Third grade students love getting their hands dirty in science. This year begins the daunting monthly county science tests. This project will teach science inquiry skills by building a background for science. Students learn science by doing not memorizing. Experiments will bring science to life.
These are 8 and 9 year old students in a Tile One school in Florida.
67% of students are on free and reduced lunch. There is no money in the school for extras no matter how exciting the project. These students want to learn science by doing. My county is very test intensive with county tests every other week. I want the students to have a chance to learn by experimenting, graphing, and comparing findings. They need to do experiments to understand science.
My Project
I would like to have 60 owl pellets so that 5 classrooms of enthusiastic third grade students can experience the joy and excitement of hands-on science. Students would be dissecting owl pellets with a partner, identifying the bones, and what the owl ate. Later, we graph the results to find the results of the diet. Students learn about the food chain, predators, prey, and the food web. Last year we did not find as many bones, we learned it had been a tough year for the owls to find food. This project also teaches about natural resources and how they change from year to year.
This was the highlight of the year for my students. My new students are already asking if we are going to study owls. Our friends for a local Owl Rescue Organization will bring a rehabilitated owl to school. These speakers will talk to the students about conservation, and human animal conflicts. We also study owls during our reading time, researching information.
With your kind donations third graders have been able to dissect owl pellets for the past two years.
My class has not had many experiences, or been to many places. They do not have a background in nature around them. This project will let them get involved,and use science inquiry that we read about. Without donations I could not do this project. This project will immerse the students in reading about owls, researching, listening to a presentation, followed by a thrilling hands-on experiment.
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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. Vaughn and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.