My students need a chance to explore life science with: a Root-Vue garden, seeds and succulents for our garden, ants and an ant farm, Grow-a-Frog kit, a Butterfly Viewing Kit, plus related books and microscope slides.
About forty-eight lucky students from two different fourth grade classes will observe the growth and development of all kinds of plants and critters because of your generosity! Twenty-four of the students are from my homeroom class, while the other twenty-four students switch to my classroom daily for two hours of math and science instruction.
These 48 students are from a low socio-economic level (over 88% qualify for free lunches) and are from various academic levels.
Providing this opportunity to two classes doubles the scientific learning! My students need hands-on learning for optimal engagement. I believe that if given the chance to feel the fulfillment of nurturing living things, students will gain a greater respect for nature and themselves.
My Project
We are just beginning a unit on Life Science! My FAVE! But... teaching about life science is such a tremendous challenge when your main source of instruction is just a textbook. Online videos and photos help, but nothing can replace hands on learning. I'd LOVE for my kiddos to grow their own plants, flowers, ants, butterflies, tadpoles and pill bugs within our classroom. They would GO WILD for so many unique experiences!
Life science should be taught with LIFE!
Kids can learn so many of the science standards by working with actual plants and critters, rather than pages in a textbook. One example of a Next Generation Science Standard for fourth grade is: "Compare and contrast the major stages in the life cycles of Florida plants and animals, such as those that undergo incomplete and complete metamorphosis, and flowering and nonflowering seed-bearing plants." Imagine how difficult to compare and contrast stages you've only read about?
Now, picture the kids' excitement when caterpillars arrive in the mail and soon after, emerge from chrysalises as butterflies? Or the wonder created as kids observe a tadpole undergo a metamorphosis into a frog? Watching the perseverance of ants building tunnels, roots growing, seeds germinating and pill bugs fertilizing and harvesting their own food can only instill a respect for nature and passion for science.
Not only will this project provide memorable experiences, but also beautifully illustrated and specific books of different levels to read about tadpoles, ants, pill bugs, plants and butterflies. And since the kids are so enthusiastic about making observations with a microscope, this project will provide 48 kids microscope slides of entomology, botany and mammology specimens. Life (science) couldn't get any better!
Olympia Sports 11832 Grow-A-Frog Kit
• Amazon Business
$32.99
1
$32.99
Root-Vue Farm
• Amazon Business
$29.63
1
$29.63
Insect Lore Live Butterfly Growing Kit Toy - 5 Caterpillars to Butterflies - SHIP NOW
• Amazon Business
$24.99
1
$24.99
Roly Poly Farm by Pocket Pets
• Amazon Business
$21.99
1
$21.99
NAVAdeal Ant Castle Experiment and Toy Allows Study of Ant Farm's Social Structure, Architecture, Ecosystem, and The Behavior of Ants within The 3D Maze of Translucent Gel
• Amazon Business
$17.99
1
$17.99
Shop Succulents Unique Succulent (Collection of 5)
• Amazon Business
$15.70
1
$15.70
Next Time You See a Pill Bug
• Amazon Business
$12.08
1
$12.08
KIDS Microscope Slides 48pcs Kids Plastic Prepared Microscope Slides of Animals Insects Plants Flowers Sample Specimens for Stereo Microscopes
• Amazon Business
$9.99
1
$9.99
Seeds (Plant Parts)
• Amazon Business
$7.29
1
$7.29
From Tadpole to Frog (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 1)
• Amazon Business
$6.99
1
$6.99
How a Seed Grows (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 1)
• Amazon Business
$6.98
1
$6.98
David's Garden Seeds Bean Lima Fordhook 242 D49A (Green) 25 Heirloom Seeds
• Amazon Business
$6.95
1
$6.95
From Seed to Plant
• Amazon Business
$6.91
1
$6.91
Explore My World Butterflies
• Amazon Business
$4.99
1
$4.99
National Geographic Readers: Ants
• Amazon Business
$3.99
1
$3.99
National Geographic Readers: Caterpillar to Butterfly
• Amazon Business
$3.99
1
$3.99
DK Readers L1: Tale of a Tadpole
• Amazon Business
$3.99
1
$3.99
Materials cost
$217.44
Vendor shipping charges
FREE
Sales tax
$0.00
3rd party payment processing fee
$3.26
Fulfillment labor & materials
$30.00
Total project cost
$250.70
Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms
$44.24
Total project goal
$294.94
How we calculate what's needed
Total project goal
$294.94
1 Donor
-$250.70
Donations toward project cost
-$250.70
Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
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. Clark and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
