The scientific inquiry in all of us starts as soon as we are born. We "observe" our world immediately, and seek answers about our world. It is up to teachers and the community to teach science concepts, and answers all of those inquiry based questions.
Our school is located on the North side of Minneapolis.
Our community is diverse, I teach children of all abilities, races, and love every minute of it. They are curious about our scientific world, and many lack background knowledge to increase their understanding our science. I have found that that students learn best by using their senses to learn science, especially touching. The more science hands-on experiences I can provide, the more learning takes place. The children also LOVE and live animals that come into the classroom.
My Project
I have requested a variety of materials to aid in the hands-on learning that takes place in my classroom. Hermit Crabs provide a clean, harmless, easy habitat for children to learn from. We learn about snails from H-5 through 2nd grade. They really like any animal with a shell. From 3-through 5th grade we work in animal environments and habitats. The butterfly and hermit crab environments will enhance our hands-on learning. The 4ht grade works extensively on magnets and electricity. The magnets I have in my classroom are about 20 years old, they can "maybe" pick up 5 paper clips on a good day. This makes it very challenging to teach the force of magnets. The more experiments kids have with electricity, the more confidence I have found with rigging up interesting circuits.
My project is important simply because my equipment is old.
I took over the science position at my school three years ago. The person who left and retired, left me her science equipment. Needles to say, many things were not in good shape. Some of the boxes I had went through had mice urine and feces in them! As you many know, science equipment and supplies are expensive. I try to use my own money to replace items.
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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. Gigrich and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.