Past projects 14
Audio Assistance
Funded Apr 7, 2022Your donation to our class set of headphones have allowed us to have lessons that include a variety of media and tech options. Being able to have that variety helps keep students of all learning styles engaged! They can watch video clips, complete nearpods, etc at their own pace since they can listen individually.
It also helps with lesson accessibility for my english language learners and struggling readers. Quizzes and homeworks with large reading components can have the text recorded and those students can listen along as they read. It is a game changer.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Bainsmith
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose community & an Anonymous Partner and 2 other donors.Budding Birders
Funded Sep 3, 2022Armed with local bird pamphlets and quality binoculars, my students hit the local and regional trails with their eyes to the skies. Near the schoolyard we identified waterfowl like the American Coot and the Northern Shoveler, we saw a red tailed hawk soar high above, and and observed American Robins and Eurasian Collared doves perched in the trees.
Students built their confidence and observation skills, and were very proud of correct identification! They told me that they were noticing more of the natural world on their own since we had practiced in class. Thanks for making it possible!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Bainsmith
Gross and Cool
Funded May 8, 2022The students were so excited to learn about butterflies and have the caterpillars grow and complete a metamorphosis during class. They are currently in their chrysalis stage and students are eagerly awaiting the butterflies to emerge. Students have definitely said how 'gross' and how 'cool' it's been observing them so far!
We've also been using the notebooks and colored pencils to do nature journaling at the nearby river parkway. Their observation and curiosity skills have improved greatly in just the first two months of school!
Coming up, we will be studying birds. I'm excited to reveal the owl pellets! It will no doubt gross them out and fascinte them. Thank you so much for the materials that create these exceptional learning opportunities!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Bainsmith
This classroom project was brought to life by Chevron and one other donor.Learning in These Trying Times
Funded Jan 22, 2022When my students first saw the owl pellets wrapped in foil, they were unimpressed. Then the opened them up and saw jaw, or leg, or spinal bones sticking out. They were immediately, simulataneously, absolutely grossed out and fascinated! They had so much fun with that investigation, and got to share the background knowledge they build when we had Hawk Watch visit our class with an owl the next week.
They also thoroughly enjoyed watching the caterpillars grow into butterflies! They did close observations and detailed sketches of each stage of the life cycle, and we just released them last week!
Thank you so much for providing the materials for such highly engaging activities.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Bainsmith
This classroom project was brought to life by Utah State Board of Education.Citizen Scientists
Funded Sep 23, 2021Having the iPads has allowed ALL students to participate in citizen science during our various field trips.
At the Antelope Island causeway, we used Merlin BirdID to identify Northern Shovelers and Canvasbacks - the students were SO excited to have successfuly ID'd the birds.
We used the SEEK app to identify plants that grow on the river parkway near our school. Once we knew the names of the plants, students were able to find out whether they were native or invasive, and we had greater conversations about the cause and effect of various biodiversity concerns.
Most recently, we used the iNaturalist app to participate in the City Nature Challenge for the Utah Museum of Natural History. Students were able to take photos of plants around the school campus and upload them. The next day, they found that other citizen scientists had suggested or confirmed IDs!
Thank you for helping us connect with the wide world of citizen scientists and recognize the nature all around us!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Bainsmith
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 3 other donors.Science in the Field
Funded Nov 29, 2021My students were so excited to hear that we had materials to enrich our learning experiences both inside and outside the classroom.
In our class, we executed an investigation on the conditions that brine shrimp cysts can hatch in. The small creatures in the jar are the cysts that hatched successfully! Students determined that light, heat, and salinity were all essential.
On a field trip soon after, we visited the home of local brine shrimp - the Great Salt Lake! Students had water bottles and gloves to be hydrated and comfortable. We were also able to use the binoculars to spot migrating water fowl. The students were so excited to be able to correctly identify Northern Shovelers and Gadwalls!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Bainsmith
This classroom project was brought to life by Young Sheldon on CBS and 2 other donors.Learning from the Great Outdoors
Funded Aug 18, 2021My students were so excited to receive these materials! Most of them had never used specialized equipment to explore the great outdoors with purpose. We had a lot of fun as they learned to work with these tools on our school grounds. They used the lumiloupe hand lenses to discover unexpected details in the bark and flowers and blades of grass, and they practiced focusing binoculars to read license plates across the parking lot!
After learning the basics of the tools, we ventured to the Jordan River Parkway near the school. Students have researched migratory birds that frequent the waterway, and they had an identification competetion. They used the binoculars to observe unique features to help them ID the birds. We saw Northern Flickers, Mallard Ducks, Eurasian Collared Doves, and more!
Recently, we have been learning about the Great Salt Lake and all of the living and non-living things that interact in its ecosystem. We will soon be taking a field trip to Antelope Island to anchor what they have been learning. One of the things students will do on the island is observe the migratory birds that rely on the lake for overwintering - and they will continue to need those binoculars to see the birds up close! Afterwards, they will finally be utilizing those watercolors and flex their creative muscles by painting what they saw.
Thank you so much for keeping my students geared up for observation and adventure!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Bainsmith
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill Gates and 11 other donors.Investigations for the Future
Funded Oct 4, 2019Due to the pandemic, I was unable to utilize these materials YET. However, I am hopeful that by the end of this year I will be able to explore climate change topics with my students as we begin to return to the classroom.
I can imagine that the impact of having the kits for Understanding Climate Change and The Greenhouse Effect experiments will be even deeper than they have been in the past. Students are coming in after having spent nearly a year learning remotely, with limited supplies able to be sent home for hand-on learning. It will be a breath of fresh air and ground their learning.
Within our climate change unit, we will work on how to use evidence to write strong scientific arguments. Scientific literacy has never been so important as it is today, and students will begin to develop their foundation to be competent citizens going forward.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Bainsmith
This classroom project was brought to life by Young Sheldon on CBS and one other donor.Explorations at the Zoo
Funded Dec 31, 2017The trip to the zoo went great! The students were surprised to see how many animals were out and active despite there being fresh snow and colder temperatures. They observed locomotion adaptations in apes, they read about how reptiles survive in the desert, and saw the polar bears out and well adapted to Utah winters.
Do learning 'in the field' is always engaging for the kids. It mixes up their routine, gets them excited, and gets them exposure to something new. The Dental Detectives class, however, really pushed the experience to a new level. Students got to examine real and replica skulls and learn about how features of the skulls give you clues to how the animal ate, walked, chewed, and lived as a predator or a prey.
In the following weeks we jumped into a biomimicry engineering unit - all kicked off and inspired by the lessons we learned at the zoo. Thank you again, so much, for making learning like this possible.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Bainsmith
This classroom project was brought to life by Wells Fargo and 3 other donors.Scientists In Training Seek Supplies
Funded Oct 5, 2017First of all, it's not all that glamorous, but having notebooks and pencils provided by donors choose helps our classroom so much. The students are provided with the materials that they need to be successful every day. It absolutely sets them up for success, and they were extremely grateful.
We have also been able to do some exciting and engaging learning with the lab supplies. My students absolutely loved learning about how body systems work and are interconnected through the frog dissection. I heard students pipe up about how they wanted to be a doctor when they grew up, or that they had never known science should be so cool. Moments like that are exactly what middle school students need to spark interest in STEM.
We have just recently started to learn about adaptations and evolution with the Changing Over Time kit. The students are eager to begin the experiments that they have designed to see how bacteria can evolve in the presence of antibiotics. It is wonderful to be giving them authentic problems to learn with. Thank you so much for making their explorations possible.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Bainsmith