Help me give my students the opportunity to investigate the relationship between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems by allowing them to observe living organisms within their own classroom.
I have the privilege of working with ninety students in three different classrooms every day teaching Science and Social Studies. Our lack of text books and our love of hands-on learning make it necessary to have materials that will ignite a love of science and learning. We have a microscope in the back of our room and students bring in items each morning from around their homes to investigate and study. The back counter is littered with flowers, mushrooms, seashells, tree branches and pine cones. The room is filled with chatter when something new is shared.
My fifth graders are quick to extend their classroom learning to the real world around them.
They know that the information learned in class will help them understand themselves and their environment better. In order to make these connections successfully, we are always on the lookout for materials that facilitate this learning.
My Project
Having the opportunity to learn about science in a hands-on way will allow students to make stronger connections to what they have learned. As part of our study of ecosystems, students will have the opportunity to create eco-columns. These eco-columns will allow students to see, in a concrete way, how terrestrial ecosystems and aquatic ecosystems are interrelated. The wildlife that we add to our eco-columns will allow students to see how living and nonliving things coexist within an ecosystem.
The excitement created as students plan and create their own ecosystems, complete with living organisms, is immeasurable.
Students will see what is needed to support life in both a land and water ecosystem as they use the materials purchased to build these homes. In turn, as they observe the environment that surrounds them, they will learn how to protect its resources in order to protect the organisms that live there. The lessons learn will certainly extend beyond the classroom.
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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. Lantz and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
