We need Crayola Multicultural markers, colored pencils, and crayons so we can create culturally responsive projects and engage in project-based learning.
I am excited that my students took the initiative to problem-solve and find a way for our class projects to be culturally responsive. Jada, Ja'Mya, Enrique, Logan, and Marco all brainstormed and thought that creating a project through Donors Choose would be the best option for our class.
Our resources for project-based learning are small. Although my students are eager to create projects, we run into difficulty in making projects which truly reflect us, as we do not have skin tone markers needed to create work which directly reflects us. Currently, students are working to create projects which depict themselves as well as scientists of color. Currently, the only skin-tone color we have is dark brown. This is truly disappointing to my students, as the scientists we are studying are as diverse as the students in my class themselves. We desperately need materials which will allow my students to create work that reflects this diversity.
My students will develop both academic and social-skills through this project. Academically, they will increase their knowledge of scientists, and improve their knowledge in all future projects by engaging in project-based learning. As student engagement in assignments increases, they will be able to be far more successful academically. Students will also develop the skills of teamwork and collaboration as they work together to share the actual supplies and to create their projects. Students have also taken the initiative to solve a real-life problem they experience at our school, a lack of resources. Learning to problem-solve and developing self-advocacy is critical for success in life, college, and in any career field. Their development of these skills will truly be invaluable for their success throughout their lives.
In Their Own Words
We are trying to get skin-tone crayons, colored pencils, and markers for completing our class projects. Our school does not have many resources, and when we try to create projects with what little we do have it can be both hard and also not very interesting. We want supplies that we can use to create projects that look like us, but our school does not have the money to buy them. Specifically, we are excited to create projects about ourselves and about scientists of color. We are working in teams to create these projects. In the future, we can continue to use these supplies for other projects which also reflect us and our interests. This project will allow us create projects more often, improving our learning, which will help us to be more successful in our lives. We need need these supplies to accomplish this.
We will work together to complete our projects once the supplies arrive, and will share the materials as a class. This will require us to work together as a team and to develop our leadership skills as we work together on the projects. Once we have the books and have created our check-out system, we will have created our very own class library. This is exciting because we will have created it by ourselves, and we will benefit from it directly.
This project is important to our class and to our school community because it will provide us with materials that we need to learn. Our school faces the problem of a lack of funding and a lack of resources. We are willing to work hard to be successful but need the resources to do so. Funding this project will provide us with the materials we need to have our learning reflect us and to get us excited about our projects. Developing these skills will help us in college and throughout our lives.
More than a third of 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. Kilgallen and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
