The students at our school are engaged environmental stewards who spend time outside each and every day. Our school is located on nearly 40 acres at the edge of property that leads down to the Colorado River; allowing for flower and vegetable gardens, chickens and rabbits, rain gardens, outdoor classrooms, an outdoor cafeteria, and hiking trails.
This connection to the natural world on our campus fosters an engagement and ownership that spills over into students' interaction with the wider world.
Students are concerned about use of pesticides on food and its effect on our water sources; they are concerned about plastics in our oceans; they are concerned about lawn fertilizers and their effects on plant and insect life. These are just some of the topics that have been researched and discussed in past school years.
My Project
Our school has limited and aging technology and our computers are not designed to be taken into the field. I am requesting an iPad mini (with case as I am sure it will be dropped occasionally while hiking or gardening!) so that my students can digitally document the species on our campus. They will also be documenting these species in journals with hand-drawn images and the requested watercolor pencils and paints will help them create more accurate and beautiful journals.
An iPad mini will allow my classes to bring technology with them into our gardens and hiking trails so they can document in real time the insects and plants they see.
The iPad will also allow my classes to use bird and insect identification apps. The act of speaking to a camera will require them to have a deeper understanding and closer observation of what they are describing.
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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. Switek and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
