If we can't go to the river, let's make the river come to us.
I teach aquatic science to 11th and 12th graders.
This is the first year aquatic science has been offered for high school students in our district. I have no supplementary material to get my aquatic science program off the ground.
Our science budget has been severely cut, so field trips are almost out of the question. There are also no rivers or streams within walking distance of the school.
Because of this, one of the big projects my class was going to do was creating a river tank, but, over the summer, someone stole our huge, never been taken out of the box, aquarium out of my classroom. My students were devastated.
Currently, my students collect samples from the drainage ditch in front of our school, and because of this we have lots of random beakers with fish in them, waiting for their permanent home.
Luckily, a sweet biology teacher gave us her 30 gallon aquarium, so all we need now is the river tank mold, animal set, and plant set to get our tank running. Once we have the river tank completed, our fish will be placed in their permanent residence.
Part of the purpose of this project is teaching my students how to be responsible, and how to care for other living organisms.
My class is full of many individuals who have never been to a river, let alone considered what is INSIDE one.
Of the 1200 species listed as threatened or endangered, 50% depend on rivers and streams.
With your help, my students will be able to understand the importance of rivers and streams in our environment. From this learning experience, I hope that they will come away from this with the knowledge that rivers are a vital part of many ecosystems.
Many of my students do not belong to any organization or participate in any extra-curricular activities. As silly as this may seem, these students finally feel like they belong and are part of an "elite" group called "the aquatic science class". Your donations will give my students the opportunity for a team building activity and provide them with a permanent educational resource.
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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. Tucker and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.