Past projects 45
Teacher Made Resources for the Fall!
Funded Jul 27, 2021Thank you, thank you, thank you! I cannot express my gratitude enough for your generosity in supporting my classroom.
Last year was so incredibly challenging for most of my students - many were not making the progress that they would have if they were in school full time. With school starting in-person, in just a few weeks, I want to make sure that all of my students have access to engaging content on all academic levels. This Teachers Pay Teachers gift card will be so incredibly useful for the various different learning models I will be implementing this school year. I have already begun filling my cart with so many resources to support my students. I am finding new and creative resources to use in my classroom like math centers, spiral ELA worksheets, reference guides, social emotional activities and intervention resources. I have already purchased and laminated activities that are visual, engaging, socially emotionally targeted, and academically motivating. I have also begun making teacher-models for my students to reference after a lesson. Going forward, I am hoping to also purchase more printable graphic organizers, as well as digital lessons and activities.
The students in my school are such creative, curious, inquisitive little learners, and I know while we cannot "unbox" these resources together, they will appreciate every task and activity purchased. The resources I have purchased thus far encourage everyday problem solving, creativity, as well as analytical and critical thinking skills. They are engaging, colorful and the digital activities include movable pieces that I know will be a big hit with my students.
In addition to the TPT gift card, another classroom essential that will be put to good use are the tissues. They are an everyday basic that will be an excellent addition to my classroom.
The help from Donors Choose is just phenomenal; I feel so blessed that this project was funded. Especially in this time of need and growth, thank you so much!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. S. Garofalo
This classroom project was brought to life by Kleenex® Brand and 3 other donors.Basic Supplies for Back to School
Funded Mar 31, 2021I am so incredibly honored that you chose to help fund this project for my classroom! It is so humbling to know that there are others out there who believe in supporting public education! COVID has taken a huge toll on my students' families - many have lost loved ones, lost jobs, and cannot make ends meet. I can't imagine asking them for supplies for the fall semester, and wrote this grant with the hopes that I can prepare pencil cases and "desk sets" for my students before they enter the classroom in September. With this project, my hope was to obtain as many resources as possible to limit my students' families from having to purchase them on their own. Every little bit in their household counts, and if I, (with your help) can help them save even a little bit, I know it will be much appreciated. Because this grant was funded, I am already able to modify by supply list for next year by removing scissors, pencil cases, ziploc bags (to use as library book baggies), dry erase markers, etc.
In addition to supplies for my students, your support has also helped me obtain new dry erase boards for small group work, create engaging STEM bag centers, and you helped recreate my classroom library by providing new book bins!
I cannot thank you enough for your support. I am truly so excited to utilize all these new resources in the months to come. Thank you again for your generous donation! It is so incredibly appreciated!!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. S. Garofalo
This classroom project was brought to life by T-Mobile and 4 other donors.Helping to Sculpt the Future!
Funded Mar 15, 2021Thank you so much for your generous and thoughtful donations that allowed this project to come to life! My students are really struggling this year - socially, emotionally, and academically. They are in school 2-3 days a week, and are learning remotely the other half of the week. This disruption has been so hard on them, which has made me realize that my students really value their time in person with me. With this project, my hope is to make learning more fun, more engaging and more interactive. I want my students to create clay projects that enrich our curriculum, and encourage their creativity. The items in this grant were thoughtfully chosen to help build on my lessons in a differentiated way. My students will utilize the paintbrushes, cookie cutters, art trays and clay to build their creations, tap into their artistic side, and make tangible objects that help bring learning to life. My hope is that they will create clay magnets that reflect their favorite books, pinch pot bowls using measurement and mathematics, or even clay gifts for mothers/fathers/grown ups! My students have very little things to call their own, so I am hoping to also send the extra materials home so that my students can share their excitement and love of creating with their family members as well. I am truly so excited to utilize all these new resources in the months to come.
I cannot thank you enough for supporting my classroom. Your generous donation is so incredibly appreciated. It is people like you who inspire me to reinvigorate my lessons with creativity, to help make learning more meaningful for my students. Thank you again!!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. S. Garofalo
Virtual Resources for Remote Learning
Funded Mar 15, 2021Thank you SO very much for making this project come to life! With the school year still in flex (half hybrid, half in person), having access to digital resources will take a huge weight off of my shoulders as I continue to plan lessons for both remote and blended learning. This school year has been incredibly challenging for most of my students - many are not making the progress that they would have if they were in school full time. With just a few more months left of school, I want to make this time meaningful, engaging and target those necessary skills that my students are really struggling with. With this TPT gift card, I have already purchased and implemented activities that are visual, engaging, socially emotionally targeted, and academically motivating. Going forward, I am hoping to also purchase more printable graphic organizers, as well as digital lessons and activities.
My students are such creative, curious, inquisitive little learners, and I know while we cannot "unbox" these resources together, they will appreciate every task and activity purchased. The resources I have purchased thus far encourage everyday problem solving, creativity, as well as analytical and critical thinking skills. They are engaging, colorful and the digital activities include movable pieces that I know will be a big hit with my students.
Thank you again for making this a reality for my class. We are so grateful and thankful to have these amazing new learning materials in our blended learning classroom!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. S. Garofalo
Social Emotional Growth for Second Graders
Funded Feb 4, 2021Thank you so much for your generous and thoughtful donations that allowed this project to come to life! My students are really struggling this year - socially, emotionally, and academically. They are in school 2-3 days a week, and are learning remotely the other half of the week. This disruption has been so hard on them, which has encouraged me to shift gears and focus more of our in-person time on social emotional learning. Over the course of these past few months, my students and I participate in character education talks utilizing various mentor texts that support different SEL skills like empathy, responsibility, kindness, resilience, etc. The items in this grant were thoughtfully chosen to help build upon my lessons by incorporating new read alouds, art/stem tasks, calming corner resources, as well as emotion recognition activities. The fidget tubes, and Plus Plus blocks are already a class favorite for the students who need that calming distraction from the pressure and expectation of their new learning routine. I have paired our school wide RULER program with The Color Monster text, and connected it with the emoji keychains and the kids absolutely loved it. Each day, they get to choose their emotion by placing a keychain on their desk. If their feelings change, they switch their emoji and that is when I know that child needs a one-on-one "check-in". I can't wait to utilize the class set of sunglasses in the spring too! My intention is to do an activity that encourages students to look at themselves more deeply with those sunglasses to discover how to take a 'meta moment'. I am also hoping to create some shrinky dink art that my students can gift to others, or keep for themselves. My students have very little things to call their own, so something as small and simple as a shrinky dink keychain could really make a difference in their day. I am so excited to utilize all these new resources in the months to come. I truly cannot thank you enough for supporting my classroom. Your generous donation is so incredibly appreciated. It is people like you who inspire me to continue teaching my students about kindness. Thank you again!!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. S. Garofalo
This classroom project was brought to life by Allstate Foundation and 3 other donors.DocuCam for 2nd Grade Friends!
Funded Nov 23, 2020Thank you SO much for your generous donation toward the purchase of a document camera for my classroom! NYC schools have currently transitioned to fully remote, so this tool is an absolute necessity right now!
While we are currently remote, the addition of a document is a helpful expansion to the learning environment, both in the classroom and at home. Many of my students are visual learners, so being able to clearly see a modeled task is essential to their success. With this document camera I will be able to model certain tasks across all subjects, especially math. Math can be a struggle for most students, and being able to model a task properly is key to understanding. Having a document camera to assist with math tasks will help visually aid my students, while allowing me the opportunity to clarify directions/steps in real time. My students will now be able to follow along visually and know exactly where we are in a text or on a worksheet.
In addition, having access to basic classroom supplies like lapboard stands, dry erase boards, tissues and STEM sets will allow me to better support my students' academics, engagement and basic needs. These resources may seem like a small addition to my project, but they are just as important as having technology in the classroom.
I cannot thank you enough for supporting my classroom. Thank you again!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. S. Garofalo
This classroom project was brought to life by Allstate Foundation.Projecting the Future
Funded Dec 2, 2020Thank you SO much for your generous donation toward the purchase of a projector for my classroom!
The addition of a projector is a helpful expansion to my students learning environment, both in the classroom and at home. Many of my students are visual learners, so being able to clearly see a modeled task or have a reference chart nearby is essential to their success. With this projector I have been able to create visually pleasing and engaging anchor charts to support my students' learning.
I absolutely love using anchor charts in my classroom - especially during my reading, writing, math and social emotional lessons. Having an interactive component to learning is so important to help keep my students engaged. Just like with any other learning tool, my students love interacting as we build our anchor charts together. I particularly like to use post-it's to help track my students' thinking. It holds them accountable for their learning, and it allows me to use those post-its as exit tickets to check for understanding.
I know this is going to sound silly, but having a projector has allowed me to trace images onto chart paper prior to my lessons to build the outline of my chart. It's a teacher hack I have seen online and couldn't wait to try in the classroom. I don't always have the neatest handwriting, so being able to project and trace fonts and graphics already prepared in powerpoint, has helped me immensely! I have already created so many anchor charts for our current realistic fiction unit. The character feelings chart as seen in the attached images has been referenced almost 10 times daily by my students already!
I honestly believe that in order to help keep our students engaged, instruction must be interactive, visual and fun. We as teachers have to adapt to our learners, and knowing what our students need helps them grow and succeed in the classroom. Adapting and changing with technology is the first step in becoming a stronger teacher who is more understanding of students' needs.
I cannot thank you enough for supporting my practice, my growth and my classroom. Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. S. Garofalo
This classroom project was brought to life by FamilyAlbum and one other donor.Distance Learning for ICT
Funded Dec 1, 2020I am so incredibly humbled for your generous donation to my classroom. I have already implemented the use of the iPad for remote learning and my students are loving it. My students need a more interactive and specialized approach to instruction, and the iPad has helped meet that need. I am able to share my screen and explicitly teach specific concepts, play interactive games together with my students, show them how to solve mathematical equations, and ultimately have a more engaging experience remotely. I have also been able to utilize it inside the classroom during our blended instruction and having this ability is equally amazing!
Thank you again for allowing me the opportunity to continue to meet my students needs with new technology during this ever changing environment. Having this technology truly helps make teaching seamless and engaging!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. S. Garofalo
This classroom project was brought to life by FamilyAlbum and 4 other donors.Character Education for Kids!
Funded Nov 23, 2020This project is one of the most meaningful projects I have written. I am so incredibly excited that I am going to be able to share all of these wonderful, thoughtful books with my students!
The need for character education is real, and since students spend most of their time at school, it is the perfect place to instill moral values in them. I am hoping that with these texts, I will be able to create and foster a strong character education program in my classroom.
Character education helps create a holistic approach to learning and development, and I am hoping that with these texts I will be able to help reach my students and foster a healthy, balanced, civic-minded next generation.
These new books will spark a flame in my students to read and to LOVE to read. These books are exciting, full of color, and include meaningful character education lessons. My students will be mesmerized by the storylines, and will be able to make connections with the characters and their life events. Students often see themselves and their peers in stories, and these texts will provide that opportunity for them.
I cannot thank you enough for your support. I truly appreciate your generous donations and help for fulfilling this project.
Thank you again!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. S. Garofalo
This classroom project was brought to life by Allstate Foundation and 2 other donors.Supplies for Second Graders!
Funded Oct 22, 2020Thank you so much for making sure our classroom has the supplies we need to succeed! Tissues, pencil cases, scissors, snacks, etc. are all a necessity at this time of year. My students' families do not have the means to donate items to the classroom and providing these items all on my own is a heavy burden. It is such a relief to know that we are now fully stocked thanks to you! I also cannot wait to purchase some much needed digital e-books for my students. My students are now more enthused and excited to read, knowing that they will have access to high-interest leveled digital readers. You may never know how much you helped these kids, but I hope this letter gives you a little glimpse into the change you've helped me make in the lives of my students.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. S. Garofalo
This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Donor and 2 other donors.