Need funding for materials to transform your great ideas into classroom learning projects? Beginning Sept. 3, the NEA Foundation will match donations made to NEA members’ requests for classroom materials on DonorsChoose.org. Last year, we funded more than 1,500 projects, reaching 120,000 public school students. This year, we hope to reach even more.
Meanwhile, get ready for back-to-school with two ideas from DonorsChoose.org that you can use with special-needs students in your classroom.
Turning down the florescent lights
Sometimes, a simple adjustment can make a world of difference in a student’s learning experience. Ms. Most, a kindergarten and first grade educator from Pennsylvania, discovered that her classroom’s florescent lights caused headaches and attention problems among her students, who have a type of sensory processing disorder associated with their medical diagnosis of an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
The solution? Ms. Most applied light filters over the florescent lights to mute their effects and to give her students a more comfortable and efficient learning environment.
Understanding emotions and reading them in others
Most of us remember a time when we didn’t quite grasp of a concept in life. Mrs. Brown’s students often struggle to understand even the common emotions in themselves and others.
“The Feelings Book” helped her 45 students, from ages 12 to 21, who attend a Life Skills Program in an Oregon public school, learn how to make friends, attend social events, play sports, attend class, and most importantly, explain how they feel to others. First, they kept journals of their own feelings. Then, they began to recognize the body language of other students to interpret what they may be feeling.
Find tips you can use to apply for the NEA Foundation’s match beginning Sept. 3!
