We have the bones for great science investigations, but now we need refills on the gooey insides! Through the awesome donations of Donors Choose participants and our school PTO, we have built up some great science kits but each year we need to replace the consumables and the items that get broken.
My students are hardworking, enthusiastic, and creative.
They face many challenges of living in a high poverty, low socioeconomic area but they rise to the occasion each day. I love their enthusiasm for learning new things and the new questions they bring me each day. They are a diverse group of children speaking many languages and belonging to many different cultures, but they all bring a love of science and inquiry to my classroom. Our school is a great place where the staff works together to create the best possible educational opportunities for our students.
My Project
We have many of the basics needed in our science program but the one thing we need every year is money to replace the consumables used up the previous year. We need to replace broken or damaged materials and also add more materials as our class sizes continue to grow. My science program operates on a zero dollar budget. Everything we have has come from donors, grants, my pocket, and our school PTO. It's a struggle each year but these materials change little lives. Hands-on science is critical to building understanding in the sciences. It is even more important for those students who still have yet to fully master English. A key component of science is inquiry and inquiry can not be applied from reading about science in a book. Our kids need practice on figuring out a problem and engineering a solution. If they fail they need the opportunity to try to change the solution and rework the problem. This is how you build understanding in the way things work.
These materials will be used in dozens of hands-on lessons this year.
They will be used by students as young as 5 and as old as 12. They will help foster understanding in a variety of scientific areas. With each science investigation the students become more competent and more able to devise and complete their own investigations. They are able to better think critically and master a wide variety of problems.
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
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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. Hetland and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
