My students need 4 DNA necklace classroom kits, 6 test tube racks, 4 living daphnia necklace kits, Protoslo quieting solution/lab guide, and 3 deep-well slide sets.
I teach 6th grade science. I am a fairly new teacher and have discovered how difficult it is to afford science supplies. Since it is required that 20 percent of our teaching time be lab-based, this means I have to scrounge for everything, because it takes a lot of stuff!
I have 100 students, and our school is a small rural public school in Arkansas.
Unfortunately, many of the students come to me with the idea that science is uninteresting and irrelevant. They've had very little hands-on experience and have been understandably bored with science. Quite a few of them are from farming families, and although they generally know a lot about nature, they don't see how they can contribute to the scientific community.
My Project
My goal is to spark their interest and to improve their scientific cultural literacy! I would like to provide the opportunity to do two fun labs which they would find very relevant. As part of our study of living things, we will investigate microscopic living creatures, including Daphnia. We'll study the effects of the environment on these tiny creatures. Later, when we discuss what makes all living things unique, I also want to share with them how scientists work with cells to study DNA. Throughout both of these activities I'll teach them to act like scientists as they investigate and practice their science process skills.
We are not blessed with a laboratory.
We just have a little classroom, but I hope to show them that the world is a huge laboratory! I know that these would be very memorable activities, and this could be the thing that helps some of them decide to pursue careers in science.
More than a third 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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