"Every human, we all have different genetic backgrounds, we all have lived separate lives. But our genomes are greater than 99 percent similar."
My students crave hands-on learning. I use hands-on labs, science songs, and video clips to help all styles of learners and to keep students engaged.
I am lucky to teach around 100 high school students in grades 10-12.
We are a rural, low-income school district surrounded by farmland, which many students live and work on. Many of my students are tactile or kinesthetic learners. After our district downsized and cut our industrial arts and family consumer science programs and half of our music, agriculture, and visual art programs, I realized there were not many hands-on opportunities left for students.
Now that they are without many of their interactive elective courses, I can tell my students miss being able to get out of their desks, work with their hands, and create things. I feel more responsibility than ever to provide hands-on opportunities for students. I strive to provide as many inquiry lab experiences as possible throughout all of my science courses despite the district's financial struggles.
My Project
My students need DNA Kits, DNA Whiteboard Set, Replication and Transcription Sets, and Gene Evolution Stations. These engaging manipulatives allow students to build and study DNA. We will begin by learning the basics, including the structure of DNA and how it replicates. As a class we will model replication using the whiteboard kit then students can practice individually using the DNA model kits. As we get into more complex topics, students will model the process of transcription to create RNA. Students will learn about DNA, RNA, Proteins, bonds, and cell processes using the kits. The final stage of learning will be the lab stations which allow students to see how genes evolve to allow for evolution. All of these kits can be reused over and over with new students each year.
Donations will greatly improve our school by giving students an opportunity to do hands-on, engaging science activities.
It will allow students to visual our class content and gain a deeper level of understanding for genetics. It will help them make connections between genetics and evolution.
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
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 Mrs. Abrams-Ruque and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
