Studies show that US students are lagging behind students from other countries in science. How can you help our students make improvements in science?
I am the science specialist at an urban elementary school.
I teach all 700 students at the school in grades kindergarten through fifth grade. Many of these students qualify for free or reduced price lunches. I enjoy teaching at this school because of the diversity and because of the students' love of learning. The students absolutely love doing science experiments.
My Project
My state recently adopted the Common Core Science Standards. This means that I am teaching units that I have never taught before and I therefore do not have the materials for. I am requesting various materials that I can use while teaching these new units. These materials will help in teaching the following units: genetics (5th grade), plants (3rd grade), space (1st, 3rd, and 4th grade), animal adaptations (4th grade), weather (5th grade) and changes in matter (2nd, 3rd, and 5th grade). The ice cream maker will be used to demonstrate how a liquid can change to a solid.
Benjamin Franklin is quoted as saying, "Tell me and I forget.
Show me and I may remember. Involve me and I'll understand." I am a firm believer in this doctrine. For this reason, I use many hands-on activities to involve the students. I have found the students to be much more engaged with these hands-on materials. However, if I don't have hands-on activities for these new units, the students may not be as involved in their learning.
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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 Ms. Lewis and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.