Ms. Mesk's Classroom Edit display name

Current requests

Past projects 10

• Sensory Tools For Equity & Inclusion In Our STEAM Lab!

  Funded Dec 3, 2024

  Thank you so much for helping to bring Equity & Inclusion to the STEAM Lab at PS 1. Your contributions have helped us to add a Cozy Corner to the lab and bring sensory tools to our lab tables. The STEAM lab provides all our SWANNs (Students with Abilities and Novel Needs) access to project-based learning and the opportunity to explore the world through the lens of engineering.

  We have learned that participating in project-based learning means that we have to be able to manage our own emotions and use multiple strategies for collaborating with others. However, sometimes it's difficult for us to manage our emotions and the cozy corner provides us with a quiet space to help us calm down and refocus. The kick bands and calming strips at the lab tables help us meet our sensory needs while we are working in our teams. We love that although the STEAM lab is a science-centered space, there is still plenty of room for us to manage our emotions and our sensory needs. Your support means that we get more time in the lab learning together. Thank you for helping create space for all the learners that come into STEAM!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Mesk

  This classroom project was brought to life by Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation and 5 other donors.

• Equitable Classroom Nooks to Meet Our Sensory Needs!

  Funded Nov 30, 2022

  Thank you so much for the contributions you made to help meet our sensory needs! We are using the pillows, floor seats, rugs, kick bands, liquid timers and fidgets to help us focus across the day. For many of us, it is very difficult to sit all day in our desk and listen. Our brains have to work twice as hard if we are required to sit still and to always sit up. The materials you have given us are helping to ease the cognitive load we experience across the school day. The variety of materials means that we get lots of choices to meet those needs. For example, when we first come in the morning, we are in different literacy centers. Some of us love to curl up on the cozy pillows as we read our chapter books and picture books. The rugs are great for small groups and phonics games. We also use these nooks when we have independent writing and when we are working in partnerships during math. The kick bands and fidgets make it so much easier for us to process auditory information when we have whole class lessons. The fidgets and liquid timers are also great when it seems like our feelings and/or brains are about to explode and we need a break.

  When we first saw these materials we were surprised! We wanted to know who brought us such wonderful tools! We couldn't wait to touch them!

  We will continue to use these tools to meet our sensory needs and to help us learn to self-regulate our emotions and attention across the school day. We know that when we do hard things, our brains grow and that sometimes you need tools along the way. These amazing tools will help us to continue to grow as readers, scientists, mathematicians, explorers and leaders. Thank you so much!!!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Mesk

  This classroom project was brought to life by an Anonymous Classroom Supporter and 10 other donors.

• Message of Hope During a Pandemic: Kindness Rocks

  Funded Nov 17, 2020

  Thank you so much for contributing to our community service project, "Message of Hope During Pandemic: Kindness Rocks." In my classroom, we try to incorporate the 4 Domains of Global Competency: Investigate the World, Recognize Perspectives, Communicate Ideas and Take Action. Your support helped us to put all four of these domains into practice. Through videos and close reading, we investigated the Kindness Rock Project that is happening in cities and towns all over the world. By incorporating the original news article into google slides with audio support files, my students were able to independently research what this movement is and the unique way it has brought communities together. The students immediately asked if they could paint their own kindness rocks! With your amazing contributions sitting in the back of the classroom, I was able to say yes to that request!

  The students planned out their rocks on their sketch pads with assistance from an audio word bank on google slides. At their present level of performance, reading and writing can be a challenging task for my students and the audio word banks were very helpful. The beautiful paint pens and rocks you provided brought the students so much joy. I have never seen them work with such focus and determination as they created their Kindness Rocks!

  We were halfway through this project on January 6th, the day of the attack at the U.S. Congress. We had a very challenging discussion on January 7th about the events of the previous day. However, continuing to create our Kindness Rocks helped us to channel our confusion, grief and fear into something positive we could bring to our community. My students have lunch in the classroom and they have asked if they can continue creating Kindness Rocks after they finish eating. Some students have started bringing in their own rocks and we now have our Rock Painting Club at lunch. This weekend, my students are hiding their rocks in the community. They are so excited to help to bring their community together. I can't wait to hear them speak about their experience of hiding their rocks for others to find. Thank you for helping to empower my students as Global Citizens.”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Mesk

• Future Global Leaders Are Flipping Out for Flipgrid!

  Funded Nov 18, 2019

  Thank you for contributing to our project, "Future Global Leaders Are Flipping Out for FlipGrid!" We love our new headphones! They have allowed us to produce some wonderful FlipGrid videos and use voice to text typing on Google Docs.

  Our favorite part of our new headphones are the attached microphones. They have given us greater access to curriculum standards and helped us to apply Global Competency #4: Communicating Ideas. Our favorite way to use the headphones is to make FlipGrid Videos. Our favorite FlipGrid Videos were the videos we made for our new friends, Mariana and Valeria in Colombia. Mariana and Valeria are two students in Bucaramanga, Colombia. They sent us some questions about life in the United States. Instead of writing back to them, we made them videos in which we answered questions and asked some of our own about life in Colombia. We received video responses back and it was so exciting to participate in this cross cultural exchange. The microphones have helped to cut out background noise and also has made using voice to text typing so much easier! For some of us, our print disabilities make writing a difficult period. The microphones have allowed us to communicate our very big ideas!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Mesk

  This classroom project was brought to life by Verizon and 8 other donors.

• Strong Independent Girls Love Reading About Strong Independent Role Models!

  Funded Feb 28, 2019

  As I have grown into a proficient Special Educator over the last 15 years, I have come to realize that students with disabilities make greater progress when their educator takes a strength-based approach rather than a deficit-based approach. I have spent a lot of my free time researching best practices for instituting book clubs around student interest because a reader cannot only be defined by their reading level. My girls demonstrated a real interest in the Babysitters Club Graphic novels but I only had 1 or 2 books in my classroom library. The girls shared with me that they loved the books because they could connect to the characters. Each of the girls felt there was a character that they shared similar character traits with and they all shared that they spend much of their time after school babysitting their younger siblings and cousins. My girls were hungry for these books.

  My classroom is not quiet during reading workshop. I encourage my students to read together to improve their fluency, stop and jot together and have informal conversations about their books. I also pull students at this time so that they can have formal book club conversations that will help them deepen their comprehension of the text and increase their love for reading. The girls who read these books in their book clubs were able to make connections across texts, discuss motivation and the themes visited within this series.

  I can tell that my girls love these books because they do not want to give them back to me. They collect them and keep them on top of their desks so everyone can see what they love to read and how they picture themselves: STRONG, INDEPENDENT WOMEN.

  All children can participate in book clubs. Learning Disabilities, Speech & Language Impairments and ADHD do not prevent students from loving literature.”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Mesk

  This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose.org Community and 15 other donors.

• Inclusion and Equity in Our Meeting Areas!

  Funded Aug 15, 2018

  Thank you for contributing to our wonderful rugs and vacuum cleaners! When we first received the rugs, the students were so excited! They loved the soccer rug because all of my students participate in a soccer team on the weekends and after school. They loved the world map rug because it helped them to envision our world, find the answers to their curious questions and engage in conversation about their role as global citizens. The Speech and Language Team reports that when they walk by their students run into my classroom to look at the rugs and ask questions. They have become a show piece that has resulted in our classroom becoming a community gathering space.

  These rugs have also become a regular part of all of our lessons! The world map rug helped us to visualize the Prime Meridian and the Equator in our geography lessons. We are communicating with a Fulbright Scholar who is traveling in Mongolia. This rug has helped us to understand where Mongolia is in relation to our location on the map, why the climate in Mongolia is so cold and why some aspects of Mongolian culture are similar to other Asian countries. The soccer rug has been helpful for students with sensory input issues. Some of my students need movement breaks to be successful across the day. Many of my students will take laps around the soccer rug for their movement breaks. Both rugs also create intimate space for small groups. The students take turns using the vacuum to take care of the rugs and to keep our classroom clean. This gives them a sense of ownership over our classroom space.

  In the future, I will be submitting a Donors Choose proposal to create book clubs around graphic novels. My students do not really enjoy reading but they love graphic novels! These book clubs will help us to build on our strengths instead of our deficits and hopefully result in increased engagement in reading!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Mesk

• Individualized Resource Folders for Students with Disabilities

  Funded Aug 11, 2016

  These folders have been a great tool for our class! We are in the process of building personalized math and writing resource folders. Our classroom is really tiny and we have two grades in our classroom. We don't have a lot of room to hang charts for all of our very different needs. For example, in math the fourth graders needed rounding charts to help them round to the nearest hundred and the nearest thousand but the 5th graders needed 20 by 20 multiplication grids to help them divide large dividends. Because we each have our own math folders, we can keep our own copies of these resources and we can take them home. In reading, we keep a copy of our mentor summary and our differentiated reading logs. In writing, we have word banks and mentor texts. Our favorite folder is our Leadership 101 folder. In this folder, we keep our resources on the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People! These folders are great because we get to take them home and they make completing our homework a little easier!

  When we first saw the folders, we liked how they were color-coded! They help us keep our materials organized! Some of us couldn't afford to bring in school supplies so it was nice that we had folders given to our classroom!

  Our next step is to build our social studies folders and become more independent in using all of our resource folders!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Mesk

• Home Field Advantage: A Tool for Every Team Member!

  Funded Dec 1, 2015

  Thank you so much for contributing to our Home Field Advantage Project. This has made our classroom a much more comfortable place for learning. We are using these resources in our mini-lessons, morning meeting, small groups, shared reading and writing and our partner work. We have even used these tools to allow us to work in our school garden. When it is a nice day, we sit outside to work on our reading and writing. Overall, these tools have allowed us to be able to increase our listening skills and our independence.

  When the students in class 151 first saw the materials we were excited and curious. Many of us were skeptical about the comfort of sitting on a yoga block or using a larger clipboard. We have all tried out the materials and we have learned that not all tools work for all us. We are getting smarter at making our own choices regarding our learning tools.

  Some of us need to sit up high in the meeting area so the yoga blocks are perfect. The cushions are better for students who move do not move around as much. The varying clipboards are perfect because some of us need lots of space to write and others do not. We still struggle at times to remain focused but we are getting better at deciding what we need to be successful. Our listening and productivity has genuinely increased.

  Our next step is to find the write sensory tools to helps us focus when we are feeling fidgety. Ms Mesk is trying to research the different ways to manage sensory tools in the classroom. She is also trying to research movement practices to help us maintain our attention and improve our impulse control.”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Mesk

  This classroom project was brought to life by Google.org and 6 other donors.

• No More Reading Robots!!!!

  Funded Feb 15, 2013

  Thank you so much for donating to "No More Reading Robots!" My students greatly benefited from the voice recorders. They really enjoyed being able to manipulate the recorders with minimal help. It gave them a sense of independence and accountability that they did not have before they received these resources. My students are very goal orientated regardless of their disabilities or language needs and the voice recorders helped them to set new goals across multiple content areas.

  Not only did we use these recorders to improve our fluency and expression in reading but the students asked if we could use them to evaluate our book talk and in our writing workshop. Previously we had been using our classroom computers to recorder conversations and to orally rehearse our essays and stories but these tools made some of the students feel insecure. Students forgot they were being recorded when we used the voice recorders and they were more open and had greater confidence. The Speech Pathologist and the ESL teacher collaborated in using these tools to help the students meet their IEP goals and their language goals.

  As a result of these voice recorders, all of my students went up two to three reading levels, increased their elaboration in their writing and the fluency of their accountable talk. They were able to independently evaluate their reading fluency, rehearsal and conversations to make low inference observations and set meaningful goals. As a Special Education teacher, I have a very accurate record of their progress due to the simple ability to upload these files to my computer. It has helped address the reading common core standards but also the writing and speaking and listening standards.

  Thank you so much for giving us this simple but extremely meaningful tool.”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Mesk