No Lazy River Here! Just Future Green Scientists At Work!
My students need an in class river ecosystem and tank to give them a hands-on environment that demonstrates perfectly how plants, animals and humans must live in balance together.
FULLY FUNDED! Mr. Buck's classroom raised $677
This project is fully funded
My Students
When you live in a neighborhood that has almost no wildlife, save for the occasional squirrel or stray dog, life science becomes very difficult to grasp, much less get excited about. That is why we want to give our students the chance to really experience nature every day with a classroom ecosystem.
Our students are excitable, curious learners who grasp hungrily at knowledge and who love to experience the world around them.
They work amazingly hard and strive to climb the mountain to college, proving that it's not where you start, but where you finish.
And it's because of them that I was inspired to submit this specific project. We recently had a snake and a turtle visit our classroom and I saw our scholars go absolutely crazy (in a good way) to see these animals. So I thought that if we could have a living classroom, with it's own river ecosystem, we could have this kind of excitement and engagement every day.
My Project
With a fully functioning river ecosystem in the classroom, there is almost a limitless amount of lessons that I will be able to teach, crossing through Earth, life and environmental sciences.
The first thought that I had about using this tank is to (safely) demonstrate to the students how the oil spill this summer impacted the ecosystem that it polluted. What the kids saw this summer was often limited to aerial views, or that view of the oil gushing from the well. But what they missed was the full effect of what was going on in between those two views. What an impacting lesson it would be for students to see the true impact of the spill and to consider alternatives as we consider our energy future.
And of course, there will be fish, and frogs, and turtles in our ecosystem, which makes the teaching of life science a much easier task as the kids will be able to easily see the interplay of the five kingdoms of like and how they impact and balance one another.
The learning that this project will deliver to our class is an almost incalculable amount of learning.
As I have written out this proposal, I have thought of at least ten more things that I will be able to do with this set-up in my class! It would take a huge amount of field trips to equal the learning that we have an opportunity to have in our classroom every day. And what is so exciting about this is that these amazing students will take these lessons with them as stewards of a green future!
More than 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 Mr. Buck and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
