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Mrs. N. from San Jose CA is requesting technology through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

Amoebae and Diatoms are Microscopic Unicellular Organisms

My students need 6 microscopes for unicellular and multicellular studies in biology.

  • $1,096 goal

Hooray! This project is fully funded

Hooray! This project is fully funded

Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month

Celebrate Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month

This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.

Amoebae and diatoms are awesome unicellular creatures. Peeling the skin off an onion and looking at its multicellular structures is fascinating. These are some of the activities I have in mind for my 5th grade students to observe as I introduce them to biology and the study of animal cells versus plant cells. Currently, I have one ancient microscope that's older than the age of my students to pass around to each student. I teach 5th grade and my class size ranges from 29 to 34 depending on certain times of the year. It's exhausting to have only one ancient microscope to share with that many children. I want my students to have one microscope to share with their groups of 5-6 students. My school is a public K-6 Title I school. Most of my students receive free or reduced school lunches. This year, my school is launching its science focused theme/magnet to inspire children to have a high interest in science.

How can students appreciate what is a unicellular organism versus a multicellular organism and a plant cell versus an animal cell with no microscopes? I may show them images; however, it is not the same when they have an amoeba right under their noses and see how it moves under a microscope. Using microscopes will make students feel like real scientists and stimulate learning and curiosity exponentially. Currently, I have only one microscope. It is 15 years old. It has a reflective mirror on the bottom for lights, no illuminating light bulbs. Students keep having to adjust the mirror for the perfect angle for lights to bounce up for any vision of the object under the microscope. It would be a wonderful learning experience to have just 6 workable microscopes for my students working in groups of 5 to 6. Learning science would be a very stimulating experience. Just imagine all the wonderful slides of mold, bacterias, and viruses my students can observe?

Having 6 workable microscopes will help my fifth grade students in many ways. First, they get to observe amoebae and diatoms. Then, they get to observe skins of onions. Next, I will show them how to draw cells from the inside of their cheeks and use iodine to dye and sanitize cells from their own body to observe under the microscope. Students can bring their slides home and share this experience with their family. Furthermore, later on when we study the human body systems, I will purchase slides of different cells from the human body systems and allow my students to view under the microscopes. They will then illustrate each object they are observing and predict which cells belonging to which organ in the body. The benefits are countless and innumerable.

Your help will inspire the next generation of scientists, chemists, biologists, botanists, doctors, and teachers. I remembered when I first had the opportunity to view objects under a microscope; I was in the 10th grade, and it changed my perspectives of the natural world. I wanted to bring every bug and leaf to school so I could have a closer look. I hope that by giving my students this opportunity, they will aspire to pursue a career in science.

Mrs. N.
Grades 3-5

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Where Your Donation Goes

Materials Cost Quantity Total
MICROSCOPE,COMP,WOLFE(R),TT52L • Carolina Biological Supply Company $122.55 6 $735.30

Materials cost

$735.30

Vendor shipping charges

$73.53

Sales tax

$53.31

3rd party payment processing fee

$18.38

Fulfillment labor & materials

$17.00

Total project cost

$898.00

Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

$197.12

Total project goal

$1,095.12

How we calculate what's needed

Total project goal

$1,095.12

8 Donors

-$1,053.82

Donations toward project cost

-$898.00

Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$155.82

Excluded support for DonorsChoose

-$41.30

Still needed View calculationHide calculation

$0.00

Our team works hard to negotiate the best pricing and selections available.

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Project Activity

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