This teacher needs your help!

Ms. Young from Oakland, CA is requesting art supplies through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

See what Ms. Young is requesting

Newcomer Citizen Scientists Nature Journaling Through the Pandemic

Help me give my students , all recently-arrived immigrants, the materials they need to create quality nature journals during distance learning.

FULLY FUNDED! Ms. Young's classroom raised $762

This project is fully funded

Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month

This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.

My Students

I teach at a small, community-based Title I (low-income) school in East Oakland. The majority of our students are immigrant families from Guatemala, Yemen, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, and the U.S. They are hungry to learn and deserving of everything that we can creatively muster to provide for them. We are working hard to create projects that foster their love of learning and empower them to use their creativity to expand their world.

COVID-19 has them learning from home in a zip code with the highest rate of infection in the county, and with new stress and responsibilities as they help hold together households with family members who have lost employment or been directly affected by COVID-19.

This project is specifically for our newcomer students, who have all arrived to the US in the past 1-2 years, and for whom this has been an especially difficult time.

My Project

One of the biggest challenges teachers at my school faced during the first months of shelter-in-place was getting our newcomer students engaged in distance learning. Virtual field trips to the zoo and the aquarium were not enough.

To meet the challenges of distance learning, take advantage of the new opportunities it brings, and get students curious about science, I would like to re-invent my science curriculum to make nature journaling a major part of it.

Journals are the ubiquitous tools of scientists, and I hope to use nature journals to encourage students to slow down, pay attention, deepen their observation skills and develop their curiosity. I I've spent the summer learning about nature journaling and keeping my own one -- my new curriculum is based on the work of John Muir Laws, the Beetles project run by the Lawrence Hall of Science, and workshops and classes I've participated in through Project Leaning Tree and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

I also want my students to be able to create a body of work that they can return to and take pride in. The materials I am requesting -- from the quality hardcover sketchbooks to beautifully drawn pocket guides to the birds of the Bay Area, and including an assortment of pencils and erasers -- were all chosen based on the advice of professionals so that students can take pride in their work. It's very important to me to welcome my students to distance learning with quality materials they can keep.

Project tagged as

Oakland, CA
Grades 6-8
English Language Learning
Climate & The Environment
Traditional School
Art Supplies
Distance Learning
Nearly all students from low‑income households

Ms. Young Urban Promise Academy Grades 6-8

Equity Focus

This project will directly impact historically underfunded classrooms.

Oakland, CA View local requests

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

20 students impacted 2donors

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Where Your Donation Goes

Where your donation goes

Materials Cost Quantity Total

10350-1011 - Canson Artist Series Sketchbook- 11" x 8-1/2", 108 Sheets • Blick Art Materials $8.64 20 $172.80

The Laws Pocket Guide: Yard and Garden Birds • Amazon Business $6.95 18 $125.10

00851-2020 - Sakura Pigma Micron PN Pen - Black • Blick Art Materials $2.13 20 $42.60

20512-5540 - Prismacolor Col-Erase Pencil - Non-Photo Blue • Blick Art Materials $0.88 40 $35.20

21488-1001 - Kum Wedge Sharpener - Double-Hole • Blick Art Materials $1.60 20 $32.00

20686-5017 - Pentel Twist-Erase Click Mechanical Pencil - 0.7 mm, Blue • Blick Art Materials $2.39 12 $28.68

The Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling • Amazon Business $22.49 1 $22.49

The Beachcomber's Guide to Seashore Life of California • Amazon Business $21.49 1 $21.49

20603-9003 - Pentel Hi-Polymer Lead Refills - 0.7 mm, Black, 2B • Blick Art Materials $0.95 20 $19.00

20603-0521 - Pentel Hi-Polymer Lead Refills - 0.5 mm, Black, 2B • Blick Art Materials $0.95 20 $19.00

California Nature Set: Field Guides to Wildlife, Birds, Trees & Wildflowers of California • Amazon Business $17.95 1 $17.95

21502-2820 - Prismacolor Kneaded Eraser - Large, 1-3/4" x 1-1/4" x 1-1/4", Gray • Blick Art Materials $0.69 20 $13.80

California Seashore Life: A Folding Pocket Guide to Familiar Plants & Animals (Wildlife and Nature Identification) • Amazon Business $7.95 1 $7.95

Materials cost			$558.06
Vendor shipping charges			FREE
Sales tax			$51.06
3rd party payment processing fee			$8.37
Fulfillment labor & materials			$30.00
Total project cost			$647.49
Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms			$114.26
Total project goal			$761.75
How we calculate what's needed
Total project goal			$761.75
2 Donors			-$761.75
Donations toward project cost			-$647.49
Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms			-$114.26
Still needed View calculation Hide calculation			$0.00

Our team works hard to negotiate the best pricing and selections available.

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This teacher needs your help!

Newcomer Citizen Scientists Nature Journaling Through the Pandemic

This project is fully funded

Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month

My Students

My Project

Project tagged as

Equity Focus

Boost your odds

Top rated for efficiency and transparency.

TEACHERS, FEELING INSPIRED?

Where Your Donation Goes

Where your donation goes

How we calculate what's needed

Give the most requested basic supplies

Give back to your community

Project Activity

Project Activity

DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

Help teachers & students in your hometown this season!
Use code HOME at checkout and your donation will be matched up to $100.