Talking Buildings: A Unit On Historic Preservation
My students need books about architecture and engineering to build background knowledge and expertise, and hands-on building kits to practice and apply this new information.
FULLY FUNDED! Ms. Thom's classroom raised $883
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 Students
Help us preserve our community's rich structural history and bring awareness to the importance of preservation. Every day, significant historical places are being destroyed in the name of progress. Our students want to take action by bringing some of the local rich building history to life.
My 4th, 5th, and 6th graders are highly inquisitive students who care about the world around them.
They come from all over the inner city to attend our school for high potential children (which is part of the public school system). Our school vision includes exposing children to authentic experiences and rich content. Some of the most important aspects of our philosophy include the ideas that learning should be meaningful, joyful, and applied to making positive changes in the world. Although the challenges many of the students face in their personal/home lives cause distractions and at times create roadblocks to their success, they are provided with a school experience that allows them to see how much more is available to them if they work hard and stay positive. One of the main goals of the school is that the students become creative producers so that they will make positive differences in their school, community, and world.
My Project
The materials that have been requested will be added to a unit on historical preservation that began 2 years ago. The books and hands-on materials will add to students' prior knowledge of local history and provide new connections between the worlds of designers, builders, historians, and preservationists. Prior to the historical preservation unit, many of our students had not had ample opportunities to travel to our historical downtown area, and were unable to identify buildings of historical and architectural significance. However, over the past 2 years, students have begun to gain an appreciation and understanding of the historical significance of such buildings. The hands-on materials such as the clay, Legos, and building kits will allow students to create models of these important buildings in their city, as well as help create tangible products with a potential to foster widespread enthusiasm for the development and preservation of buildings within their own community and beyond.
The potential impact of these resources surpasses our classroom and even our school, but extends to the entire school district and city.
With the resources this project would supply, our class will create both models and multimedia projects about important and unique buildings that will be seen by students across the district, as well as by influential people and organizations who are in a position to facilitate change. As a result, students will become empowered to preserve their local history.
Nearly all 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 Ms. Thom and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
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