Science Before Their Eyes: DVD Library 6th-8th Grade Science

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.

I teach science to sixth, seventh and eighth grade students at a small, public charter school. Our school is located in a small city where 98% of our students are living in poverty. Our school offers an alternative to the families in our town--smaller class sizes, dedicated staff members, innovative teaching methods, a commitment to improving the community one child at a time. It is an inspiring place to work and to learn.

It is often difficult for my students to imagine the larger world outside of the urban center in which they live. My students lack experience outside of their community as well as lack resources for experiencing new things. I try my best to present to them the unique opportunities, sights, locations and phenomenon that occur all over the world in the realm of science, but I find that they have difficulty envisioning these things that they have only heard about. They have the opportunity to hear about these things from me and to try things out in a laboratory setting, but as of now, there is no avenue for a visual component to the curriculum.

I am seeking a DVD player exclusively for use in the science lab as well as a DVD library to use to supplement our science curriculum. These items would give my students a visual, real-life connection to enhance the hands-on, laboratory-based science curriculum I am developing at my school. My students could not only hear and experience things in the lab, but also see them for themselves. When students have a cohesive curriculum delivered through all three modes of learning (kinesthetic, audial and visual), they have so much of a better chance to truly understand the content and be able to do the targeted scientific skills. For example, when we do our unit on oceans now, we discuss the concepts and also do hands-on investigations where students might model the movements of ocean water or measure the salinity of water. With the DVDs and DVD player, students could also see with their own eyes real marine scientists at work underwater researching the role of organisms in the ocean ecosystem or working on desalination of ocean water for drinking water use--wow! The addition of the visual component to the curriculum would be a huge boost to their learning!

Your help will make it possible for my students to have a powerful visual experience within the science curriculum. My students and I are so appreciative for all of your help--you truly make a difference!