Past projects 9
Let's Give Our Students Some Wiggle Room!
Funded Aug 24, 2022We are so grateful for our new wobble stools and rocking chairs! While it took a little while for these items to be delivered, our students were ecstatic once they arrived! They are so popular that we now have a special Seat Sign Up with a list of four students who are "waiting in line" to use each type of seat.
The rocking chairs have been a wonderful addition to our classroom (which already has some wobble stools and ball chairs) and are providing a small sense of movement while also providing back support to students in the classroom. This makes a world of difference for some kiddos in order to help them attune to the lessons throughout the day.
In our classroom, we are currently researching local Native American Tribes from Southern California and will be creating an art piece to demonstrate our knowledge. This project comes after spending several weeks learning about other Native American Tribes in California (Miwok, Chumash, and Hupa).”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Cherniet
No More Technology Troubles
Funded Mar 1, 2019Thank you so much for your generosity. Because of you, we were able to get four ChromeBooks AND a new desktop computer that connects to our document camera and interactive white board. We use technology in many ways in our classroom. The desktop is used constantly throughout each school day for PowerPoint presentations, interactive lessons, videos, body breaks, mindfulness, visual aides, and music. We no longer have minutes of wait time when trying to load a new website, which makes the time used in our class that much more meaningful and effective.
Students have been able to use ChromeBooks to remediate skills such as reading fluency and math skills. As you can see in the pictures, the students are VERY excited for these additional resources in our classroom.
We are incredibly thankful for your support.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Cherniet
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose.org Community and 25 other donors.Using Technology to Break Through Barriers!
Funded Feb 8, 2018We are so grateful for your generosity as we now have three iPads in our classroom!
We have several students who use them on a regular basis in order to complete written assignments. Not only do students use the predictive keyboard, but also use the voice-to-text feature. These students sit right outside the classroom (if it's a bit too noisy) and record what they want to say. Then, they go back to revise and edit their work, as any speech-to text isn't 100% accurate.
One of the features that is so wonderful is that we are able to export student work to our shared third grade files. This enables us to have final drafts transferred onto the correct paper (cute borders and all!) easily before it gets printed.
In the future, we intend to also use the iPads also for academic games and research projects. This technology has made our curriculum so much more accessible for our students!!!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Cherniet
This classroom project was brought to life by Golden State Fund and 14 other donors.Every Child Needs a Little Wiggle Room!
Funded Nov 14, 2017Thank you so much for your generous contributions to our classroom project! When I first showed our students the ball chairs and wiggle stools as a potential reality after posting the project, they were so excited. They all said they were going to ask everyone they knew to help raise money and would even go door to door if they had to!
When I told the kids we raised enough money, they literally SCREAMED with excitement. From that day on, I was asked multiple times a day when everything was going to arrive. A few weeks later, all of our seats arrived. I inflated the ball chairs right away and couldn't wait to see how the kids would react to actually using them!
Of course, we went over the expectations for using this new seating and the students seem to have a really solid understanding about how much our community helped us reach our goal and improve our learning environment. Aside from providing each student the type of seating that s/he needs to be most successful, we've been able to implement flexible seating during various activities. This flexible seating allows students to change both the location in the room and how they choose to sit or stand during an activity.
We are so thrilled with these seats. Keep your eye out for an upcoming project involving even more seating options and maybe even some new technology that we desperately need! Thank you so much for your help.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Cherniet
Time to Get Focused!
Funded Jan 16, 2015Thank you so much for our new resources! My students and I are so grateful for all of your support. Our Listen to Reading center is no longer constantly interrupted by, "Mrs. Cherniet, the batteries are dead." The iPod Touches have made the center run seamlessly during Daily 5 and the kids are so excited to use the new technology! You should see how careful they are!
Our new large timer has a loud enough volume setting that it is able to be heard throughout the classroom, even when the Air Conditioner is on! Students no longer need to squint or get up to go look at the timer during independent work time.
The testing dividers provide a private space for each student to work during assessments. Some students even use them during independent work time if they feel distracted by something or someone around them.
We are so grateful for your support to make our classroom an even better environment in which to learn.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Cherniet
Technological Times: iPads Wanted
Funded Oct 22, 2013When our students received the iPads, we could feel the electricity fill the room. They immediately started to make me a very lengthy list of educational apps that they enjoy using. Next, I went to work downloading many of the apps they suggested that were appropriate for members of our class.
We have students using the iPads everyday. They can earn classroom coupons for technology time, which is very motivating for maintaining behavioral expectations. In addition, we have certain students who use the iPads during lessons to help make the content more accessible.
This added element to our classroom has helped to add enthusiasm towards lessons, striving to do their best at all times, and continues to make content accessible to every learner in our classroom, regardless of his/her abilities.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Cherniet
Music Heals The Soul
Funded Mar 11, 2013I am sincerely grateful for your willingness to contribute your hard-earned money to our classroom. Since receiving our new timers, I have been able to meet more student needs. Some students need a timer to help keep them on task, some to aid with time-management, while others use timers when they are taking a break from school work.
The iPod has been incredibly motivating for our students and allows me to show educational videos on my laptop without worrying about what my class began calling "Double Music." This would occur when I would forget to pause iTunes. Then when the video started, we'd be hearing to layers of sound. This was VERY irritating for all of us. Kids are able to use the iPod successfully to ensure that the music is on only during the appropriate time.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Cherniet
"Oh! I Get It!" Music to A Teacher's Ears!
Funded Jan 27, 2012We began using all of our new equipment today! I cannot express how exciting it was for both myself and my students to experience this technology. When I began using the ELMO for our Daily Language and Math Practice, students were astounded at the ability of this machine to project such high quality live video of what I was doing. Students were incredibly engaged in the lesson! This new equipment is a large part of the reason as it engages both visual and kinesthetic learners.
Your donations have helped to make my teaching and my students' learning easier! Thank you for making this dream a reality.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Cherniet
Reading Disability? No Problem When You Have the Right Tools
Funded Sep 14, 2011Thank you so much for all of your donations! Over the passed five years, our school's budget has decreased significantly. This has not only affected the teachers, but also (and more importantly) our students. We count on the support of people like you to help us educate our students as best we can with the resources that help to make the curriculum accessible to all.
We have already used our new "Rock Stars" and headphones to allow clusters of students to listen to the weekly story, while following along in their textbooks. When I introduced our new materials, I heard "oooh's" and "aah's" in anticipation of using them. All students were able to listen at the same time! This cut the time it usually takes for students to rotate disc men in half, if not more, and we were able to move on to the comprehension assignment. We are so grateful for all of your help!
The projector cart is en route! So excited to begin our next project!
”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Cherniet