Past projects 2
Inclusive Classroom Activities and Visuals
Funded Sep 1, 2021Thank you all so much! The activities and visuals available from Teachers Pay Teachers have enhanced my students' learning as well as made the environment more inviting and inclusive. Many of our students came into the classroom not knowing how to write their name. The materials we were able to acquire through donations have been vital in teaching the children how to practice their fine motor skills. Examples include printouts that students can trace or follow dot-to-dot as they learn to form letters and numbers. We started out by having them trace letters with a cotton swab before transitioning to crayons and pencils. They have also learned how to handle scissors and cut out shapes in order to complete art assignments. Other materials are used to teach counting by incorporating fun shapes or designs with the numbers, or by showing a sequence of events.
Finding teaching materials in Spanish to serve our Dual Language program has been a blessing and an enormous time-saver as we prepare each day's lesson. Prior to this, I was making our lesson plan materials from scratch. Our program's previous units were on apples and family, so we needed to ensure that the audio, visual, and printed elements were tied to the focus area. For example, we would have apple cut-outs with numbers printed on them while reading a story about an apple tree and singing a song about apples. The unit lesson on family likewise had to maintain a consistent theme. Having ready-to-print visuals with an apple or family theme allowed me to focus more time on preparing assessments and executing the lessons. In some instances I am also able to personalize some of the material with students' names or with specific vocabulary words.
Our students enjoy seeing the new products and visual aids that we bring into the classroom. The variety of images, assignments, and characters keeps them motivated. They are especially excited and proud when they are able to write their own name or correctly identify a letter or number. It's amazing to see the joy on their faces when they have that "Aha!" moment. Since 90% of the materials we use are in Spanish, this reinforces their learning without the distraction or confusion of having to translate for our English Language Learners. An added benefit is that our Spanish-speaking families are able to read along and provide guidance at home.
A huge indicator of how useful the resources are was revealed during our parent-teacher conferences. Families have continued to explain the differences they see in their children at home. At the start of the school year, most of the students were nervous and worried about being away from home. We worked hard to make the classroom inviting and to make learning fun. According to the parents, these students are now excited about coming to school and like to show off their work and projects at home. Families are thrilled to see their kids' progression, motivation, and improved confidence. If we can keep students excited about learning it will make a big difference in their future.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Turner
Launching New Pre-K Dual Language Program!
Funded Aug 25, 2021Thanks to your donations, my students and I are having a successful and rewarding school year. The new resources are being used daily and are helping prepare the children for Kindergarten. One example is how students are learning to socialize and communicate with each other by using the dramatic play materials (play kitchen, tea set, pretend food set, and pretend campfire). Another example of the impact is how the stress balls and liquid motion bubblers help students calm down when they are upset. We set these up in our Calming Corner where students can go if they are frustrated or having a bad day. They always return in a better mood and ready to learn!
Our students were very excited and joyous upon seeing the materials for the first time. They still get excited to use the building blocks and Lincoln logs. The Spanish books have also sparked a huge amount of interest in learning to read and follow stories in our Dual Language program.
We are currently learning about community. The next big step is building a supermarket in our classroom for the students to interact with and learn. The project will teach counting, social skills, colors, as well as letter and number recognition. We look forward to continue using every resource we received. Thank you once again for your amazing support!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Turner
This classroom project was brought to life by The Allstate Foundation and 12 other donors.