My project needs one indoor garden lab with accessories and seed starting root cubes.
FULLY FUNDED! Mrs. N.'s classroom raised $482
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.
I am a fourth year teacher and alumna of Teach For America and am still teaching in the school where I was placed in 2004. I teach special education classes at a middle school (grades 6-8) in East San Jose. My student population generally has specific learning disabilities that greatly impact their reading, writing, and math progress. In the past, the students and I felt frustrated and grit our teeth through worksheets and textbooks. This year, I am taking a different approach to instruction and am planning projects and hands-on learning opportunities for authentic engagement.
One of the up-coming projects is a school garden of which my class will be responsible for managing. Until this major project is underway, we will start a garden inside the classroom in order to study and prepare seedlings. There are a multitude of opportunities for meaningful, hands-on learning with an indoor garden. I have already planned integrated math and technology lessons for students to measure and calculate the rate of growth of various seed types using Excel formulas. There will be many more lessons to come this year that connect gardening to reading skills, journal writing, scientific writing, and math labs.
I am requesting a Growlab II- Compact Indoor Garden. This resource has the lighting and accessories needed to start growing seedlings and plants indoors- similar to a greenhouse. We will be able to use this resource immediately to prepare for our garden, and then throughout the school year to prep for different planting seasons. Although this is mainly a resource for my class, we are willing to share with other classes who also participate in our school garden.
An indoor garden will be part of the culture change in my classroom as the students look more to experiences for their learning than to the typical textbook work. It is my duty as a special education teacher to provide different kinds of learning opportunities for my students. I hope that with your help, we can meet their unique learning needs and grow a few vegetables along the way. Thanks for your help in making amazing things happen at our public schools!
More than a third 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. N. and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
