Past projects 5
Our Human Body, Let's Learn and Appreciate It!
Funded Oct 1, 2024Thank you so much for trusting me with your donation.
Rest assured that the materials requested will be put to great use for my students.
I can't wait to share this news and to start using the materials in the class. With your generous donation, you help learning about the human body interesting and meaningful for my students.
Once again, thank you so much!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Jatico
Engineering Challenge in Physics
Funded Aug 31, 2023For these materials, me and the students used them to learn about the mechanisms of an electric car as part of the unit project where students used their understanding, knowledge and skills from the Electricity Unit where they learned about the types of electricity ( Static and Current), they learned about Series and Parallel circuits, voltage, current and resistance, using the multimeter, and about the motors and gears including the concept of mechanical advantage. We used the Mini electricity kits to practice first learning about the circuits, connecting the wires to batteries and bulbs and studying how series and parallel circuits works as well as the advantages and disadvantages of each.
The students had so much fun building their projects. Each team member has roles to play, one team member used their calculators to do the necessary calculations, while some are assigned to build the chassis and the wiring. They modeled the charging stations by using the energy rechargeable batteries with their solar panel kits, and while others figured out how they could make their cars using gear system or fan system using the DC motors they were provided with. They were also encouraged to decorate, color and make their cars appealing using the coloring materials provided, and they used the triple beam balance to weigh their cars, as the lightest, fastest, cheapest and sturdiest car wins the challenge. The students were very competitive, and they obviously enjoyed the challenge. My SDI teacher who assisted me in the class was impressed how everyone was so engaged, busy but collaborating with each other. We all had so much fun with our materials, and I couldn't thank you all so much for trusting me and supporting my students and providing them a fun and meaningful learning experience.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Jatico
This classroom project was brought to life by VanTrust Real Estate and one other donor.Exploring the Beauty of Light and Sound Waves
Funded Jul 7, 2023Thank you so much for supporting this project and making it possible for my students to enrich their learning using hands-on activities.
I was able to use the equipment for the stations on the Unit about Waves. I used the equipment for demonstrations and for the stations.
When students saw the items, they were all delighted that they could get to explore them to learn about the different properties of light and sound. For instance, they were surprised to learn using the Color Mixing Apparatus that white light is a combination of the primary colors of light, and that sound doesn't need a medium to travel through using the Bell jar experiment, as well as learning that seeing their image in a mirror is the reflection of light when it hits a boundary. They also had fun making longitudinal and transverse waves using the slinkies, that they got so curious how they could get one to play with at home. They learned the differences between sound and light waves and how these two are used in many real-world applications like in hospitals and industries.
Since all of these resources can be used in many ways and for a longer time, the next steps were for the students to design and build small projects incorporating the materials, for instance, one group used the Doppler demonstrator to make a whirled ball sound off to learn about how the frequency of sound changes with the distance of the sound source or the listener, which is called Doppler effect. Another group was planning to make a Standing Slinky using PVC pipes so they could readily showcase during a demo the different types of waves according to how they travel. And some groups were thinking designing a model of an electric car using the mirrors, fans and some motors. Their imaginations have made me excited. I couldn't wait to see how many more students I could get excited with these materials. Once again, thank you so much for your trust and for the support.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Jatico
Reading Treats After a Test or Long Project. Why Not!
Funded Apr 25, 2023I am so excited to share with you the impact of your donation on my students.
My students have expressed enjoyment in reading the books and reading materials you provided. They especially like that many of the books were written by authors of various cultural backgrounds. Some of the stories my students were able to relate to, some have inspired them and some have amused them.
I also love that my students who have different levels of reading abilities get to choose the book that not only interests them but also caters to their reading levels and some provide them the challenge to improve or advance in their reading comprehension.
Reading is now an integral part of not only my instruction but also a part of relaxation techniques for my students. More and more of them now turn to books after finishing early on a project or a test. They now seek out more books and share their thoughts, feelings, and insights from the stories they read.
Thank you so much for your donation. You have made it possible for me to realize this goal for my students to improve not only their reading levels but also foster their love for reading in general, and develop a deeper understanding of the world and society.
I look forward to continuing to teach more minds, touching hearts, and transforming lives, and thank you for being my partner in my life mission!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Jatico
This classroom project was brought to life by The Montgomery Family Fund and 2 other donors.Applied Science Projects
Funded Dec 6, 2014I could not help but get teary-eyed seeing my students get fascinated as they opened the boxes of resources they received. The resources came in 3 different packages in the 1st week of January, and my students were already anxious before then to see the materials and so when they arrived, they got even more curious about what they could find and play with in the boxes. When they got to open them themselves, unpack the equipment and materials, assemble the parts in the color mixing apparatus, Energy cars, the Solar car and the Forces kit, it is really heartwarming to see the light of excitement in their very eyes, the fascination, the possibilities of ideas...The students enjoyed helping me sort the materials, label them and store them in containers. "Cool!", that's what many of them said and indeed they received cool resources to make Science more fun!
We have not yet used all the equipment, but already we used the slinkys and the springs to demonstrate the properties of waves. My special education students who normally are quiet in class volunteered to come to the front of the class to demonstrate the difference between Transverse and Longitudinal wave, and were so good at creating Standing wave to illustrate how a high-frequency wave has a smaller wavelength. They even volunteered to show it to every groups who were struggling to find the rhythm in making the spring move. This excitement in them spread throughout the class and the same thing happened with my other classes. We also used the color mixing apparatus for our Light Stations lab, and the kids were so amazed to find out that the primary colors of light when added don't produce the same secondary colors that paint pigments do. It was an interesting "discovery" they took away from such a simple lab and a piece of equipment. It was so much more fun, when I got the kids to build simple electric circuits and use their knowledge on current electricity and circuits to build an Electric house and wire their house using the Electrical wires you provided to us. As of this writing, they are still in the process making finishing touches with their project. Already, I couldn't help but look forward to when they get to build their Solar cars, present their electric house projects to other classes and use the Thermal energy kits.
Coming to class knowing there is always something worthwhile and fun to learn about has made my classes become more engaging. A student once said, "Physics is fun after all! I thought it's all just math and problem solving, I did not know we get to do all these cool stuff!" Because of the labs and projects we do, my students this year actually did better with problem solving skills, than my classes last year, because they got to actually manipulate the resources, collect data, analyze the data and tie it with the theoretical concepts they are learning in class. What they learn from my class with the aid of the resources you provided to us has made them better thinkers and I feel, also made me a better teacher. I become more confident as a teacher knowing that I have adequate resources to demonstrate the concepts I teach and that I can offer my students the opportunity to explore them and apply what they know thru inquiry labs and projects. An assistant teacher recently observed and said, that of all the classes she has been to, my classes demonstrated a higher evidence of learning and motivation. I have never had such compliments before! In fact, I was at one point, almost decided to forget about teaching! But now, I know, the success I currently enjoy in teaching, would not have been possible if all I did was direct teaching and no hands-on activities and real-life application thru projects. Back then, I used to almost give up teaching..I felt like I was inadequate and what I do does not appeal to my students, that nothing made sense to them, because I lacked the resources to make teaching and learning fun. But not anymore, now that I have what I need for the hard-to-teach units, I feel confident and ready to bring it to a higher level. And for this, I can't thank you enough for helping me become the best teacher I can be. Thank you for restoring my faith and confidence in my self as a teacher and for helping me gain enough courage and inspiration to make a difference in the lives of my students.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Jatico
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose.org Team and 12 other donors.