Past projects 8
Keep It Organized
Funded Sep 21, 2022Thank you so much for your support and generosity. This school year has been a challenge in terms of organizing classroom materials for efficient and easy access. The mesh pouches, small and large, have been extremely helpful in learning how to stay organized. Students were excited to see that several books fit in the large pouch and that the pouch has a zipper that keeps things from falling out. The small zipper pouch has helped keep writing materials in place. The primary writing notebook is used on a daily basis for dictation and spelling. The neat thing about the notebook is that the pages are in one place and it has helped students organized. Once again thank you so much for your support to our classroom.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. De Luna
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 3 other donors.Multi-Sensory Tools
Funded Apr 26, 2022I wish you could have seen my students' faces and reactions when they saw the Multi-Sensory tools. The pop-its were a hit. One of my students asked, "What are we going to do with the pop-its? I responded, "These are new learning tools that we will use to pop the phonemes is words." His reaction was, "Wow that is so cool. When do we start?" We began using the tools the same day we received them. Students look forward to stretching the "Monkey Noodles" when reading whole words and they especially like the finger highlighter. Reading books and passages has become one of their favorite activities to do because they can use the highlighter to tract the words they are reading. I can't thank you enough for helping make learning fun and engaging through the use of these multi-sensory tools.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. De Luna
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose community & an Anonymous Partner and 7 other donors.Sound Wall Visuals with Pizzazz
Funded Jan 7, 2022I can't thank you enough for your support with this project. The Kid Lips pictures of children's mouths showing the correct placement of the tongue, teeth, and lips when producing a specific sound have been very helpful during this time of "masking." The letter cards along with the Kid Lips picture cards are displayed in the front of the classroom where all students can see and refer to at any given time during the day. The students can relate to the pictures of the Kid Lips because they are multicultural. One of my students said, "those lips look like mine."
The next step in regards to this project is to create an entire sound wall where the Kid Lips will be displayed with each sound spelling card and with a list of words under each spelling. The sound wall will be used during reading and writing on a daily basis.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. De Luna
This classroom project was brought to life by Panda Cares and 7 other donors.A Dry Erase Kidney Table to... Write on and Read!
Funded Nov 10, 2021This dry erase table is amazing. I am as excited as the students are. It is amazing to be able to actually write on this table and erase it just like a whiteboard.
When my first graders first saw the table, they were curious and wanted to know why it was orange and looked just like the whiteboard. I took a group of students, gave them a dry erase marker and asked them to write their name on the table. My students stared at me and one asked, "Are you sure you want me to write on the table?" I nodded and they went ahead and wrote their names. I then pulled out the eraser and erased their names. This is when one of my students said, "Mrs. De Luna, this table is just like the whiteboard."
Small group instruction happens on a daily basis. I meet with students for 10-15 minutes which is not a long time. This table cuts down on time spent on passing out small individual whiteboards. When writing words or sentences, students can quickly write on the table. My first graders look forward to small group instruction. They are engaged and focused while learning to read and write.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. De Luna
This classroom project was brought to life by #TeachHealthy with Nature Made and 2 other donors.Wiggle and Wobble While I Learn
Funded Nov 10, 2021Thank you so much for supporting this project. My students are extremely excited about these wiggle stools. On a daily basis, I pull groups of 4-6 students for explicit and systematic instruction. During small group instruction, students gather around and sit on chairs around a kidney table. The chairs are hard to sit on and are loud when taking them out or pushing them back into place. The wiggle and giggle stools have replaced the chairs that students sit on for small group instruction. Small group instruction has become their favorite part of the learning day. Students look forward to sitting on these stools.
When my first grades first saw the boxes with the stools they became curious. I had several who had never seen little less sit on a stool. I had the opportunity to take one out and assemble it during class time. Each one had the opportunity to sit and try the stool. I have no words to express the excitement in my students' faces when they realized how soft and comfortable they are and that they can actually move while sitting.
Moving forward, the goal is to create a classroom full of flexible seating. I want to create a reading area with pillows and a carpet for my students to sit on while enjoying their favorite book.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. De Luna
This classroom project was brought to life by #TeachHealthy with Nature Made.Show It! Model It!
Funded Sep 3, 2020I am deeply grateful for your generosity. My students and I are extremely grateful for this wonderful document camera. I can finally conduct read alouds without having to hold the book in front of the camera/ laptop. My students are able to clearly see the diagrams, pictures, images, and text without a problem. As the book/text is being shared via document camera, the students are able to annotate and point out features in that book/text. It is also amazing that I can model/demonstrate lessons and not just talk through them. I am able to use and model lessons with manipulatives and write on paper as if I were in the classroom.
My students were most excited about being able to clearly see the books that I read to them. One of my first graders said, "Mrs. De Luna, it so nice to be able to see the pictures and the words/text in the books that you are reading to us." Other students were excited about the zoom feature that the document camera has. As I model for the students how to write words, I am able to zoom in and make the text bigger which helps students to better see the formation of letters.
Overall, this document camera has made teaching from home much more exciting for both my students and I.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. De Luna
This classroom project was brought to life by A Generous Donor and 2 other donors.Ready, Set, Zoom!
Funded Dec 2, 2020Thank you for your generosity. My students are getting the best education possible during remote learning due to your kind heart.
This laptop has the capability of conducting Zoom classes with a clear picture. Students can clearly see my lessons and see each other while participating or sharing work. Best of all, learning videos and slide decks used during lessons are no longer freezing. This laptop has great speaker with a built in sound that transmits clear voices and sounds from videos.
The most exciting part about this laptop is that it allows me to connect an iPad to it. The iPad serves as a document camera which allows for sharing of physical books for read alouds. As I am conducting lessons, I can model for the students using this feature which gives students a better understanding of what they are being asked to do.
Also, this laptop allows me to use the annotation feature on Zoom this which was not possible with me old laptop. The annotation features allows me to write on the screen as if I was using a pencil or pen. Students find it fascinating when I use the annotation feature because I can pull up a book and circle important parts orI can work out the answer to a math problem.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. De Luna
This classroom project was brought to life by FamilyAlbum and 4 other donors.Creating Fluent Readers Through the Use of High Interest Books
Funded Nov 29, 2016The Guided Reading leveled books that were generously donated to my class have opened up a window of learning to all my students. One of the main reading strategies that students have learned to use when reading is to check for understanding. Students have learned to stop after every two pages and check if they understood what they read. They ask themselves, "Is this a fiction or non-fiction passage?" If fiction, then they ask themselves: "Who is the story about and what happened?" (What happened in the beginning, middle, and end?); if non-fiction, they ask themselves: "What is the main idea and what are three to five details about that main idea."
Students' interest in reading increased when we started using the actual books. The books are full of photos, captions, and interesting facts that help all readers to better understand the content of the books. The purpose of reading is to become a better reader and these books are doing exactly that, making my students better readers. These books have become of high interest to boys in particular due to the nature of book topics which include hurricanes, tornadoes, the building of cars and many more.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. De Luna