The cost of the various art instruction materials is $519, 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>.
I am seeking funding to purchase Books, Instructional Videos, Posters and Artifacts to enhance my Art History curriculum. I would use these wonderful teaching tools in my Visual Art classes which range from Kindergarten to the Eighth Grade. Our school has a unique approach approach to curriculum; we integrate the Arts throughout all the academic disciplines. In other ways our school is a typical urban public school, a lively under resourced institution, where 45% of our students are eligible for the federal free lunch program. I am one of two Visual Art Teachers at our school and I coordinate all of our Arts Programs. Besides my own use of these curricular materials, these items would be used by many/all of our teaching staff and would reach all of our 220 students.
The materials I've selected are all part of what a full, well rounded Art curriculum should be. Unfortunately, in California we hover close to the bottom of the national average per capita spending on students, therefore I'm reaching out to ask for funding to supplement what I'm currently able to offer my students. Too often I find myself in a futile attempt to make the rich and diverse world of Art History come to life via description, or by having my students crowd around my computer, looking at a small electronic image while I try to lecture. Neither of these are effective ways to seriously engage students, believe me, I've tried! I would prefer being able to have my students look at quality reproductions of the Art we're studying, or be able to listen to Chinese music while we are studying brush painting, or examine a sample of African Mudcloth while we are learning to make our own. These are a sample of the types of curriculum materials I am seeking funding for.
The materials I would like to buy will take Art from the remote realm of abstraction, into something tangible that will enable my students to have valuable, hands on learning experiences. That's Art education at its core. These materials will significantly improve the quality of my instruction, by bringing the diverse world of Art to my students, teaching them about the world, our shared heritage and culture, through direct experience.
Thank you for considering my request.
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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. Keir and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.