My students need 60 subscriptions to SuperScience, a publication that will help improve their literacy while also providing current and developing ideas in the field of science.
Students are curious and very interested in the world around them. I use inquiry based science lessons and students eat it up. They are eager to learn about, discuss, and share topics related to new and interesting developments in science. Science is constantly changing and these learners love it.
Our school is an excellent rated suburban school district in southwest Ohio.
From the outside, the appearance is that of a any other stereotypical suburban school. The truth is that we have recently just come out of some pretty tough times. We went through several years of failed ballot issues that would have funded operations. We experienced yearly reduction in force and budget cuts. At one point, we were in fiscal emergency and control was taken by the state. As a result, curriculum resources were drastically reduced, classroom sizes ballooned, and yet we maintained an excellent academic standard. Thankfully, voters finally did approve a levy that allowed us to begin climbing out of these hardships. We have regained local control but have been very conservative in replacing staff, resources, and materials for curriculum. Admirably, the students, teachers, administrators, families, and supporters showed great perseverance and did it all with a smile. I love our community.
My Project
Our school has joined with the Ohio Writing Project in efforts to develop and improve literacy among all learners. As part of the project, we want to provide current articles of high interest for our students to read across all content areas. I think the use of a publication is critically important in the science content area because most students' only reading experience with science is from a text book. Students will not only be reading the articles, but learning about and regularly practicing writing strategies tied with the Ohio Writing Project. SuperScience is an excellent interest grab, connected to our standards that students will be anxious to read and share their ideas about. They will be able to express their ideas verbally, in writing and in related follow up projects. In addition, the publication comes with digital resources and great ideas for labs, activities, and inquiry based learning.
Currently, the text book we use in science class is about 10 years old.
Due to the financial hardships, we were unable to update our texts. Science is continuously advancing well beyond our text. This donation will create opportunities for students to connect to the modern world in which they live and stimulate their ideas about the future. We use videos and technology, but having current, up to date articles with the most recent discoveries and research will be of great benefit to our students.
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