Past projects 3
A Closer Look!
Funded Aug 8, 2023I would like to thank you for your generous contribution to my classroom. My students and I received two hand held microscopes and a monitor on which to view the images. I requested these materials to promote social interactions and discussions among my students, which has seemed to be lacking in the post Covid era.
My goal was/is to encourage student to view objects I choose then have them bring in their own objects to view and share with classmates. My first use of these materials was on the first day of school. I had students compare and contrast an antelope jaw bone and a fossilized dinosaur bone. Students were able to look at both objects macroscopically and microscopically to make their comparisons. Their reactions, once they looked under the microscope, were enthusiastic and promoted a lot of discussion! Since then, students have been bringing in rocks, fish scales, and other objects to share and talk about with their classmates.
Students know they can use these materials to satisfy their own curiosity, and enrich our classroom environment. Thank you again for helping to make the beginning of this school year successful!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Jackson
This classroom project was brought to life by Alaska Department of Education & Early Development.Project H2O
Funded Dec 20, 2018Your contribution to this student led project has encouraged my students to think of innovative solutions to environmental problems, and to learn they have the power to create a positive change. My students have been involved in a yearlong project to reduce the amount of one time use plastic water bottles in their school. Over the course of this project, students have asked questions, such as, is bottled water better than tap water? And, how can we reduce the number of one time use plastic bottles in our school? Thanks to your generosity, we were able to purchase a water bottle filling station for the school. The water filling station has a digital counter to keep track of how many water bottles are filled, and in just a few short weeks the counter shows over 1300 water bottles have been filled!
For months, my students were checking the status of their Donors Choose project. Right before winter break, they received the news that the project for their water filling station had been fully funded! My students were ecstatic. Right away they wanted to check the website so they could see for themselves. They anxiously awaited the arrival of the filling station, and the installation. Right away, the majority of my students tried the new filling station. They were excited that the water was cold and tasted great! Nearly every day, I have students updating me on the counter number.
My student's efforts will continue well into next year. They held a bake sale to invest in buying school themed reusable water bottles to be sold at school next year. Students have also worked on educational posters that will be put up at the beginning of the school year to encourage new students to reduce the number of one time use plastic bottles they use. Students from this year, who are taking the video announcement class next year, will work on short media pieces to pass on these ideas to the school as well. This entire project has been driven by student curiosity, and I feel extremely fortunate that with your help, we have been able to feed that curiosity, and help my students make a positive change in their school. Thank you for helping to make science interesting and relevant to my student's lives.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Jackson
Water, Water, Everywhere-What's the Best Drop to Drink?
Funded Feb 14, 2019Your contribution to this project has encouraged my students to be curious about the world around them, and to think of innovative solutions to environmental problems. My students have been involved in a yearlong project to reduce the amount of one time use plastic water bottles in their school. Over the course of this project, students have asked questions, such as, is bottled water better than tap water? And, are there alternatives to bottled water? Thanks to your generosity, we were able to order materials to help answer these questions. We used sodium alginate and calcium lactate to create small edible water bottles, and students were able to compare popular bottled water brands to the tap water in their homes and school using the water testing materials.
Months ago, I showed my students this project on the Donors Choose site. I had students asking me about these materials every day until the project was funded. When I told them they were going to be able to test their water and make the edible bottles, they were thrilled, and actually cheered. Students could hardly contain themselves the day we made the edible water bottles. Students were so engaged and excited, they made extras to share with other teachers. When students took their water testing materials home, many came back asking if they could test other water samples from places like their elementary schools, and relative's homes. Most came to the conclusion that their tap water was just as pure as bottled water, and in some cases, better. All students agreed they had no idea so many minerals and chemicals could be in drinking water until they did these tests.
My students are not yet finished with this project. The water testing brought up more questions, such as what chemicals would be in water samples from local lakes, streams and ponds? As the weather warms and the ice melts, students will collect samples of these types of water. Thankfully, we have enough leftover testing strips to test these samples. This activity will bring our school year full circle, as we began the year looking at similar samples of water for microscopic organisms, unaware that there was more to learn about the water itself! This entire project has been driven by student curiosity, and I feel extremely fortunate that with your help, we have been able to feed that curiosity. Thank you for helping to make science interesting and relevant to my student's lives.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Jackson
This classroom project was brought to life by Samsung and 4 other donors.