My students come from a wide variety of learning situations, from struggling to striving. The school is set within a suburban community near military housing. Even though my school is within a large metropolitan city, it feels like a small community and sheltered, an "island in the hills." Within these hills, we have a variety of ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds, as well as several families that have moved here from other countries. Many of our students are also grappling with parents being deployed or on active duty.
Project-based, STEAM exploration is engaging and motivating to all my students, and a tool to building growth-mindset, regardless of their academic level.
My students are exuberant and creative, and I am constantly challenged to investigate new opportunities for them to test the waters in STEM/STEAM learning for all grade levels TK-5th grade. We also make a concerted effort to incorporate NGSS standards, and make it relevant to the students' world and interests. The curriculum is student-driven and ever-morphing to meet their needs in a problem-based learning environment.
My Project
The Private Eye is a learning process, curriculum materials and teacher resources focus on riveting the eye and rocketing the mind. It builds Looking Closely, Thinking by Analogy, Changing Scale and Theorizing—the most important habits of mind for success in school and in life.
Help provide my students with a wallop of wonder and mystery using a jeweler’s loupe, everyday objects, science specimens, and a powerful inquiry process.
Students explore every content area with fresh perspective and surprise themselves as they write, draw and theorize at sophisticated levels. The personal eye and the investigative eye unite. Habits of close observation bloom. Critical thinking soars. Creativity flows. Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core come to life. Magnify minds.
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. Allard's STEAM Lab and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
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