Past projects 18
Exciting Reading Adventures for Sixth Graders
Funded Dec 31, 2024Thank you so much for supporting our classroom. We were searching for a new classroom text for our genre unit, and we were so excited to find this title, especially since its author will be visiting our school in the Spring. This book provides an opportunity with the narrative features of a fictional text, while also giving us a lens into a different culture than the one that the majority of our students know. The combination of fantasy and folklore is captivating and engaging for our readers.
Our students have been reading the book individually and in small groups, sometimes working independently and sometimes with direct facilitation by the teacher.
We truly appreciate the opportunity to engage with this new and exciting text. Your support of our project has made this possible and ensured that we get high quality, rigorous texts into the hands of our students.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Shirman
This classroom project was brought to life by Allison and Austin McChord and 10 other donors.A Magical Cuento for Our 6th Grade Readers
Funded Dec 3, 2024Thank you so much of your generous support bringing this beautiful story to our students. This book highlights the value of stories and heritage, the importance of maintaining a connection to our past and our family, alongside adventure and a brave heroine . Despite its futuristic setting, the book has many parallels for our students, many of whom are immigrants or come from immigrant families. As a dual language school, we highlight and often discuss the value of maintaining and keeping alive traditions (and our first language) while learning a new language and adapting to a new home. As such, this book offers an opportunity for reflection and exploration.
While reading the book, students also engaged in learning more about the folklore that is such a core part of the story, and had an opportunity to explore it through their own writing. It has been a joy for the teacher to engage with students through this rich, complex text. Thank you for ensuring that our students had access to this resource and the opportunity to explore new worlds.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Shirman
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 6 other donors.Chess and Fun for Middle School Recess
Funded Dec 3, 2024Thank you so much for supporting our students' joy and growth. These materials have been such a tremendous addition to our recess activities. Students were so excited to see the boxes of new games and especially, the newest chess/checkers sets.
Our middle school students have the opportunity to join "library recess", which is often a quieter, calmer space than the outdoors or Winter-time indoor recess with their homeroom classes. In this space, they mingle with students from other grades and classrooms and make new connections and friendships. They can choose to read, draw, rest, chat, or, most often, play one of the games from our game cabinet. With the addition of these new activities, our cabinet has seen more use, and we have even had some new students join our recess.
A few weeks back, one of the fourth graders happened to stop by the library during the middle school recess. She asked me excitedly "You can play chess in the library?!?", and I let her know that yes, in middle school (which for us starts in 5th grade), students can choose to spend their recess in the library and play chess with peers or an adult volunteer (amongst other activities). She exclaimed excitedly "I am definitely doing that!"
This is the joy that we hope to bring to our students' day, while also providing them the opportunities to grow and learn, academically, intellectually, emotionally and socially. Thank you so much for supporting our goals.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Shirman
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 4 other donors.Books for a Wiser Teacher!
Funded Mar 2, 2020Thank you so much for your generosity in funding this project in one day! These books will greatly help me to better support and teach my students as they continue to grow and thrive. Each classroom, each year is so diverse, and as a teacher I need to continue to grow and learn myself. These books will allow me to do exactly that and to give my students the best of everything”
With gratitude,
Ms. Shirman
This classroom project was brought to life by A group of anonymous donors and 4 other donors.Creating and Organizing
Funded Dec 4, 2019Thank you so much for bringing this project to life. Every day I spend with my students is a day where we grow, dream, and learn together. My students inspire me to find new ways to engage them in the content and the learning, so that they can become lifelong learners both in the classroom and beyond. The materials in this project will allow us to expand our minds and our creative skills and to try out new ways of exploring our creativity and the world around us. Thank you so much for contributing to this process!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Shirman
This classroom project was brought to life by An anonymous classroom supporter and 4 other donors.Truly the Basics
Funded Oct 25, 2019Thank you so much for bringing these necessary tools to my classroom. Handing out the fresh new pencils was a pretty amazing moment. I love how excited my students get about the simple things, and since are all pretty much convinced that we have a pencil-eating monster in our classroom (due to the rate of pencils shrinking and disappearing) pencils are a very hot commodity. The students literally cheered when I broke open our new box of pencils. My pencil helpers for the weeks were also quite thrilled to use our the efficient new sharpener.
The oil pastels were the highlight of our 3rd grade culminating project where students designed "Reading Superhero" trading cards based on books we read. The vibrant colors and special effects they were able to create with the oil pastels made for beautiful art and a creative, expressive experience for all.
The giant magnetic white boards have been an incredible addition to my teaching tools- enabling us to work on dictations, collaborative writing, and group brainstorms. It has enabled us to step away from the projector and work together more spontaneously. Lastly, the pencil grips have truly benefitted a few of my students who struggle to write and hold their pencils correctly. They loved the colors, and they have made a greater effort to write neatly.
Thank you again for your incredible generosity and support of my students and classroom.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Shirman
This classroom project was brought to life by An anonymous classroom supporter and 2 other donors.Better Viewing with New Light!
Funded Aug 13, 2019Thank you so much for supporting our classroom with these very necessary tools and materials. Our new projector bulb will allow us to see information and images from our daily lessons in bright, clear colors. This is especially important for our Visual Thinking Strategies discussions, when we look at works of art and discuss their content and stories.
We often include videos and other images as part of our multiple approaches to understanding content, and our projector is a key part of the delivery of this information. We also anchor our lessons with power point slides, and learn about important historical events through our morning message. Using a projector enables me to prepare and deliver much stronger lessons.
Having enough ink to print posters, handouts, articles, and other information is also key to our work in the classroom. While we have copiers in the building, the ability to print things on a moment's notice provides us with flexibility in the moment, when students may require differentiation or additional tools.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Shirman
This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Funder and 4 other donors.A New Year, A More Beautiful Classroom!
Funded Aug 14, 2019Thank you so much for your generous donations. Your support has allowed us to start the year with a truly lovely learning space. Our new seating cubes are great for storage, and also allow more students to have comfortable seats instead of sitting on the rug. We do most of our lessons in a circle, on the rug, as well as our weekly community circles. During centers, students choose the cubes for comfortable independent reading spaces, too.
The gold crowns have been put to great use already during the early months of the year. It is classroom tradition that students get a gold crown on their birthday, so they can "announce" special day throughout the school. Students from previous years will often come back for the crown, too, and having enough for all brings much joy!
Students love their new bookbags! They were so excited to each receive one and know that they were theirs for the year (and beyond!). I am very happy that our independent reading books are protected and well-cared for in this way. So much prettier and stronger than ziplock bags.
Thank you again for all these contributions to our classroom. They have truly made an amazing difference to us all.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Shirman
This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Funder and 5 other donors.Creativity and Practicality
Funded Jun 26, 2019Thank you so much for your incredible support of my classroom. My students were overjoyed to see the beautiful (full!) bottles of brand new paint and the wide range of colors. It is truly a rainbow of joy on a gray, stormy day!
This morning, we worked on our concrete poems, and students had the opportunity, once their poems were written, to paint the background. There were no guidelines, except being respectful of materials and each other, and it was such a happy, calm time in our classroom. It gave students the opportunity to demonstrate their creativity, experiment and push beyond their own boundaries, and it gave me a chance to see them exercise their other strengths.
I was also immensely proud of how responsible they were with the materials. They used the brushes carefully, experimented with the paint without wasting it, and when we finished, the room was even cleaner than before. It was such a productive and enjoyable time. Thank you for contributing to my students' school experiences and allowing them to have such a range of activities and adventures.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Shirman
This classroom project was brought to life by Google.org and one other donor.Lights, Sound, Learning!
Funded Dec 26, 2018We were so excited when the boxes arrived! They were all very curious as to what was inside, and when my intern opened and assembled the lamps, they really wanted to know what we would do with them. Once the lamps were in their new homes, students really loved the cozy effect and the enhanced lighting.
Our new lamps have brought a breath of fresh air into the darkest corners of our room. They have actually inspired me to change my library around, so that it is now more open and the books are more accessible. The lights allow students to read more easily, as well as see the books in our book bins and choose their next favorite read!
Meantime, our new speakers ensure that when we watch a video about a new topic: wolves, Picasso, the first settlers in the Americas, students are able to hear the words more clearly. Likewise, we are able to play quiet learning music to contribute to our classroom ambiance and our joy in learning.
Thank you so much for these wonderful contributions to our classroom. They have been a true source of joy for all of us!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Shirman