{"monthlySchoolDonationEnabled":true,"callToActionDisplayName":"Anderson Elementary School","outOfStateSupporters":61.6,"allowSchoolLevelGiving":true,"hasFundedProjects":true,"projectGratitudeData":[{"teacherId":9416873,"projectId":10315807,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for supporting our project, \"Life Cycles Come to Life Through Hands-On Science!\" Your generosity has allowed my third-grade students to experience science beyond the pages of a textbook. When I originally envisioned this project, my goal was to provide students with realistic life-cycle models, engaging nonfiction texts, and opportunities to observe, compare, sort, sequence, and investigate the stages of living organisms. We have already begun bringing that vision to life by exploring the life cycles of sunflowers and frogs. Students used the materials to strengthen literacy skills such as interpreting diagrams, sequencing events, reading informational texts, and using academic vocabulary. We also incorporated art and collaboration as students created visual representations of life cycles and discussed their observations with classmates. One of our most memorable connections occurred while reading Frozen Alive from our HMH Into Reading curriculum. Students learned about the incredible adaptations that allow certain frogs to survive freezing winter temperatures, including how their heartbeats can stop during freezing and resume when they thaw. Connecting this text to our hands-on frog life-cycle models helped students understand the relationship between an animal's development, adaptations, and survival.\r\n\r\nMy students were incredibly excited when they first saw the materials! Some had never experienced dedicated science instruction, while others had never participated in hands-on science activities. Watching students eagerly investigate the models, ask questions, collaborate, and explain their thinking reminded me why I created this project. In a district where reading and mathematics often receive the greatest instructional emphasis, science can sometimes be pushed aside. However, students deserve opportunities to explore every subject and discover their interests and talents. These materials have allowed me to integrate science into our literacy instruction rather than treating the two as separate subjects. Students are developing important reading comprehension skills while building scientific knowledge through meaningful experiences. They are learning to identify patterns, compare organisms, explain changes over time, and communicate their understanding using both scientific vocabulary and visual representations.\r\n\r\nOur scientific investigations are just beginning! We will continue using these materials throughout the school year as they connect to our reading curriculum. Our collection includes life-cycle models representing butterflies, chickens, insects, salmon, dragonflies, bees, and other living organisms. Students will have opportunities to use these models and nonfiction books in learning stations to sort and sequence life-cycle stages, compare how organisms grow and change, and discuss similarities and differences among living things. They will also practice writing explanations, creating diagrams, and presenting their learning to classmates. In an upcoming module about farming, students will grow their own bean plants, observe and document changes, and connect their learning to health and nutrition by exploring where our food comes from. This will give students an opportunity to apply their knowledge of plant life cycles to a living organism they can care for and observe firsthand. \r\n\r\nYour donation has helped transform science from something my students simply read about into something they can see, touch, investigate, and understand. Thank you for helping me provide a well-rounded education and for giving my students opportunities to become curious thinkers, confident readers, creative artists, and young scientists!","fullyFundedDate":1785707597924,"projectUrl":"project/life-cycles-come-to-life-through-hands-o/10315807/","projectTitle":"Life Cycles Come to Life Through Hands-On Science","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Clark","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp9416873_orig.png?crop=828,827,x0,y483&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1779175730321","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/9416873"}],"pageName":"schoolpage_87408","usesDonorsChoose":true,"infoPageType":"school","demographicsInfo":{"numStudents":381,"numTeachers":25,"percentFrplEligible":95,"percentAsian":0,"percentBlack":50,"percentWhite":10,"percentIndigenous":5,"percentLatinx":14,"showFreeAndReducedPriceLunchInfo":true,"showDemographicsInfo":true,"sourceTooltipString":"the National Center for Education Statistics","percentHawaiianImputed":2,"percentMultiracialImputed":17,"gradesServed":"Pre-K - 5","studentTeacherRatio":"15.2:1","demographicsDataSource":"MDR School","equityFocus":true,"titleOne":true,"metroType":"URBAN","ncesMetroType":"CITY_LARGE"},"inStateSupporters":38.4,"schoolId":87408,"financialInfo":null,"twitterShareText":"Learn more about Anderson Elementary School on @DonorsChoose:","schoolName":"Anderson Elementary School","canonicalPageUrl":"schools/oklahoma/tulsa-public-schools/anderson-elementary-school/87408"}