This project is part of the Black History Month celebration because it supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of the students are Black.
My Students
Who doesn't like a garden? It is an timeless thing of beauty created for us to enjoy with our heart and soul. Our urban Title I school is located in one of the largest cities in the United States so we would like to give our students the opportunity to experiment with basic soil and plants.
Our 'gardeners' will be second through fourth grade students, most of them labeled Gifted and Talented.
These students are highly talented, well-read children who soak up every new experience. They think logically and dig deeply into whatever interests them to appease their curiosity. These intelligent students need constant challenges and new adventures to keep them motivated. Our students have a wide panorama of interests and the world of plants and animals pull them like magnets. They want to know about the fascinating world of growing plants, flowers, and vegetables. Unfortunately this wonderful experience cannot be provided by many parents who maybe living in small apartments in our huge city.
My Project
Our students have little or no prior knowledge about how a garden grows or the pleasures of watching the marvels of nature transform a seed into a plant. We are requesting these items to compete in the Disney Planet Challenge contest. The students will be fascinated to first set up the garden using the planters. They will research to learn how much soil, sunlight and water our seeds will need. Once we are ready to get our 'hands dirty', our students will use the garden tools to dig and sow the seeds. As we watch our little garden grow, our learning will continue across all content curriculum areas. We will tie in our Science topics of life cycles, weathering and erosion to measurement in Math and environmental studies in Social Studies. Throughout our gardening process, we will continue to write a variety of How To's, expository texts, and poetry. As their hands are busy working, their minds will be busy thinking.
Our broad vision for this gardening project is to create a lasting impact on our students' lives.
We believe by giving them a unique hands-on opportunity, they will not easily forget the content objectives and the life skills of teamwork and responsibility. We will also teach our students about nutrition as we eat our fresh garden vegetables. If we are given the opportunity, we want to promote good eating habits that will lead to a life long healthy life style.
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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. Castillo and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.