This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
My Students
Do you think you could stay afloat in a boat made solely of cardboard and packing tape? Most of my students don't! I will help them to realize that with a little physics and a lot of ingenuity, they can sail the San Diego bay in their cardboard boats!
My students have all won a lottery.
They are diverse. They come from all over San Diego because they did not want to attend their local high school. They aren't what you think of when you think of unmotivated high school students. In our school there are no individual desks, only tables and groups of students working together to support learning. There are no regular formal lectures, just opportunities to engage interest by creative projects and labs. There are no quiet students - they are too busy working with their group members on projects and problems.
Our school provides students with a project-based learning environment. In this type of environment, the teacher is given autonomy to design projects around curriculum that they choose. Students are given an opportunity to learn subject matter in depth, versus whipping through a host of topics that they will likely forget. They are provided with unforgettable learning experiences, because learning is an adventure.
My Project
What if you were asked to figure out if a crown was made of pure gold or if the goldsmith replaced some of the gold with another metal? This was the problem that Archimedes and all of my students will face this semester during our study of density. To fully understand density, students must see how to calculate both mass and volume. It will be in our study of volume that the needed graduated cylinder will be utilized for this year AND years to come!!
What do you remember from your Physics class?
I am excited to be teaching at a public charter where students take risks and teach me just as much as I teach them. Learning is never mundane.
Classes are small, allowing teachers to really get to know the students they work with. It is a school like no other and it is because of projects like these, that they will never forget their Physics class in high school.
More than half 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
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 Ms. Wirts Pelayo and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
