I have been teaching science for sixteen years at the same school and in the same classroom. All those years ago, I inherited a fifty-five gallon aquarium. Yesterday I was shocked to find my tank had sprung a slow unfixable leak!
My students are great kids that come from hard-working families, however, close to 45% of them receive a free or reduced meal plan labeling us an "Equity Plus" school in our state. The student population is also quite diverse, we host one of the county's ESL (English as a Second Language)programs.
In order to captivate, motivate and generally get my students excited about science we conduct labs and hands-on activities frequently. The problems posed to my students about the experiment engages them to investigate a possible conclusion or solution to the lab they are conducting.
I am requesting a new aquarium for several reasons. First, aquatic plants are grown year-round in the aquarium. "Duckweed" is easy to grow and grows rapidly. Due to these characteristics we conduct population experiments by monitoring the growth and graphing our results after several weeks.
Second, the tank houses minnows and snails and "Elodea" plants. The Elodea aerates the mini-ecosystems that we create for our minnows and snails during our ecology unit.
Third, the tank is home to two crayfish. We study the anatomy of crayfish and use them as examples when learning food chains and food webs. A live observation of a crayfish is much more exciting to my students than looking at a textbook picture.
Finally my aquarium is or was aesthetically pleasing. Often my students will watch a battle between the crayfish over a piece of food or the discarding of its old shell for a new one as it molts.
With your help, I will be able to continue these exciting labs and activities that "hook" my students into science and prepare them for college and their future. Today my aquarium has four inches of water and a slow leak, please help!
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. Braswell and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.