Get Out and Learn, First Graders Study About a Local Habitat
My students need binoculars and magnifying glasses to study, in depth, the habitat, plants and animals of our nearby creek, thus supporting our science curriculum in a hands-on manner.
I teach first grade in a low to middle socioeconomic area. My students come from predominately single parent families. I have bilingual students, students with learning disabilities and a Downs Syndrome student in my classroom. I have been teaching for 26 years in grades K-2. I have my Master's Degree and am Nationally Board Certified. Our school was named a "California Distinguished School". I am extremely proud of the work that we do with children and families.
I am finding that due to the fact that I have so many single parent students they are not being given the opportunity to have many hands-on outdoor educational experiences that support our curriculum at school. Parents are so overwhelmed just trying to meet the needs of their family day to day that extra learning opportunities are often let go. Young children are naturally curious about their environment and are always willing to make an environment better for wildlife. We have a creek near our school. Our school is named after and it would provide an excellent means for studying habitat, plants and animals,which is part of our first grade science curriculum. But the area needs attention. It has litter and debris. My students would clean the area with the help of Intel Volunteers. We would love to have at least four volunteers join us on our walking field trip during the week of April 21 - 25 and help us clean the area of litter and debris thus helping the creek habitat. We would need the volunteers for approximately three hours for the field trip. They would be welcome to come back another day as we document what we saw. My students would then maintain the area so for future observations.
We need binoculars and magnifying glasses in order to make this experience come to life for my students and future students. Having these tools will help the students learn about various habitat details that may otherwise be missed, and give them something that more than likely they will always remember. In first grade we are to study the needs of plants and animals, as well as, their basic cycle of life and how specific habitats support various forms of life. Having the tools of binoculars and magnifying glasses the students can gain a greater visual support for what they are learning. Students who do not do well with pencil and paper activities can show their strengths and excel in science when they have hands-on activities. All too often these opportunities are over looked and material is presented in one way, through reading, and you miss an entire group of children who learn in different modalities. Having these tools will allow the students to engage with their surroundings and meet the needs of multiple areas of academic strength.
Your help will provide my students with the opportunity for hands-on science success! You will help us take a local creek that currently goes unnoticed and turn it into an outdoor classroom. We will help to maintain the creek habitat and be able to go back periodically and use our binoculars and magnifying glasses to observe the habitat. What a great learning experience you will provide.
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