as an opportunity and included the Dork Diaries books 1-3 as options in our Guided Reading time and students successfully used the books to identify many next generation reading standards and engaged in thoughtful analyzing of the texts.
The second notable graphic novel in this order was Dog Man. I had a few male students who requested these books constantly. They requested, analyzed, and provided so much feedback about the Dog Man books, that I asked them if they wanted to join the News Team and record a special book review for our school YouTube channel. They were delighted to have this spotlight, and we recorded their reviews of the Dog Man books and broadcast it in front of the entire school!
Thank you so much for helping me get these transformational texts in the hands of the children who needed them.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Mercaldo
High Interest Exciting Books
Funded Dec 18, 2022These books were a big hit in my three English classes the past 2022-2023 school year. Both students who already were fond of reading and more reluctant readers were engaged with these books. It was inspiring to see the students who often shy away from reading devour these books and request the next book in the series again and again. These titles were exactly what the students had requested in our leadership meetings and became very popular during our Guided Reading and Independent Reading times.
The Last Days on Earth series and Dragon Ball Z series books were particularly popular and impactful. Thank you so much for making this happen for my students and helping promote literacy and a love of reading books that the students get excited about. You really helped me provide the students with what they requested and made their voices heard and valued.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Mercaldo
This classroom project was brought to life by an Anonymous Classroom Supporter and 6 other donors.Stranger Things Books Students Are Excited to Read!
Funded Sep 29, 2022These Stranger Things books have been a big hit in our class library and school community! I have utilized them in Guided Reading groups and during Free Reading time. As I expected, students were quick to select these books to check out and bring home as well. The books were returned with wonderful reviews. The graphic novels gave access to scholars reading below grade level and the chapter books challenged scholar reading on and above level. The books were so popular, my former students in 7th and 8th grade, who I saw wearing Stranger Things shirts, were invited to the library and eagerly checked these books out too. My team of class librarians went further to promote the books by creating a poster on our school's poster maker and featuring the books on display in our sixth grade library space.
On behalf of all of the students who have been enjoying these Stranger Things books, thank-you so much for your generosity! It is appreciated. I think one of the wonderful joys of teaching is that there is no way to tell how far our impact goes, until, years later, when scholars return and tell us it was that one book, that one act of kindness that motivated them to pursue their education and have success.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Mercaldo
This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Classroom Supporter and 3 other donors.Help Us Master Our Times Tables and Grammar!
Funded Feb 9, 2022I apologize for the delayed follow up on the status of your donations. It was a busy end of school year for us in New York City as we sought to provide the best experiences we could, as we closed out the school year.
Thank you so much for the resources to help my students master their basic grammar and multiplication tables! I utilized the grammar games often in small groups during my English Language Arts center groups this spring.
During our weekly academic intervention periods this spring, I was also able to consistently implement a one-minute timed multiplication drill with my 56 students. Each week, students had to take the multiplication drill for a specific table, and if they passed with 100% mastery of the table (for examples the 2 tables), they would receive a star on our tracker and move up to attempt the next digit in the table the following week (for example the 3 tables). When a student did not pass, they would receive the supports in the forms of the flash cards, games, etc. that you so generously donated.
I am proud to share that by the end of the school year, over half of the students were able to show complete mastery of their multiplication facts, and every single student showed progress toward reaching mastery.
The items received in this order have now been stored for the upcoming school year as they remain in like-new condition and will be utilized with our new sixth graders in small group interventions for multiplication, fractions, comma use, punctuation, capitalization, and more!
I sincerely thank you for supporting my students' growth in essential skills the second half of the 2021-2022 school year and beyond!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Mercaldo
This classroom project was brought to life by Black History Month Partners and 6 other donors.La Borinqueña Graphic Novels for Hispanic Heritage!
Funded Sep 23, 2021Thanks to your donations, my three sixth-grade English classes received the La Borinqueña graphic novels during Hispanic Heritage Month. Our scholar librarians were able to fill a bin in our shared library and create and print a poster to go with it to promote it as a featured book series and our October Graphic Novel of the Month.
Numerous scholars have since checked out the La Borinqueña books from our class library. The books had both academic and social-emotional benefits! Scholars were able to use the La Borinqueña texts to gain practice with Common Core Reading standards, but they also affirmed students' identities. Scholars told me how much they loved seeing a superhero from Puerto Rico that showed representation. I had several of my bilingual and multilingual scholars read this book and appreciate the illustrations.
Furthermore, I was able to meet the author of these La Borinqueña books, Mr. Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez, at a special book signing event in the Bronx, New York! The next day, I presented my scholars with the signed books, and they loved it!
This was a tremendously successful partnership working with Donor's Choose and my scholars and I appreciate the generosity of all of the donors.
¡Muchas gracias!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Mercaldo
This classroom project was brought to life by The Allstate Foundation and 4 other donors.High-Interest Chapter Books
Funded Apr 7, 2021Last year was a hectic school year and my students and I were back and forth learning in person and learning remotely. One constant we had was access to books that my students requested and were excited to read thanks to your donation. Several of my students benefited from this donation, as many were able to complete the chapter books and write book reviews and book reports about them. Some of the books from this order are being used again this year as my new sixth graders have already begun checking out these popular titles from our classroom library.
Thank you for supporting my classroom and the literacy of my students! We appreciate you!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Mercaldo
Home Desks and Chairs for Remote Students in Need
Funded Dec 17, 2020My students who received the home desks and chairs were so proud and empowered when I visited their homes and assembled the home desks and chairs you donated. Each child was all smiles under their masks and their faces were beaming when I told them that this desk and chair were theirs to keep forever. I reminded the students that the desks and chairs would be an aid to them in more ways than one. The desks represent a space in their homes that is dedicated to their personal improvement, learning, and growth. I told each student that the desk can be used for homework in middle school and high school and even beyond if they take classes online or embark on entrepreneurship.
We are currently back to learning in-person and are enjoying reading the dystopian novel, The Giver, as our mentor text in an English learning unit that teaches multiple reading and writing skills. We are reading the book in-class but students can make up lessons at home. All of the students with the new desks are thriving at completing these assignments.
All of my students are expected to read for pleasure at home and are competing in a book review contest. Currently, the three students who received desks are all competitively positioned to win the book review contest (each has read over five books independently)!
I have been also encouraging and incentivizing my students to use the comprehensive instruction and assessment computer program, i-Ready, for at least one hour per week. We are currently having an i-Ready contest to see who uses the platform for the most hours during Spring Break. The students who received the desks are also engaging more on the i-Ready platform!
Finally, this project gained attention from other educators on social media! I was invited on two different education podcasts to speak about this project and was told it has inspired many other teachers to think outside the box about how we can support our students' learning during the pandemic.
I could have not made this impact without your support and I appreciate you!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Mercaldo
Culturally Relevant Books
Funded Jan 29, 2021My students and I greatly appreciate your support in funding this project. All of the students have now received their copies of the books in this order, and you will be able to see in the photos, that I will be posting today, that they are quite happy to be on the receiving end of your generosity.
My homeroom advisory recently returned to in-person learning, and we have been starting each morning reading the Jaqueline Woodson book: Harbor Me. My homeroom advisory is a small, special, tight-knit class where there is incredible student leadership. Harbor Me feels to our entire class like a "perfect fit book" because the setting is a 6th-grade class also in Brooklyn. The plot is also relatable because it is about a small group of students banding together by talking about real issues facing our community. Each morning my students are eager to read and follow along in their own copies of this novel, thanks to your support!
The Harbor Me books will be used to bring our class together even closer, for student book reviews, and a group book report project. When we complete the book, I plan to reach out to the author, Jaqueline Woodson, to plan a virtual class visit.
The copy of the book, I Am My History, was a huge success at our school! After reading the book to my students, I reached out to the author. Brian Kieth Harris II then virtually visited our 6th-grade classes during Black History month and presented one of the most motivational and empowering school visit presentations I have ever seen! Our principal was so impressed, he ordered additional copies of this book for our school. Every scholar who participated now has their own signed copy!
Thank you so much for supporting my students with culturally relevant books”
With gratitude,
Mr. Mercaldo