My students need supplies to create frog and lizard habitats, including aquariums and specimen.
FULLY FUNDED! Ms. Cantu's classroom raised $594
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.
My Students
How many times have we been drawn into watching animal documentaries on TV such as Animal Planet? Imagine the intrigue of 5 & 6 year-old who get the opportunity to observe and HANDLE live animals on a regular basis? The impact on their learning is dramatically improved by the hands-on experience.
My students vary in family backgrounds, language fluency and economic status.
They attend an elementary school which is classified Title 1 (low income). Most of my students live in the apartment buildings in the neighborhood, where they don't have front or back yards. Perhaps this is why they do not have pets of their own. Three quarters of my students are classified as English Language Learners, which poses the additional challenge of learning academic content and English proficiency. Inclusively, I have four students identified with special needs, and THREE more in the process of being identified with learning difficulties/challenges. There are also several bright, and possibly gifted, students in this class. Like any classroom, the range of student ability varies widely. The support base my students have also varies, depending on their nuclear family arrangement and families' work schedules. Several of my students are at school from 6 am to 6 pm! My students need pets!
My Project
In considering the impact of a zoo field trip or a mobile-zoo visit, these are one-shot, isolated opportunities. Whereas animals in the classroom is an on-going experience that allows my students CONTINUOUS hands-on learning. YOUR bringing the animals into our classroom provides much more than an academic learning environment. It also promotes the development of social accountability and growth. It makes it possible for the cultivation of respect, responsibility and commitment to each other, themselves, their community and environment. These regular encounters provide the much needed time that develops readers, writers, and thinkers as all learning processes do. With your help, my students compare reptiles, fish, amphibians and mammals & observe the animals' structure and function that help them survive in their habitats. In learning what they eat, and the conditions needed for the animals comfort and well-being, my students will begin to develop their sense for helping others, as well
Bringing live animals into the classroom for on-going observations through the care and keeping will dramatically impact my students learning- academic and social development such as scientific inquiry, inspire writing, motivate reading,and elicit language expression.
My students will record their data (via drawing and writing, providing dictation). They will be charting and graphing,comparing and discussing their findings and discoveries. Please donate & support this avenue of exploration!
Nearly all students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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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. Cantu and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
