Celebrate Black Teachers and Students
This project is part of the Black History Month celebration because it supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of the students are Black.
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Ms. Eckels from Roxbury MA is requesting lab equipment through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
See what Ms. Eckels is requestingMy students need a Van de Graaff generator and other supplies to explore electrostatics.
This project is part of the Black History Month celebration because it supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of the students are Black.
My students are creative, resilient, humorous, charming and intelligent ninth graders at an urban public school. We are officially a Level 4 under-performing school, which means a huge focus on academics and raising test scores. We work hard to build students' basic skills while also incorporating fun, active and engaging ways to learn.
Many of my students are English language learners who recently moved to the United States, most of them from the Cape Verde islands.
They are the hardest working students I know as they are not only learning English and learning to navigate American culture, but also studying math, history, science and engineering.
This spring, some of my students went to a Science Expo event and got to experiment with a Van de Graaff generator. They loved turning the hand crank to turn the belt, then touching the metal sphere and feeling that little "zap" of static charge entering their hand. And best of all, then you can "zap" your friends!
Currently, our electrostatics experiments involve simple materials like pieces of Scotch tape, styrofoam plates, balloons, and rolling aluminum cans - and while the simple experiments are great activities, a demonstration piece like this Van de Graaff generator will really bring electrostatics to life.
With these materials, we'll be able to create sparks with the generator, build up positive and negative charge on glass and plastic rods via friction, and watch the pith balls repel or attract. Having high quality equipment helps my students feel like scientists. And when they feel like scientists, they learn so much more.
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Expand the "Where your donation goes" section below to see exactly what Ms. Eckels is requesting.
See our financesYou can start a project with the same resources being requested here!
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