My students need the KNEX Education Real Bridge Building Set.
$2,782 goal
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Celebrating 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.
Each year, I have about 150 7th and 8th grade students who are eager to learn! They come to class excited about what project they will be doing next. We start off each class with a daily target that focuses on what project they are working on and a connected engineering or science career.
Over 75% of our students are on free or reduced lunch.
Some of our students have never traveled more than 60 miles from their homes. Project-based learning gives them an incentive to be in class every day. My goal is for my students to develop an interest in engineering or science and decide to follow that pathway during high school and then into college. My students spend every day collaborating, creating, critically thinking, and communicating about STEM. They are learning how to create things from scratch like an engineer. They are putting their science and math knowledge to practical use. During this process, they follow the engineering design process: 1) Define the Problem 2) Do Background Research 3) Specify Requirements 4) Brainstorm Solutions 5) Choose the Best Solution 6) Do Development Work 7) Build a Prototype 8) Test and Redesign.
My Project
The students in my STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) classes complete hands-on engineering projects that connect to what they are learning in their science and math classes as well as to things they see in our community. Just like engineers, they follow the engineering design process, including building prototypes of solar cars, wind generators, water filters, and miniature catapults. The K'NEX Real Bridge Building kit will stimulate my students creativity even further and engage them in activities that are based on real life, everyday career opportunities. Until a couple of years ago, there was only one main road across town. Then a bridge was completed that cuts the travel time across town in half. The United States needs to encourage its students to lead the way in science and engineering, so developing student interest at the middle school level is an important step to achieving that goal.
According to the U.S.
Census Bureau, about 10% of the citizens in our city have at least a bachelor's degree. Businesses in our community have engineering and science career openings that require college degrees but cannot find qualified applicants. My students need to see that their future is bright. By allowing them the opportunity to build scale model bridges, they can gain critical hands on skills that can lead them to a successful careers.
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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. McClellan and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
