My students need materials to learn gravity, electricity, and magnetism. Students will create circuits with lamps, motors, and wire; and doorbells with electromagnets.
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
Gravity, electricity, and magnetism are three great forces of nature that students think they understand but often misinterpret and confuse. When I teach these topics I help students discover their own misconceptions and to explore these concepts through experiments and demonstrations.
My students are a bright and diverse group of students in rural Tennessee.
They go to a high poverty school with few resources but they are a loving group of kids who get along well with one another. Each year our students struggle to make adequate yearly progress in reading and math; however they excel in science due to its hands on nature and high expectations. My students need engagement and stimulation to keep motivated and involved in learning. My struggling learners achieve their best when they are discovering new things and are actively involved with their hands and minds.
My Project
To teach the concepts of electricity and magnetism, I design labs in which students construct motors, create circuits with switches and build their own electromagnets. In one lab I offer a prize to the first group who can engineer a small ceiling fan with a working light and an on/off switch. Then students are challenged to properly ring a bell with an electromagnetic switch to receive the grand prize. You would be amazed at the unlikely students who often excel at this challenge. By creating closed circuits with lamp lights, small motors, bells, and wire; students utilize their critical thinking skills. Students grasp the concepts of magnetic attraction and repulsion by experimenting with electromagnets and magnetic field demonstrators. In addition, videos like the Mythbusters series help students understand complex forces like gravity and electricity.
Each year I try to scrape together the materials I need for my labs.
As a result, I find myself with various grades of wire, limited electrical tape, and buckets of old batteries. The materials I receive from Donors Choose will help me provide a learning experience for students that is safer, more consistent, and more effective than previous years. Currently, the entire class has to wait for the opportunity to ring one bell in lab. Now every group will get to ring the bells of understanding.
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 Mr. Cornelius and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
