Organized chaos is how I affectionately describe my classroom. There is no time for sitting. We are doing our science labs inside and out. My philosophy is that students do not learn well unless they are interacting and manipulating the physical environment and talking about it!
I teach in a Title I rural school with a wonderfully diverse population of students.
Unfortunately, many of my students are not at grade level when it comes to academics. Recently, the school was about to level a weed infested serenity garden, but my students and I wanted to rescue it. As we started to clear things out and I saw my students' willingness to work in the rain and cold, I was inspired to start designing a tiered plant bed for the garden.
My Project
I am requesting one Suncast 50-Gallon Rain Barrel, one Algreen Compost bin and one 4-Pound Bag of Jobe's Organic Compost Starter. All items will focus on recycling our resources and connect science, math and literacy to gardening. One thing we will do with the rain barrel is to keep a local tally of the amount of rainfall we get over a period of time. Is that amount adequate? We will also test the pH of the rain as we explore the impact humans have on their environment. If the rain is too acidic, what exactly does that mean for society, even the crops we are growing. Why compost? The Algreen Compost bin and Organic Compost Starter will be used to produce fertilizer for the garden bed and demonstrate the effect of composting on plant growth. Is rain water better than tap water? How can we test this?
I fear that the youth today do not have a genuine, strong connection to Earth.
But, food does not come from your local market, it comes from Earth; and, every step in the growth process demonstrated in our new plant bed is a teachable moment. With this new tiered garden bed students will have to think critically, and analyze and decide what steps are necessary for the growth process.
More than three‑quarters of 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. Bridges and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.