My Students Are Begging For This Project! Can You Help?
My students need owl pellets and dissecting forceps.
FULLY FUNDED! Mrs. Bencic's classroom raised $253
This project is fully funded
My Students
Owl Pellets...so what are they? Well, they are undigested parts of food that owls regurgitate. Yep, it is pretty disgusting, but dissecting owl pellets is a wonderful way to allow students to investigate skeletal systems, food webs, and predator/prey relationships.
My students are literally BEGGING for this lesson!
I have a few owl pellets already (only about 4), but I do not have enough for all of my students to work together in small cooperative groups and actually experience the dissection as intended. I really need your help to provide this memorable hands-on activity for my class. My 4th grade class has 10 students, and my 5th grade class has 15 students. All of my students live in an underprivileged rural area. About 75% of our school's students live in poverty; we have approximately 120 students in grades K-8. Understandably, our very small school can provide only the most essential supplies for our students. Even though our school is not new or fancy, it is clean, well-maintained, and we love it! Our little community school has supportive parents, caring faculty, and students who are eager to learn! We have such a wonderful school, but we definitely need help providing hands-on activities that so many take for granted!
My Project
First, I am requesting 50 owl pellets. This will be enough pellets for this year and next year’s classes, too! I also need a set of dissecting forceps (tweezers) which make it much easier to pick out the tiny bones inside the pellets. I will give students a choice of working in pairs or individually. They will identify the skeletal remains, sort and identify the bones, and learn about the behaviors of Barn Owls. You will be excited to know that I already have an incredible DVD which uses animation and live footage to introduce Barn Owls. This DVD was provided to my classroom by a previous DonorsChoose funded grant and will be used for many years to come! I will also use the Prey Biorama provided by generous donors as well. It is simply a mounted, partially-open owl pellet and the mounted skulls and mandibles of five mammal prey.
Thanks so much for considering my project.
I have presented this lesson to my previous classes, and word travels fast! Each year, my class anticipates the owl pellet lesson. Apparently, it has become a "rite of passage" to the upper grades! This is my eighth year teaching, and each year DonorsChoose has provided this lesson for my class. I do not want to let my kids down this year. Can you help?
Half 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. Bencic and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
