My students need 30 each of various tools to explore their environment, such as magnifiers, thermometers, compasses and measuring tapes. They need supplies to help record their observations, such as a journals and colored pencils. All students need to transport their own supplies, so they will be constructing their own backpack out of muslin.
$827 goal
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month
This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
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I teach science to 3rd, 4th and 5th graders at a public school in an urban area in Michigan. My students are mostly from low income families and they are primarily Spanish speaking. Some students come to school speaking no English, which can be very scary for them.
We have a gang presence in our school community. Students walk past gang graffiti, abandoned houses and overgrown, empty lots across the street from our school. We frequently are greeted on Mondays with new gang signs painted on our building. In spite of this, we are lucky to have an outdoor classroom adjacent to our building. It is full of trees, flowers, fruits and vegetables that are planted, tended and harvested by students. This area is fully fenced and locked when not in use. Students love our little oasis in the city. Students ask me if they can spend time in the outdoor classroom instead of playing on the playground...now how can I say no to that? So, for the past 2 years, I have been taking interested students to the outdoor classroom during my lunch period. This is one place where my students that have little or no English can feel comfortable. They cannot read the science textbook, but they can learn about their environment through real life experience. There is no language barrier when a worm is wriggling in your hand.
In conversations with students, I found that this is one of the few places they can go spend time outside safely observing their environment. I want to continue to take that a step further. Besides giving them a safe haven, I want to give them the opportunity to extend their learning beyond the traditional classroom. Students can use the measuring tapes to chart the growth of the tomato plants they planted. Students can use the magnifiers to observe flower pollen. They can learn to manipulate a compass to tell which way is north. They can use a thermometer to compare the temperature of various places in our outdoor classroom. Finally, they can find a rock to sit on and sketch a flower while listening to the birds in the early morning. Again, language is not a barrier when students are sketching various living things. This experience provides my English Language Learners exposure to English in a non-threatening way.
By helping fund this project, you will help to ensure that NO child is left inside. After observing some birds at a feeder, I had a student say, "Wow...this is way better than watching a movie about birds." I agree with him and I hope you do, too.
More than three‑quarters 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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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. Lazarowicz and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
