My class is part of a large, high-poverty urban school in northeastern Ohio. All of our students receive free lunch. Our school provides many opportunities and items for students that they may not otherwise receive such as field trips, coats/gloves/scarves, school dances, backpack blessings, and school supplies.
Regardless of their circumstances, my third graders are SO eager to learn, and enjoy learning science with hands-on experiments and observations!
What better way to engage them in our life cycle unit than with real animals?! I want to provide them with resources that will give them more concrete experiences that they would not experience outside of school, and therefore they will be more actively engaged in the unit of study.
My Project
Students need to see themselves as real scientists; real scientists would work with real animals! Students will BE A PART OF the life cycle of a chicken! They will learn about and care for the chickens through each part of the life cycle from egg through chick! What a memorable experience, especially for urban students! We will then compare and contrast this life cycle to that of other animals like butterflies and frogs.
Participating in an activity that helps to explain the world around them will create a love of learning and an appreciation for our Earth!
Videos, models, and posters only work so much. What my students need is real, hands-on experiences and materials that they would receive nowhere else than in my classroom! We are asking for incubators, egg turners, eggs, and thermometers for the 21 day hatching process. We also need lamps, food, and water to care for our little chicks in the classroom once they hatch. After students have a chance to care for the chicks and observe their fluff turn to feathers, the chickens will be donated to a local farm.
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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. Corder and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
