Help me give my students the items they need for our school year in science. We have planned experiments, field trips, and activities to support the 4th grade Next Generation Science Standards we teach.
My partner and I teach fourth grade students in a low-income area at a Title I school. Our students come from predominately single-parent (read mom-led) homes. They are the sit-on-the-couch-play-video-game kids with little physical activity or mental stimulation outside of school. It is important to us that each day we meet the challenge of making learning exciting and fun!
These kids never visit museums, go on hikes, or have conversations at home about their world.
Our 4th graders are not exposed to science in their daily lives so we must teach it in school. Our very active kiddos want to move when they learn, so we strive to create science lessons that are hands on, interesting, and require students to think outside the box!
My Project
Science and exploration are so important to expand a child's thinking about their world. Often, students from low income homes are not exposed to many STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) opportunities and, therefore, lack the normal curiosity of other students their age.
We want to open up the world of science to our students.
We want to challenge them to do and not just listen to us lecture or read a section out of our out-dated science book. In 4th grade, we cover a myriad of standards, including plant and animal adaptions, so we want students to see animals and learn why they have thick fur or a strong tail. We want our kiddos to hike and see plants and wildlife in their natural habitats. To learn about adaptations, we are inviting zoologists from our local zoo to show the kids live animals and discuss their adaptations that help them survive. We will also take a zoo field trip to see owls and other animals. Following our visitor and zoo trip, we will dissect owl pellets; a perfect hands-on activity to reinforce animal adaptations.
Another 4th grade science standard requires us to teach students about "identifying evidence from patterns on rock formations and fossils in rock layers to support an explanation for changes in a landscape over time." We want to really examine rocks and minerals in class, including geodes. We visit the fossil exhibit at our local state museum, and even build an erosion table to show how erosion works. We need the water pump for our erosion table. We will also build rockets; we recently built a shake table for our study on earthquakes and other extreme weather. We have many fun projects this year, we just need the funds to follow through.
Break Your Own Geodes High Quality Kit 12 Whole Geodes
• Amazon Business
$21.50
3
$64.50
OWL Pellets (12 Pack), Barn Owl Pellets, Large/Min. 2", Real Pellets, Heat Sanitized by Crossroad Sales LLC
• Amazon Business
$27.49
2
$54.98
Geology Rocks Minerals Teaching Poster Set
• Nasco
$9.40
2
$18.80
Discover with Dr. Cool Break Open A Gigantic Geode - This Large Rock Has Amazing Crystals Inside!
• Amazon Business
$15.99
1
$15.99
INTSUN 220 GPH (800L/H, 12W) Submersible Water Pump for Fish Tank, Aquarium, Fountain, Pond, Small Silent 12 LED Colorful Pump Lights with 2 Nozzle, 6 Feet Power Cord
• Amazon Business
$13.73
1
$13.73
Visitor cost
$397.95
Vendor shipping charges
$16.88
Sales tax
$0.00
3rd party payment processing fee
$5.97
Fulfillment labor & materials
$30.00
Total project cost
$450.80
Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms
$79.55
Total project goal
$530.35
How we calculate what's needed
Total project goal
$530.35
7 Donors
-$384.00
Donations toward project cost
-$341.25
Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms
-$42.75
match offer
-$128.88
Match offer toward project cost
-$109.55
Match offer to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms
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 Mrs. Frech and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
