Cultivating Sun-Wise Students Through Solar Explorations
My students need hands-on materials to explore the power of the sun and solar energy through the use of solar cars and solar beads to understand the beneficial as well as harmful properties of the sun.
$450 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.
Our school is a Renaissance and Title I elementary school. Our students come from a variety of backgrounds as well as diverse home situations. Our school is a neighborhood school in which all of our students either walk, ride their bikes, or are driven to school by their families or caregivers.
Many of our students are learning English and come from homes that speak primarily Spanish; as a result, our students learn best through hands-on investigations where they are truly "doing" the science.
Due to language barriers, our students are learning how to communicate as scientists through peer-to-peer conversations, notebook responses, and classroom discussions. Since many of our students have limited background knowledge and experiences upon entering our school, we strive to provide opportunities for our students to explore materials and engage in investigations where they can collect evidence to support new content learning. Our school has a Head Start program and goes up to fifth grade; however, this project is targeting students in primarily third, fourth, and fifth grades.
My Project
Donations to this project will allow my students to grow in their understanding of solar energy. They will become engineers through building and manipulating solar cars, while applying science concepts in regards to energy, motion, and the properties of our closest star. Additionally, they will need to apply mathematics concepts to calculate speed through timed solar car races in order to better understand how we can continue to harness the power of the sun as a renewable energy source.
Living in Florida, it is of the utmost importance that my students critically recognize the sun as being a beneficial energy source, as well as having potentially harmful effects.
Thus, the UV solar energy beads that I am requesting will help my students to see immediate changes that occur to certain materials when exposed to UV light. These beads will also allow my students to design and build their own UV detectors that they can take with them to estimate the strength of the UV light outside.
It is my goal that my students will be able to take ownership of these concepts and as a result, be able to educate their families and other members of our community when it comes to the sun and solar energy. Ultimately, through the use of these solar cars and solar beads, my students will be better equipped to lead sun-wise lives!
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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. Calve and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
