Returning Choice and Agency through STEAM: 7th/8th Middle School Science
Help me give my students adequate art supplies for creating STEAM choice projects.
FULLY FUNDED! Mr. Cox's classroom raised $701
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 Project
Following every unit, students expand on the information learned by completing choice projects. They choose from a selected array of options curated by their teacher, all of which further apply the understandings of the unit in new and exciting directions. Students then use the internet to conduct their own research on a topic and create a product that is both informational and visually-appealing. The room works with a steady buzz for a week, as I am able to step away from my lead roll and advise self-motivated students as they take their learning in whichever direction they please.
Our classroom art supplies are running low or non-existent: colored paper small and large, adequate markers and pencils, erasers, chalk, drafting tools, watercolor and sketch pencils, cutting tools, stencils, brushes.
And despite lacking materials and inadequate tools, my students create incredible pieces of work. They've created children's books about lunar eclipses and mutations, scaled artistic renderings of our solar system, public service announcements to the community regarding high-energy, dangerous UV light waves, and explained significant moments in history through the ideas of velocity, mass and force.
The aim of the choice projects is to highlight the different modalities in which a student learns and can subsequently show their understanding. As we free student's from the traditional mode of assessment, new skills learners carry are able to shine as creativity takes over. With more choice, students bring increased accountability and ownership over their work. We reach new academic goals, as I am able to introduce many different complex ideas all at once that students can choose to run with. The least I can do is provide this space and resources for students to create. Thanks for taking the time to view and support some of the work we're doing here in Penn Valley.
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. Cox and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
