The cost of modeling clay, tempera and watercolor paints, and other art materials from Dick Blick is $551, including shipping and <a target="new" href="http://www.donorschoose.org/html/fulfillment.htm" onclick="g_openWindow('http://www.donorschoose.org/html/fulfillment.htm', 300, 800, 'fulfillwindow');return false;">fulfillment</a>.
Our school is located in Staten Island, New York. It is a Title 1 elementary school. As such it has a large minority student population from predominantly low-income families. Our students face the challenges of poverty, high crime rates, adult illiteracy, and transient and single-parent families. Low literacy achievement is common in our environment. Despite these challenges, our children come to school regularly with a desire to learn.
This is the second year we have included a science curriculum for students in pre-kindergarten through second grade. I am the teacher for this program and am happy to say my students have a lot of enthusiasm. Last year the program was launched with great success using a literacy approach to learning science through both fiction and nonfiction sources. Thankfully, many of my students have retained the information they learned through these resources.
My current goal is to reinforce their learning through hands-on experiences that include manipulation of art materials. Some examples of the possible applications of art in science are studying and mimicking the method of illustration Eric Carle uses in his science books, studying color mixing and spectrum, creating land and water forms, and sculpting plant and animal creatures. By using basic art materials like art tissue, watercolor paint, tempera paint, and modeling clay, students will have the opportunity to work cooperatively. They will discuss and apply science knowledge to their projects. They will write and present their results to others. And they will enjoy the experience. All this can be accomplished if this project is funded.
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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. M. and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.