This project is part of the Black History Month celebration because it supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of the students are Black.
My Students
My 3rd, 4th, and 5th-grade Learning Support students love to ask, "What's that?" Often, they will even wait to hear my explanation! But, if I were to say the words, "Diet or Exercise," without them asking "What's that?" first, these words would, no doubt, fall on closed ears.
This Sam the Skeleton Project aims to alter my student's understanding of diet and exercise forever.
The truth is, my students are no different than their same-age peers across the country: they want a steady diet of sugar and fried foods, without budging from their video game couches. What they desperately need is a real-world model of what happens to their bodies, inside, when they binge on empty snacks today.
My Project
My students need a highly-durable, articulated anatomy model of the human Skeletal System. Many of my students are (and their adult family members) are clinically overweight. Our school was built in the 1920's without an elevator. It is common to see students, and their families, struggling to navigate the many flights of concrete stairs. Given this routine of navigating stairs, it's not surprising that my students balk at even low-impact Phys Ed activities, such as dance. I envision teaching routine mini-lessons centered around student diet and exercise. For example, when students each lunch in my room, they are presented with a choice between nutritious and non-nutritious foods. Nutritious foods (like those served in our cafeteria) are rich in proteins, whole grains, and fresh fruits. Non-nutritious lunches, such as candy, fried crisps, and pineapple soda, deplete the body of muscle mass and bone density. Using this Sam the Skeleton model, I will directly illustrate how nutritious lunch choices predetermine healthy adult bones and bodies.
Indirectly, I want my students to clamor for healthy snacks and lunch choices: fresh grapes, sliced apples, whole grains, and unprocessed proteins.
My aim is to illustrate these choices directly through the example shown by Sam the Skeleton. This model is durable, road-tested, highly-recommended, and, best of all, an ideal model for what a 16-year-old human skeletal system should look like. Remember: the questions come first. I need my students to ask "What's that?" as a beginning.
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
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 Mr. Petuskey and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.