Past projects 58
Goodbye Worksheets, Hello Learning
Funded May 1, 2019No one rushes into school to work quietly on worksheets. While these have their place in the classroom, worksheets don't inspire a sense of joy and urgency. By helping me bring this project to life, I was able to implement morning choice as a gentle way to ease into our day.
My fifth graders start each day with a twenty minute modified free choice period. Each of the six tables has a different activity, ranging from Legos to Lincoln Logs to playing cards. Students come in, put their materials away, and choose one of the morning activities. During this time, I am able to greet all students, but more importantly, they get to start their day in a hands-on way.
During morning choice, they are practicing problem solving, critical thinking, and team work skills. They are sharing ideas with each other, trying new things, and growing as a class. My students get to move, talk, and share first thing in the morning and this creates a positive environment for our day of learning. Thank you so much for being a part of the educational magic. Watching students rush to get in line because they can't wait to get inside is a heartwarming sight.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Somma
This classroom project was brought to life by Someone Who Loves Clark County Teachers and 7 other donors.CSI: Creating Scientific Inquiry
Funded Oct 26, 2018On behalf of five different third grade classrooms, thank you so much for donating to our project. I was so excited about our materials for our transformation that I included the rest of the grade level as well! We turned an empty portable into a crime scene, took turns investigating for clues, then learned to "think like a detective" to make inferences based on evidence. As I shared ideas with other teachers, my one day idea blossomed into a week long unit with different teachers doing mini-lessons involving our materials and thinking like a detective. We even had local members of the police come in for an assembly with our students. By far, the favorite activity was investigating our own finger prints with magnifying glasses and ink. From there, we learned to make bar graphs to show off patterns in numbers. We also have used the magnifying glasses for several activities. My students love using them to "close read" and "look for clues" like detectives. Thank you so much for contributing to our school and providing this hands on, engaging learning experience for not just my class, but the third graders. They absolutely loved this transformation and are eagerly asking about the next adventure in learning.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Somma
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose.org Community and 8 other donors.Paging Doctor Student
Funded May 16, 2018I cannot thank you enough for your generosity and helping me bring my classroom transformation to life! I teach at a Title 1 elementary school and my students don't always have the opportunity to experience life outside of the community. By helping to fund my "paging doctor student" project, you are helping open their eyes to a possibility of careers beyond the shiny lights of the Las Vegas Strip. By transforming our classroom into a doctor and vet's office, you are helping to show students that their futures are endless. We will be using the doctor materials as we examine x-rays and learn about the human body. We will be doing "surgery" on text features as we cut apart magazines and see how all of the pieces go together to aid in comprehension. Thank you for helping me make my public school classroom an engaging place for all learners.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Somma
This classroom project was brought to life by Someone Who Loves Clark County Teachers and 7 other donors.Small Group Success
Funded May 16, 2018Our school has redesigned the RTI process this year to better meet the needs of students. Instead of relying solely on computer based interventions, we are pulling more small groups that are focused on strategies and student learning gaps, which is what's best for kids. These resources for small group success perfectly align with the gaps my students have and now we have some exciting new resources to close those gaps! I showed the new materials to my intervention group and was met with audible sighs from the rest of the class. My intervention group gets "first dibs" on the new centers, which they are thrilled about. Not to worry, the rest of the class will be using the materials as well for reteaching and extension. Thank you for bringing excitement into our classroom!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Somma
This classroom project was brought to life by Someone Who Loves Clark County Teachers and one other donor.Show Me the Money
Funded May 16, 2018I cannot thank you enough for your generosity and helping me bring my classroom transformation to life! I teach at a Title 1 elementary school and my students don't always have the opportunity to experience life outside of the community. By helping to fund my "show me the money" project, you are helping open their eyes to a possibility of careers beyond the shiny lights of the Las Vegas Strip. By transforming our classroom into a you are helping to show students that their futures are endless. We will be using the materials to learn about financial literacy and making smart money decisions. Fiscal responsibility is an important life skill and I am pleased to have the resources to support this in my classroom. Thank you for helping me make my public school classroom an engaging place for all learners.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Somma
This classroom project was brought to life by Someone Who Loves Clark County Teachers and 8 other donors.I like to Move It Move It!
Funded Mar 13, 2018On behalf of myself and twenty-seven young mathematicians, I just wanted to express my gratitude. Your generous donation towards my math manipulative project has helped transform our math block.
The materials arrived faster than expected, which means that my third graders got to have some hands-on math practice before spring break. We also have the materials in time to prepare for standardized testing (SBAC), which means that our test prep activities were meaningful, engaging, and hands-on! Thank you for providing math resources for my students to make meaning of difficult concepts such as elapsed time, fractions, multiplication, and division. Thank you for providing me with the tools to combat math anxiety and testing fears! These resources will be well loved for years to come.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Somma
Multiplication Masterminds!
Funded Mar 27, 2018I am blown away by your generosity. Thank you so much for fully funding my multiplication project. My third graders are building the number sense skills that will carry them through the rest of elementary school. Thank you for providing me with the tools to help make multiplication mastery more hands-on and engaging for them. Instead of "drill and kill" worksheets, we are playing games, skip counting, and activating different learning styles to truly understand how multiplication is related to repeated addition. Thank you for making our learning come alive!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Somma
This classroom project was brought to life by Ripple.Reading in a Winter Wonderland
Funded Jan 26, 2018On behalf of myself and twenty seven thrilled young readers, I just wanted to take a moment to express my sincere appreciation for your generosity. Investing in my students and multi-cultural literature is an investment in our shared future.
My students come from various socio-economic and cultural backgrounds, which is why it is important for me to highlight compassion and shared similarities among all people. By learning more about those around us, we learn to view others as friends, even when we have religious, cultural, political, or other differences. Thank you for providing me with appropriate non-fiction texts to let my students safely learn about the world around them. Having an understanding and appreciation of others that differ from ourselves is an invaluable life skill.
Thank you again for providing my class with books to help us learn about others around the world. We loved learning about Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Christmas before winter break. We are looking forward to learning about Cinco de Mayo in the upcoming months. Thank you for investing in my students and their future.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Somma
This classroom project was brought to life by The First Million Fund and 5 other donors.Flexible Seating for Flexible Minds
Funded Aug 24, 2017Thank you so much for your kind generosity with funding my students' flexible seating project. This year is my first year in third grade and the eight year olds are definitely more wiggly than the fifth graders! Flexible seating has allowed my third graders to choose where they want to do their best work. We use these seating options for partner work, math time, writing time, and to cozy up with a good book during independent reading.
As our Amazon boxes started to arrive, my students were overwhelmed with excitement. We are thrilled to try out our new stools, lap desk, and floor pillows. After going over norms and creating a chart about how to treat our new materials with respect, my students jumped at the chance to use these seating options. Thank you for your support of our classroom.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Somma
I Am Not the Enemy: Embracing All Our Neighbors
Funded Feb 24, 2017Words cannot express our deepest appreciation for your generosity in funding this project. With my young students being almost constantly bombarded with negative messages of hate and "othering", it's becoming increasingly difficult to promote a culture of peace. Luckily, these books came at the perfect time. I try to make my classroom one where students feel loved and safe, regardless of cultural or ethnic background, gender, religion, or nationality. Now more than ever, schools need to exist as a safe sanctuary for students.
This collection of books helps my students to learn about other cultures in a respectful, thoughtful manner. I am very careful to reiterate that I am not teaching religion, but rather giving them the opportunity to learn about other people in a non-biased, informational text. I was thrilled with the selection of books that were donated to my classroom. Ranging from a beginning of third grade level up through the end of middle school, the diverse book range perfectly matches my varied readers. From picture books to novels, there is something for all of my students.
Thank you again for helping me teach tolerance, understanding, and empathy.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Somma