Past projects 107
Hand2Mind Literacy Tiles
Funded Jan 28, 2021This project was brought to life when the Donors Choose recommended it. Just like I mentioned in the other projects, this year I'm doing projects kids want and projects that help with small groups. Small groups has always been my biggest struggle. I've heard the impacts of it can be very beneficial. Thanks to this project, and others, my classes now look forward to doing small groups daily. I was going to skip and the students were like NOOOO! How crazy is that? Why do they want small groups? Because of the projects YOU funded. They're learning through hands on activities and games that increase their vocabulary, fluency, phonics, and writing without them realizing it! Thank you for being part of our classroom!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Potrzeba
This classroom project was brought to life by hand2mind and one other donor.Will You Be Our (Book) Valentine?
Funded Jan 29, 2021Love is in the air! Love is in the air of the books that is! Now that I tutor second graders, these books were perfect to read to them. The other day I read the word "cooties" and immediately one of the second graders blurts out, "COOTIES ARE BODY PARTS!" That was funny and oh so awkward haha! But through February, these books have been the perfect addition during of month of Black History, Chinese New Year, and Valentines Day! The students have a target on their back because of much they read. We will keep the Golden Snitch! Thank you for supporting us!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Potrzeba
Educational Reading Board Games
Funded Jan 10, 2021I've been so blessed to have countless projects funded thanks to you! Many were book projects. So now I've turned my focus to two things: what my students want and small group activities. There is only one Mr. Potrzeba, and especially in the afternoons there needs be about 10 of me. Having these reading games has helped improved our reading block immensely. It's allowed students to practice parts of a sentence, phonics, grammar, vocabulary, and other parts of speech in a fun, enjoyable way. For that, I'm grateful for you! You ARE making an impact!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Potrzeba
Reading & Social Emotional Learning
Funded Jan 19, 2021Having stickers and fidget toys has been so helpful! Granted, now they all want to go the calm corner lol but they know the expectation. Who knew the stickers would have the greatest impact? After using stickers a few weeks ago, students have never written more for me! So thanks to you, my students in both classes are writing more, which is because of the stickers you've donated. Because they're writing more, I'm able to give more feedback, which results in even better writing produced. On top of that, the amount of books they read (thanks to you!) has greatly improved their vocabulary as they write! As I said in another project, these projects really go hand in hand! Thank you for believing in us!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Potrzeba
Rocking Reading Back & Forth!
Funded Jan 20, 2021Just like the bookshelves, the rocking chair addition just made the room more complete. I didn't expect it to, but it really did! It came in clutch the other day. I was asked to tutor second graders at the last minute and the leaders weren't quite ready for me, so I had to "kill time." Having the rocking chair, I was able to read aloud to them and teach them a lesson. The Kagan clock is a huge boost! No more, unlucky roles of the dice. The clock is very versatile to even creating numbers in math. Thank you for supporting us!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Potrzeba
Build Our Love for Reading With Bookshelves Part 2
Funded Jan 16, 2021"You're getting more bookshelves?!" a teacher asked. "Of course! We need them to fill our book love!" It's true, we needed a second round of bookshelves and YOU came in clutch! The room just fills more. And I can finally share almost every single book I have. Yes, it's true there are still books hidden. Another benefit to these bookshelves the organization and independence they're creating. Now when students do small groups, there's a bookshelf for their materials. We like to learn through games and now there's a bookshelf for the reading games YOU funded for us. How cool is it that these projects go hand in hand! Thank you for supporting us!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Potrzeba
Wordless Picture Books
Funded Dec 1, 2020Lions, tigers, and bears, oh my! But imagine what can be learned when a lion has the opportunity to hunt a mouse, but lets it go? Then the mouse remembering this, helps a lion escape from a poachers rope. What could be the lesson learned? That's what students are figuring out these books with NO WORDS! That's right, they're able to understand how theme, context clues, and make influences without even needing words! They're learning the standards without reading a single word. To me, that blows my mind! As always, we are so thankful for your donations!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Potrzeba
This classroom project was brought to life by FamilyAlbum and 3 other donors.Folktales, Myths, and Fables Books!
Funded Dec 1, 2020Myths, folktales, and fables are classic literature. But the impact from these stories can't be taken for granted. From the Ugly Duckling to The Princess and the Pea themes are supreme in these books. But I told you I don't pick just any books, I pick impactful books. The kids were head over heads to find out YOU donated a book that we had read about this year! It's called King Midas and the Golden Touch! They already knew the theme, but they didn't know the full story until NOW! Be mindful with books you choose!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Potrzeba
This classroom project was brought to life by FamilyAlbum and one other donor.Build our love for reading with Bookshelves!
Funded Dec 1, 2020They weren't kidding that these bookshelves take 50 minutes to build, but boy, are they beauties. The kids were so eager to have a place for more of our books that I had to build them after school and before school the day they arrived. Don't they just fit right in with our classroom?! I remember how heartbroken I was when I heard there were no more bookshelves left for us to use. Having these bookshelves makes our classroom feel complete. Granted we still need more lol, but they really do complete our cozy reading classroom. Thank you so much for making this happen. We are forever grateful, except for my fingers lol!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Potrzeba
This classroom project was brought to life by FamilyAlbum and 2 other donors.Diverse Winter Books
Funded Dec 1, 2020I finally did a seasonal project that has fits the season we're in! Thank you for funding this one so quickly. Students having been loving these books about different cultures, customs, and traditional stories! They're so amazed at just how differently the holidays during December and January are celebrated around the USA and the entire world! The students are also learning about folktales, climates, and even a story about how the Rockefeller tree came to be. It's so exciting to see the lightbulbs go off when students recognize who these characters and traditions and cultures are now that they've read deeper.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Potrzeba
This classroom project was brought to life by FamilyAlbum and 2 other donors.