My students need the Carolina STEM challenge kits to promote hands-on integrated learning. These kits include making mousetrap cars, training plants, and building motors.
FULLY FUNDED! Mrs. Ballou's classroom raised $347
This project is fully funded
My Students
A Chinese proverb states:
"Tell me, I'll forget
teach me, I'll remember
involve me, I'll understand."
Involving students in their daily learning is key in order for them to truly internalizing the material in which you are trying to teach them.
Room 7 is full of eager students who are diving into math and science concepts.
I am the Gifted Zone Center Math/Science teacher for both 4th and 5th grades at my school. My students travel up to 30 minutes on the bus each morning. Talk about commitment to learning! Our program pulls students from five surrounding school zones as well as our own. This means I have a very diverse group of students including those with 504s, IEPs, second language learners, and most importantly, hardworking families. Recently our school was Title I. In my classroom I struggle with having enough supplies for each student to have an authentic hands-on learning opportunity.
My Project
The STEM Challenges kits are fabulous hands-on activities for students to demonstrate their learning of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. In this project I am requesting the following kits: Mousetrap Car Kit, How to Train a Plant Kit, Build It Write Kit, and Motors Kit. Each of these kits cover Virginia Standards of Learning in both fourth and fifth grades. These kits allow student to learn how to work as a team by strategizing, compromising, and working towards a goal. They also teach or review math and science concepts. Students get tired of learning concepts through note-taking at their desks while staring at the white board. The STEM activities allow them to prove their knowledge by building and testing the applied concepts, such as force and motion, electricity, and plant growth.
Sadly science education is getting pushed to the side in elementary classrooms.
However, STEM projects are the perfect solution to integrating science concepts into math class time. In real life these two subjects are constantly working together. The earlier students realize this, the better they will be able to conceptualize what seems like discrete topics into a real-world format. My students crave this hands-on involvement and I want to be able to provide them with every opportunity!
Nearly all 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. Ballou and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
