My students need experiences in order to understand science. Our Special Education students are the least likely to be given science experiences that make science live.
My high school life science class is full of wonderful students who want to learn, but who have learning disabilities and can't access the curriculum in the same way as other students.
All of my students have some kind of disability.
Their disabilities interfere with their learning--especially from just a book-based format. I haven't had a student yet who didn't want to learn--I've just had to learn how to teach each one in different ways. The one way I've found is to give them experiences in science. Instead of telling them about cells, I show them cells. Instead of telling them about bones, I show them bones. In order to keep this going, I need to keep building our supply of experiments and experiences.
My Project
Students in my life science class will be able to go beyond the book and touch the materials. They'll be able to examine and analyze the materials, and synthesize the information. These materials bring the book to life! We all have activities we remember from school, and I bet most of us would say that the things we remember most are the ones that we touched and experienced.
Students become better humans, and are able to transition to adult living better, when they have had experiences where they can work together to accomplish some goal.
Not only will these Sp. Ed. students have more memorable experiences, but they will have worked collectively, learning how to be part of a team or a group. They will have more success in the world of work because they've already learned how to share ideas, share a workload, and be responsible for a finished product.
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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. Botchie (Koorsen) and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.