My students need science materials to observe and investigate living organisms and measure different types of matter at the beginning of the school year.
I hated science growing up in school. All we did was read from the book and take notes. Now I love science, because I make it all about hands-on labs. This is my first year at a charter school with hardly any science supplies. I refuse to have my scientists only learn from books and notes.
I teach at a charter school that is continually growing.
Right now we offer PK-11th grade with 3 teachers in grades K-5 and 2 teachers in each grade after. The goal is 3 teachers per grade level. We have over 700 students, yet we only have enough science supplies for 2-3 classrooms. This means that if we are all supposed to be going over matter (this is called vertical alignment), then we are going to have to jump through some hoops. =) Teachers have to tweak the scope and sequence and revise lesson plans to work around the supplies. Even then, we may not be able to use what we need until the following week. How can I hit the concept home without the hands-on experience?
These students come to this school through a lottery-based system. Most are low income families, but the students and their parents know that the way to a better life is through education. I just want to give them that.
My Project
I am most excited about going over living organisms with these tools, especially the dual microscopes. This past school year, the public school I taught at was lucky enough to go on a field trip to the university plant center.
The staff at the plant center had several buckets of pond water from the ponds in the park. The students were able to scoop out the water, along with some organisms, and observe them using the dual microscopes. They were so excited!! They had a sheet with pictures and names of the organisms they were observing, and they were sharing with each other what they were seeing and why they thought it was a certain organism. I LOVED seeing them like that. This is why I teach. I want to give my kids at this new school the same opportunity.
If I can get them to question, analyze, and justify their thinking then I am helping their lives become better. Giving them opportunities to deepen this kind of thinking is priceless.
Help these dying-to-be-scientists, really become just that--- SCIENTISTS.
Help them have experiences where they can actually measure something, observe a living organisms straight out of its habitat, and foster analytical thinking. Experiences they will never forget... making you ... never forgotten.
Thank you for your consideration.
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