This project is part of the Black History Month celebration because it supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of the students are Black.
My Students
Every class starts with shakes at the door. Then the teacher will inquire, "ÂÂHave the young scientists arrived?"ÂÂ Students respond in a chorus, "Ready for discovery time!"
My over 300 2nd, 3rd and 4th grade students come from different backgrounds and have unique learning needs and styles.
Most are from Hispanic, Haitian Creole and Arabic speaking countries. Still yet, some were born and raised in the United States. They are similar in that they all come from financially disadvantaged backgrounds. My school is a Title I school in New York City, where 98% of our students receive free or reduced lunch. In spite of the challenges we face, my students work hard and understand that education is the way forward to a better life. By nature of their age, my student population is highly visual and kinesthetic and benefit greatly from interactive hands-on inquiry science. These activities help them to relate more to science concepts which can sometimes be abstract.
My Project
The third grade and 4th graders will start a unit on living environment come September. The topics will range from living and nonliving components, food chains and food webs, animal adaptations, particularly camouflage. Our lab is stocked with frogs, birds, anoles, fish and snails. Some of the specimens are so small that students find it difficult to make observations. One DC-11 will enable my students to interact with these life materials and get a close up view of camouflage. Students'ÂÂ work can be projected for all to see and critique. Students can design their own critters showing animals in camouflage and print their work. Lessons and experiments can be recorded and played back to students who missed class. I am convinced that bringing to life the science concepts in animated format will promote scientific communication between students and a new level of passion for inquiry. This happened last year when 6 generous donors from Donors Choose donated an Epson powerlite95 digital projector. The 4th grade science scores showed marked increase with 94.4% of students scoring levels 3 and 4. This year a 95% passing rate is expected.
This project is very important to the lives of my students and their futures.
If they succeed in science now, then, they will have a spring board to perform well in science in middle and high school and eventually in college. America needs scientist and your donation for 1 DC-11 will be a gift of lifelong learning for my students. Thank you for building a generation of successful thinkers in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). In short we are molding minds that can compete in a global scientific world.
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 Mrs. Nduwimana and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.