Help KIPPsters Discover Ecology Through Owl Pellets!
My students need 100 owl pellets for a hands-on science investigation on the food webs found in an owl's ecosystem.
FULLY FUNDED! Mr. Tejwani's classroom raised $427
This project is fully funded
Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month
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
Sifting through something regurgitated by an owl may not sound like every one's idea of fun, but as my students climb the mountain towards future careers as scientist, the chance to dissect an owl pellet provides an invaluable way to learn about ecology and food webs by being "Diet Detectives"!
As KIPPsters, my students are climbing the mountain to college every day as they continue to "work hard" and "be nice" both in and out of the classroom.
Held to a culture of high expectations and "no excuses", many are beginning to chart a path towards a career in science, medicine, or other related field and are willing to work hard to achieve their goals. Our students come from a variety of neighborhoods and embody the rich diversity of New York City, with the majority hailing from areas of the Bronx and Harlem. 100% of our student body is African American or Hispanic, and over 85% qualify for free or reduced price lunch programs.
My Project
Learning about food webs is often done using direct teacher instruction with limited hands-on opportunities for students. Using owl pellets flips this on its head, by allowing students to directly determine what organisms an owl consumed as they build a food web representing the owl's ecosystem. By engaging students as "Diet Detectives", they are better able to see the interrelatedness of ecosystems, and are able to gain valuable hands-on experience with dissecting equipment, taxonomic classification, and are able to build better enduring understandings of this otherwise conceptual topic.
My students face the challenge that many students in similar settings do - making science tangible and connected to the real world.
Ecology is a fascinating field, and an area of science which truly connects with my students' interests. The chance to conduct a hands-on ecology experiment through the owl pellet dissection would be extremely meaningful, and could engage my students in a fascinating area of biology.
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 Mr. Tejwani and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
