Past projects 3
A View From Above, Or Falling Into Volcanoes
Funded Oct 29, 2010Thank you again for your kind donation of materials to my students. When I showed and explained the materials to the students, they immediately wanted to use them! When I asked for a show of hands of who liked to hunt, fish, hike, or generally explore the out-of-doors, their hands flew into the air! As soon as I pointed out the need to be able to read a topographic map, heads started nodding. When I mentioned my own experience of coming to a 30-foot cliff that didn't show up on a map with a 40-foot contour interval, a few of my students started laughing with me. Their enthusiasm and excitement shows in the student photos.
How does your donation impact the students? One student told me that just discussing topographic maps helped him pass his Hunter's Safety test. Another told me she loves being outdoors, and map reading would let her explore even more. Other students (as you can see in the pictures) were fascinated with the set of maps showing the 3-D view of the flat topographic map. They started playing a "I Spy" type of game, with one student naming a topographic feature and the others trying to find it. The stereoscopic glasses fascinated the students as well, and they had to try different ways of wearing them. We all had a good laugh as they tried to hang them on their ears before I showed them how to use them properly.
This set of materials--the models, the maps, and the glasses--brings real-world tools into the classroom. Teaching with these materials is allowing me to reach more students because the students are interacting with the learning experience instead of reading about it in a book. Student learning about maps and geography is enhanced by being able to draw a topographic map, look at and then feel the contour map, and see topography in both flat and 3-D aerial views. Building their visual-spatial understanding of the world while teaching their brains to interpret three dimensional images from two dimensional drawings is creating a win-win situation for my students and I.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Blaettler
Crossing the Lines: Science, Social Studies, & Language Arts
Funded May 9, 2009Thank you so much for your donation of 65 copies of the book Fever, 1793 to our science and language arts programs. The story Fever, 1793 brings to life the impact of an epidemic on post-Revolutionary War Philadelphia. Our students are currently studying Colonial America in Social Studies, just finished studying viruses and influenza epidemics in Science, and are now reading about the 1793 yellow fever outbreak in Philadelphia in language arts. Elements of science (epidemiology, vectors, history of medicine) and social studies (the socio-political importance of coffeehouses, the status of women and African-Americans in the early United States, and relief efforts by Philadelphia's African-American community) combine in this fictional account of one girl's experience during the yellow fever outbreak in 1793 in Philadelphia.
Students don't always connect science and history with the real world. But as they are reading this historically and scientifically accurate story, they are gaining a better understanding of what life in the United States was like right after the Revolutionary War. They are also learning how devastating epidemics are without modern medicine. The questions they are asking show me that they are connecting history and science through a language arts experience, crossing the lines just as we had hoped.
Our school had the opportunity once before to read a single book and look at the story from the perspective of most of the curricular areas. It was a rich and rewarding experience for everyone. Thanks to your generous donation, we are able to repeat this amazing cross-curricular experience.
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With gratitude,
Mrs. Blaettler
But I Want to Blow Up the Lab!
Funded May 7, 2009Thank you very much for your generous donation of safety goggles and a sanitizing cabinet for my students. Just a few days after the goggles arrived another teacher borrowed them. The goggles weren't returned for three weeks!
The sanitizer unit arrived shortly after the goggles. Before receiving this sanitizer, students would have to use small sanitizing wipes or wash them between classes in a bleach-soap solution. Having the sanitizing unit makes using and cleaning the goggles much safer and more efficient. Our old goggles stank and were seriously discolored because of years of use and washing. Students didn't want to put the old goggles on, no matter what lab I planned.
I hope you can see the excitement of the students in the pictures. The goggles are in a variety of bright colors, and the fun started with the students picking "their" color. As you can see, they helped each other put them on before we took these pictures. The smiles just didn't stop. The new goggles are comfortable and generated great enthusiasm among my students. The sanitizer cabinet then let me quickly sanitize the goggles for the next group of students.
As money gets tighter and tighter, it is harder and harder to offer the rich experiences we want for our students. Your generosity, however, will enrich the experiences for my students for many years.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Blaettler