My students need 5 outdoor learning kits, which each include a bag, clipboard, measuring tape, hand lens and digital camera.
$552 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.
I teach 5th grade in a very high needs community. About 90% of our school is considered low income and/or bilingual. My classroom has a mixture of ESL, special education and gifted students. I am one of the ESL teachers for our grade level and the inclusion teacher for our special ed population.
The students coming to our school face a multitude of challenges at home, from abusive parents to lack of food or shelter. Many live with a single parent and are needed to help care for younger siblings. Because of their lack of basic needs, school is often low on their priority lists - it is not relevant to their lives. Furthermore, they often don't have the background knowledge to understand what we are requiring them to learn in science, and are therefore unable or unwilling to give their full attention to instruction.
The solution? Give them the background knowledge. Give them the experiences. Show them that science is fun, relevant, and interesting. We live in a digital world and despite my students' hardships, they are digital learners. By taking the classroom outdoors, I can capture their attention and show them the relevance of such topics as erosion, ecosystems, and natural resources. We can explore the "real world" and connect the abstract with the concrete.
I envision a learning environment where small groups take their new kits outside. They'll use the clipboard to make notes of their observations and measurements, they'll use the hand lens to look closely at nature, they'll take pictures and use them to give presentations to the rest of the class to demonstrate their learning.
Thank you so much for considering donating to my class. Your donation will make a difference in the lives of some very special students, giving them the feeling of success they so desperately need.
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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. J. and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
