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
My students are hard-working, passionate, and resilient young people who live in East Oakland. Despite facing a deluge of obstacles to their education including poverty, homelessness, learning English, and violence, my students come to school each day excited to be a part of our school community. In our class, students are engaged in activities that help them to envision and build a better future for themselves and their community. Even though there are many systems in place working to lock my students into a cycle of failure, they continually bounce back by working hard to overcome the challenges they face.
My students get most excited about doing experiments and solving real world problems with their science knowledge.
Their favorite activities from last year included making a solar-powered water purification device, designing a cold pack that could be used during wildfire evacuations, and creating the perfect DIY slime recipe.
My Project
This year, teaching science has been a struggle! Many of my students who look forward to the hands-on, kinetic learning styles innate to science have experienced a huge loss in their learning. They've struggled to connect with their classes and what they are learning because they can't see it in front of them like they used to. That is why I'm asking for your help to bring hands-on learning into the homes of my students.
With this project, I will create a rock kit to send home to students who are doing seventh grade science from home.
It is incredibly important that students have access to samples of rocks so that they can study the rocks, make guesses about them, and make connections to the geologic processes that create the rocks over thousands of years. Students will use the samples they receive to create connections to the land around them. Ultimately, students will use the samples to help them tell the geologic story of their city: Oakland, CA.
Every year when I bring out rock samples and begin to teach geology, students' faces light up with excitement as they hold thousand year old pieces of our Earth. They enthusiastically ask questions about crystals and volcanoes. I always hear at least one student say, "Who knew rocks could be so cool?" Please help me recreate this learning experience for them!
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
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
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. Pandolfi and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
