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Regardless of whether you’re teaching everyday from your basement-turned-office or you’re back in the physical classroom every other day, there’s no doubt that remote and hybrid learning are a unique challenge. 

We checked in with what 3rd grade teachers are doing to make online learning happen, and these top-requested resources came up time and time again. No matter what situation you’re facing, these are some tried-and-true-supplies to help make the most of this school year, distanced and beyond.

Get supplies for 3rd Graders

Writing Materials for the Win

You won’t be surprised to find out that most teachers are getting back to basics to make distance learning happen, making writing materials the most popular items for 3rd grade project requests so far this year. From erasers to pre-sharpened pencils to composition notebooks, writing is still key, regardless of where learning is happening.

Access to Subscriptions & Technology

3rd grade teachers have been requesting digital resources to help bring distance learning to life for their students. Access to both physical and digital supplies make it easy for students to learn together, while learning and staying up-to-date with the world around them. With these skills being built at home, some teachers are also requesting supplies like tablets and styluses to help students learn the key skills of annotation and note-taking. 

Top Reads on 3rd grade Teachers’ Lists Right Now

No matter where learning is happening, for 3rd graders, books are as important as ever for inspiring world-building, writing, and sparking creativity. This isn’t a comprehensive list, but these titles made it to the top of the list for 3rd grade teachers this year. Whether you’re organizing supply pickups once a month or supplies are being sent directly to your students’ homes, these titles will deliver the right kind of surprise and delight. 

1. The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson
2. I Am Enough by Grace Byers
3. The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi
4. Hair Love by Matthew Cherry
5. Just Ask!: Be Different, Be Brave, Be You by Sonia Sotomayor

New Kid by Jerry Craft

Get supplies for 3rd Graders

Looking for inspiration from other grade levels? Check out popular materials at every grade:

• Pre-K
• Kindergarten
• 1st Grade
• 2nd Grade
• 3rd Grade
• 4th Grade
• 5th Grade
• Middle School
• High School

Teaching Kindergarten from home? Trying classroom management both in-person and online? Broadcasting circle time from an empty classroom? Those aren’t the punchline of a really bad joke — it’s the reality that so many teachers are facing. 

Transitioning your class to a new (unprecedented) school year is tricky enough; we want to make sure you are empowered with the tools you need to bring learning to life. 

Here are the top five materials Kindergarten teachers are requesting on DonorsChoose, the classroom funding site for teachers. These materials will help make online teaching and learning a snap (or at least as easy as it possibly can be)! And the best part? These supplies can be used when you’re back in the classroom too!

Get supplies for Kindergarteners

Basic supplies

Whether in the classroom or remote, your students need the basics to do their best learning. Having materials like pre-sharpened pencils, glue sticks, and scissors for each student cuts down on germs and contact.

“I’m going to ask for individual supplies for the students. They can be used to make at-home learning kits or individual supply bags for the classroom. You can NEVER have too many supplies!” –Mrs. Kilgore 

Books

Kinder teachers across the country are stocking up on books this year for classroom library shelves or creating book bundles to send home with their students. Some of the most popular titles include The Day You Begin, Our Class is a Family, and I Am Enough. If you have a special read-aloud planned, consider requesting a class set of books. When each child has a copy of the book, they can track the words as you read, scan the illustrations, and turn the pages with you. 

Hands-on Learning Tools

Engaging students in learning using hands-on materials like LEGOs, Brain Flakes, or sensory beads, and is a great way to make learning come alive through the screen. Pro tip for hybrid teaching: Have a plan in place for students to take home hands-on learning materials in pencil cases or kits.

Flexible Seating

In past years teachers have requested flexible seating in their classrooms to give students an alternate option that helps them focus, experiment, and find what works best for them. This year, teachers who are in the classroom some days are keeping safety and cleanliness are top of mind, prompting teachers to request materials like wobble stools and yoga mats to create individual learning spaces. If you’re teaching from home but have an especially wiggly learner, you can send a special seat their way!

Teachers Pay Teachers Gift Cards

Access to the digital resources you need for your students is key for online, in-person, or hybrid learning. With the freedom of a TeachersPayTeacher gift card, you can request the worksheets, lesson plan outlines, and templates that you need. 

Teaching Kindergarten this fall is a challenge you shouldn’t have to face alone. We’re here to help you get the learning materials you need — no matter where you’re bringing learning to life! 

Get supplies for Kindergarteners

Looking for inspiration from other grade levels? Check out popular materials at every grade:

• Pre-K
• Kindergarten
• 1st Grade
• 2nd Grade
• 3rd Grade
• 4th Grade
• 5th Grade
• Middle School
• High School

Regardless of whether you’re teaching everyday from your basement-turned-office or you’re back in the physical classroom every other day, there’s no doubt that remote and hybrid learning are a unique challenge. 

We checked in with what 4th grade teachers are doing to make online learning happen, and these top-requested resources came up time and time again. No matter what situation you’re facing, these are some tried-and-true-supplies to help make the most of this school year, distanced and beyond.

Get supplies for 4th Graders

Writing Materials for the Win

You won’t be surprised to find out that most teachers are getting back to basics to make distance learning happen, making writing materials the most popular items for 4th grade project requests so far this year. From erasers to pre-sharpened pencils to composition notebooks, writing is still key, regardless of where learning is happening.

Access to Subscriptions & Technology

4th grade teachers have been requesting digital resources subscriptions to help bring distance learning to life for their students. Access to both physical and digital supplies make it easy for students to learn together, while learning and staying up-to-date with the world around them. With these skills being built at home, some teachers are also requesting supplies like tablets and styluses to help students learn the key skills of annotation and note-taking. 

Top Reads on 4th grade Teachers’ Lists Right Now

No matter where learning is happening, for 4th graders, books are as important as ever for inspiring world-building, writing, and sparking creativity. This isn’t a comprehensive list, but these titles made it to the top of the list for 4th grade teachers this year. Whether you’re organizing supply pickups once a month or supplies are being sent directly to your students’ homes, these titles will deliver the right kind of surprise and delight. 

1. The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson
2. I Am Enough by Grace Byers
3. The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi
4. Hair Love by Matthew Cherry
5. Just Ask!: Be Different, Be Brave, Be You by Sonia Sotomayor
6. New Kid by Jerry Craft

Get supplies for 4th Graders

Looking for inspiration from other grade levels? Check out popular materials at every grade:

• Pre-K
• Kindergarten
• 1st Grade
• 2nd Grade
• 3rd Grade
• 4th Grade
• 5th Grade
• Middle School
• High School

As the school year begins, COVID-19 means that “back-to-school” means something different for every Pre-K teacher. When we surveyed teachers, only 8% were confident they’d be spending the year entirely in the classroom; everyone else was getting ready for distance learning, blended learning, hybrid learning, remote learning, online learning — whatever you call it, it’s a new experience and a new challenge for teachers. 

That challenge is even bigger for teachers working with our littlest learners: How do you get a group of 4 year olds to pay attention to a video call? How do you make sure they have supplies at home to participate in group activities? 

Thousands of Pre-K teachers across the country are using DonorsChoose this back-to-school season to get supplies for their students for school and home. Here’s what other Pre-K teachers are asking for right now to help their students during distance  learning. And if you’re working in a blended or hybrid environment, these supplies will come in handy in the classroom too.

Get supplies for Pre-K

Pre-K Teachers Need Basic Supplies

Basic supplies are the foundation of a great learning experience, whether you’re in the classroom or teaching remotely. We’ve seen teachers pack these up into kits to send out to their students while they are learning from home. What basic supplies do pre-K teachers need for remote learning? Here are the top six:

• Cardstock
• Glue sticks
• Markers
• Kids scissors
• Pencils

Keeping Pre-K Students at Play

Pre-K teachers tell us again and again: Play is essential for this age group. Whether you’re trying to encourage parallel play over video chat or solitary play between lessons, kids need educational toys at home. Here are the top three teachers are asking for this year:

• Alphabet Robots
• Sensory Toys
• Puppets

Books to Read Aloud for Pre-K

Your kiddos might not be reading on their own quite yet, making read-aloud time even more valuable! Whether you’re in the classroom or reading over video chat, here are the most popular books for Pre-K students right now: 

• The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson
• I Am Enough by Grace Beyers
• All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold
• Lucy’s Mask by Lisa Sirkis Thompson

Pre-K Worksheets, Planners, and More!

There’s one thing you can request on DonorsChoose that covers your needs for remote learning worksheets, distance learning lesson plans, and much more — a Teachers Pay Teachers gift card! As you tailor your Pre-K lessons for remote learning, these tools will come in handy this year.

Get supplies for Pre-K

Looking for inspiration from other grade levels? Check out popular materials at every grade:

• Pre-K
• Kindergarten
• 1st Grade
• 2nd Grade
• 3rd Grade
• 4th Grade
• 5th Grade
• Middle School
• High School

This spring, Charles Schwab Foundation teamed up with DonorsChoose to inspire and uncover teachers’ best-in-class ideas for helping students strengthen their financial literacy skills. We called on teachers across the country to submit a long-term plan or idea for inspiring a more financially literate student generation, and a panel of financial literacy champions chose the most innovative projects.

Now, they’re calling on you to vote for your favorite project, and the winning teacher will receive $1,000 in DonorsChoose to put toward their next great idea! Check out the finalists’ projects to learn how these teachers are bringing financial literacy to life for their students. Once you’ve reviewed the projects, vote for your favorite.

Top 10 Projects
Vote for One

Entrepreneurs in the Making

Ms. Bains | Grades PreK–2 | Sacramento, CA

Ms. Baines is helping her kindergartners build an even brighter future by providing a strong foundation in basic financial literacy principles.

Making Sense of Money And Becoming Financially Responsible

Ms. Trochez MacLean | Grades PreK–2 | Los Angeles, CA

Ms. Trochez MacLean is helping her students develop coin recognition, understand the importance of saving, learn how to determine the values of different coin combinations, and grasp the difference between wants and needs.

Roller Coasters + Rube Goldberg = Financial Literacy!

Mrs. Martel | Grades PreK–2 | Toccoa, GA

Mrs. Martel is engaging her students in a combination of science and financial literacy as they budget for, plan, and will ultimately build model roller coasters in class.

Teaching Money Skills and Inspiring Kindness

Ms. R. | Grades PreK–2 | Tucson, AZ

Guided by the belief that children often learn best by following the examples of others, Ms. R. will create math and financial literacy lessons based on engaging books with characters who use money to help others and promote kindness.

Classroom Transformation: Classroom Economy!

Ms. Witherell | Grades 3-5 | Greenfield, MA

Ms. Witherell wants to turn her classroom into an economic learning center with several stations for students to work on financial literacy. At the end of each activity, the class will debrief together on what they learn from each station, how they were able to save money, and the economic challenges they faced.

Entrepreneurial Skills With Osmo Pizza Co.

Mrs. Brown | Grades 3-5 | Van Buren, AR

Mrs. Brown will use her Osmo Pizza kit to teach her students real-world math, financial literacy concepts, and emotional intelligence.

Sustainable Financing

Dr. Robinson | Grades 3-5 | Raleigh, NC

Dr. Robinson will engage her students in developing a business plan for creating sustainable products in class, which they’ll then learn how to market. Their proceeds will ultimately go to support real-life international micro-loans students will help select through the nonprofit KIVA!

Creating a Mini Classroom Economy

Ms. Posluszny | Grades 6-8 | Union City, NJ

Ms. Posluszny is bringing real-world scenarios into her classroom, such as, performing jobs to earn (pretend) money to help her students experience first hand the impact of their decisions to save, spend, and budget.

Tales from the Crypto (Currency) Keeper

Mrs. Novicky | Grades 9-12 | Akron, OH

Mrs. Novicky's students will experience how blockchain and cryptocurrency work through the development of a token economy, where students will create a cryptocurrency, and then utilize that cryptocurrency in class to manufacture product, ultimately demonstrating cryptocurrency's roll in the transfer of goods.

The Big Deal Behind the New Deal!

Mr. Barbosa | Grades 9-12 | Mission, TX

Mr. Barbosa and his students will explore the different ways the New Deal provided for improvements and infrastructure in our National Parks and how the New Deal attempted to address and provide for the different budgetary needs of individuals during the Great Depression.

‍Help the teacher who created your favorite project do even more for their students by submitting your vote now. Voting will be open from September 2 to September 24 at 11:59 pm EST. You may only vote once.

Vote for your favorite project

DonorsChoose is excited to welcome MahoganyBooks as our newest vendor!

MahoganyBooks is a family-owned, independent bookstore that believes in the power of reading and social entrepreneurship. Founded in 2007 as an online-only bookstore, MahoganyBooks is now an award-winning retailer specializing in books written for, by, or about people of the African Diaspora. With a physical location in Washington D.C., MahoganyBooks now also offers engaging literary events in an empowering environment celebrating African American culture in addition to its lauded book selection.

"Educators are the backbone of any thriving community and we’re thrilled to partner with DonorsChoose to ensure books with rich cultural content are accessible to teachers nationwide," said Ramunda Young, co-owner and co-founder of MahoganyBooks. "These works are imperative for any student expanding their worldview and perception of other cultures. We’re excited to be part of this amazing vendor family."

"We're so proud to be able to offer our teachers the opportunity to request valuable classroom materials from MahoganyBooks, while at the same time supporting a Black-owned independent bookstore that gives back to the Washington, D.C. community," said Geoff Hill, chief financial officer and EVP of fulfillment at DonorsChoose. "Our procurement partners at EqualLevel introduced us to Ramunda and Derrick Young and helped us launch MahoganyBooks as a vendor in record time this summer. We can't wait to see all of the teachers and students who will benefit during this back-to-school season."

Right now, teachers can choose from a select list of books ideal for middle and high school students via the MahoganyBooks option on DonorsChoose. We’ll continue to add more titles — including options for elementary students — later this fall. 

Starting August 6, the Equal Justice Initiative is matching donations to projects requesting Just Mercy and a select list of other books from MahoganyBooks. Donors can also give to projects requesting books from MahoganyBooks featured on this special giving page.

Supporting racial equity in education is essential to racial justice. We’re thrilled to share our new partnership with the Equal Justice Initiative, a nonprofit that works to end mass incarceration, excessive punishment, and racial inequality.

Starting on August 6, projects that request Just Mercy alongside other books from a special list focused on racial justice will receive doubled donations, thanks to EJI. EJI founder Bryan Stevenson shared this note with our community.

“At the Equal Justice Initiative, we believe that our nation has failed to honestly teach and engage with our history of racial injustice, and that this failure has left us vulnerable to a legacy of racism, unjust treatment of the poor and people of color, and unreliable and abusive practices in our justice system. 

Today, America has the highest rate of incarceration in the world, repeated acts of police violence have caused deep pain and stress in communities, and racial bias remains deeply entrenched in American life. We work to address these issues each day, but we understand that we need allies and that teachers in America are on the frontlines of an important struggle to make education more complete, more honest, and more effective at reckoning with American histories of unjust treatment. 

We want to support teachers, students, parents, communities, and educators who believe that a more focused effort must be made to prepare a new generation so they are equipped to understand and eliminate racism, bigotry, and inequality. We are proud to partner with DonorsChoose in supporting teachers who want to use Just Mercy and other materials produced by EJI to engage students in understanding our criminal justice system and the legacy of racial injustice. 

We at EJI are grateful for this community of teachers and in particular, for your leadership and willingness to address these important topics. I would not be able to do what I do today had I not been educated by teachers who, when I was a student, inspired me to believe that there is more that can and should be done to create the kind of just society we seek. Thank you for continuing this important tradition, we are grateful for all you do.”

If you’re a teacher and want to request a copy of Just Mercy for your class, check out our help center article to learn how to qualify for the match.

When Charles Best founded DonorsChoose from his Bronx classroom in 2000 — years before social media would exist or crowdfunding would become a word — he didn’t have many places to look for guidance. Yet when he found himself making copies of a book for his students to share early one morning, he found unusual inspiration in the Statue of Liberty and a British rock band. His small idea, with the help of his students, Oprah, Stephen Colbert, an impassioned corps of teacher volunteers, and a little bit of luck along the way, led to DonorsChoose, which has raised nearly $1 billion for classrooms over the last 20 years.

Listen as Charles tells the DonorsChoose story to Reid Hoffman, host of the podcast Masters of Scale, with a special cameo by Stephen Colbert, or read a transcript of the interview.

Fundraising can be tricky in even the best of times, and coronavirus, social distancing, and distance learning provide even more challenges! But at DonorsChoose, we have a massive community of donors who are ready and excited to help — they just need to hear your story.

To help you raise funding for your project from friends, family, and the larger public, we talked to some superstar DonorsChoose teacher fundraisers to find out what works best for them.

Paint a picture for your donors

As a teacher, you’re in a unique position to tell your students’ stories to the world. Tap into that insight and give donors a taste of what it is to teach during coronavirus. Whether sharing your favorite moments on Zoom calls, your innovative at-home teaching set up, or the way your students are supporting each other, details like these will bring your project to life for donors.

Use asset-framing to show what your students could achieve, instead of what they lack

“Asset-framing is defining people by their aspirations and their contributions, then acknowledging the challenges that often extend beyond them, and investing in them for their continued benefit to society.”

—Trabian Shorters | Founding CEO, BMe & DonorsChoose Board Member

When thinking about what students need, it’s easy to focus on what they don’t have. Instead, talk about your students’ potential. Highlighting students’ imagination, passion, and tenacity allows donors to feel like partners in your students’ success.

Focus on the details of how your students will benefit

Whether you’re requesting a document camera for yourself or a picture book for just one student, share how these resources will impact student learning. Donors crave making a tangible impact on a student’s life, so sharing how snacks will keep your students full and focused or how a long-distance art project supports students’ mental health will help donors feel connected.

Be specific when posting on social media

When writing for social media, you’ll need to keep your ask short and punchy! Share a quick detail or two about how you’re helping your students. Here are some formats to inspire you!

I’m requesting _____ so that my students can ____. When you support my project, you’ll help students achieve _____.

When you help my students and me access ____, you’re helping us _____. I know my students will _____ when given the chance to _____.

My students love _____, which is why I’m requesting _____. Support my projects and help me give my students _____.

Don’t forget to grab some eye-catching images from our Design Playground that you can use with your social media posts.

Join our teacher community on Facebook to connect with fellow educators, brainstorm fundraising tactics, and more!

Looking to create a project? Get started!

"LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - A Lexington teacher is helping her students get through these challenging times. Kelsey Davis at Coventry Oak Elementary School is encouraging her students to be creative, and she’s making it easier by taking art supplies to their homes.When it became clear that schools would be closed for an extended period of time, Davis sought funding for art supplies so she could give them to her students. Thanks to the Keep Kids Learning Grant through Donors Choose, Davis received $1,000 in Walmart gift cards."
Read the full story at wkyt.com.

"More than 55 million U.S. children aren’t physically in school. In a survey of almost 4,000 teachers done by the classroom-focused nonprofit Donors Choose, 97 percent said school closings are jeopardizing student learning. This tough situation is compounded for kids from poor, dysfunctional or abusive homes. Donors Choose normally links contributors to classrooms around the country needing help; now it has created a “Keep Kids Learning” fund, targeting donations to teachers in low-income schools, who send supplies or food to children."
Read the full story at nytimes.com.

"Izzo was one of a handful of teachers around the country who won a $1,000 grant from DonorsChoose, a national nonprofit that helps educators raise money to buy classroom supplies and other resources. She used the money to buy supplies for her students now learning from home.She learned last Tuesday she won the grant and spent the week communicating with parents and gauging student interest in what they could use at home, all the while trying to keep it a secret from her students that they would soon get a special delivery in the mail."
Read the full story on dailygazette.com.