Have you ever been boating or swimming in a local body of water and wondered whether the water was truly clean and healthy? Students here spend a large amount of time near or in local lakes. It is important that they be made aware of their environment's condition and ways they can affect it.
My students live in the state of Florida.
These students spend a large amount of their time outdoors, enjoying our natural water resources from beaches to lakes, rivers and springs. Students in our region live in a fairly rural area where these natural recreation areas are their only nearby forms of recreation.
Our school consists of many types of students from varying racial, ethnic, and economic backgrounds. We try to focus on relating instruction to our area and the world in general.
My Project
The resource requested in this project is a fairly simple water quality kit. This resource will enable students to venture out into our local environment and take real-time, real-world measurements of the waters they choose for recreation. We will be able to determine the levels of pollutants in local bodies and then use concepts learned to determine likely sources of that pollution.
We can then further the effectiveness of having this information by working in the community to make attempts at correcting any problems found. Students will gain opportunities to apply what they are learning in the classroom to the world they live in. They will also be able to interact in the community and effect change. These experiences are invaluable and can spark interest and passion in students that would otherwise go unseen.
The broader impact of this project is creating a generation of citizens that better understand their natural world and the impact we can have on it.
These future citizens will be armed with skills that enable them not only to observe and take measurements, but to also apply the knowledge gained to real-world problems and create change. It is our goal as educators not just to cover standards and concepts, but to create responsible citizens.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. Manning and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
