Past projects 147
Bugging Out To Learn Science and English!
Funded Aug 5, 2017The first 3 weeks of school are almost in the books. I began and have continued throughout this introduction to use your donation on a daily basis. Students have observed, discussed, written about, and drawn the arthropods you donated. The pillbugs and sowbugs in particular have been the stars of our class, giving students reason to talk in a new language and have conversations with new classmates. At first recoiling and screaming "Ewww!", "Gross!" or even worse, now students are happily allowing the pillbugs to rest in their hands and they are all becoming accustomed to working with live organisms. Students designed their own experiments testing the preferences of the pillbugs - wet and dry, fruit or vegetables, warm and cold, and several others.
This was one of my favorite ways to start a year and introduce the scientific method to a new group of students. All the while they understood that science is about DOING, and studying closely the thing we are interested in. I'm am grateful we have benefactors like you who understand the value of getting the right materials into kids hands. It will be a great year thanks to the great start you've given us.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Wolf
This classroom project was brought to life by Sergey Brin Family Foundation and 6 other donors.We'd Breathe Easier With Some Plants
Funded Apr 14, 2017As students prepare their semester portfolio projects, one activity stands out as a foundation for that work. To learn the essentials of photosynthesis, we used the plants you donated in our experiments. Students were fascinated that the once invisible oxygen and carbon dioxide mentioned in their textbooks could finally be seen through the indicator chemical BTB and the simple bubbles that formed on the plants when exposed to light. They even learned along the way the importance of tracking errors in their methods when observations didn't match their expectations, or their setups were unclear. As you can see from the photos, it was a wonderful experience. This week, students are using that experiment to plan new independent studies. Your donation made possible students' new questions, and a firmer understanding of sound science. Thank you!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Wolf
Technology That Will Makey Makey A Difference
Funded Dec 31, 2016Where do I begin? Makey Makeys are awesome! My students and I have just begun to explore the possibilities with these fun tools. In just one afternoon, we were able to play video games with play doh controllers, and play music with apples and even a bean plant. Of all the things I hope for as a teacher, the biggest one is that students will ask great questions. Their curiosity will propel them to make great things when that happens. "What other materials will this work with?" "Could we make our own game?" "Does it work if two of us do it together?" - these came out in the first hour of using Makey Makeys. Thank you for opening up all new possibilities for my students to explore both electricity and their creativity.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Wolf
A Love Of Science Starts With Wings
Funded Mar 23, 2017For the last 2 weeks, students have followed me outside after school to find birds. The binoculars and field guides you donated are the tools that made this possible. I always loved science, but watching birds when I was younger was the first time I realized I could do science anywhere and anytime. My students looked like they were beginning to get that feeling, too. It was special watching them get excited over the most common birds - Robins, Pigeons, Cardinals. I realized how with binoculars helping them see a little farther and clearer, they were starting to see the world around them with fresh eyes. We'll continue our trips, and students have already expressed interest in taking home the binoculars on loan so they can continue watching for birds in between our Thursday meetings. Thank you for helping me share my passion with my students.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Wolf
This classroom project was brought to life by Overdeck Family Foundation & Simons Foundation and 2 other donors.After-School Snacks Keep The Learning Going.
Funded Dec 20, 2016Thank you for providing the most basic of needs, food to fill hungry stomachs. When a student's basic needs are taken care of, it is far easier for them to take care of the more complicated stuff, like learning. Since receiving these snacks, I've seen a renewed interest in students staying after school just to catch up on work, but also to get involved in new activities. My after school robotics club has seen a resurgence with new students joining, and next week we will start our Bird Herd club for students interested in getting out and using the binoculars donated through another Donorschoose project. Snacks will be served. Please continue supporting great education, especially today on #Bestschoolday when all donations are doubled!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Wolf
This classroom project was brought to life by Quill.com and one other donor.Engineering A Tower Garden Upgrade
Funded Sep 23, 2016Today students and I gathered in my classroom to prepare ourselves for the new year. Not with party hats and streamers, but with your donation of our Tower Garden upgrades! It was a wonderful learning experience for them to read instructions in another language, then try to put together with their own hands this wonderful piece of equipment. The lights, wheels, and cage system made the whole experience complete. Now it is a mobile learning machine with growing capabilities we previously could not study. The best part is, this group of students has ownership over the garden they put together. In the spring, as we are growing plants in the garden, they will be the leaders for their peers. This is only the beginning, and I can't wait to see what we do with it. Thank you so much for giving us this wonderful tool to learn about plants!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Wolf
This classroom project was brought to life by Target and one other donor.Growing Vegetables, Growing Scientists
Funded Sep 2, 2016Today, students and I gathered after school in my classroom to prepare ourselves for the new year. Not with party hats and streamers, but with your donation of a Tower Garden! It was a wonderful learning experience for them to read instructions in another language, then try to put together with their own hands this wonderful piece of equipment. The best part is, this group of students has ownership over the garden they put together. In the spring, as we are growing plants in the garden, they will be the leaders for their peers. This is only the beginning, and I can't wait to see what we do with it. Thank you so much for giving us this wonderful tool to learn about plants!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Wolf
This classroom project was brought to life by Target and one other donor.The Evolution of Video Game Design
Funded Apr 22, 2016Thank you to all of the generous people who made this project a reality. We received the Chromebooks late last school year, and were able to get them up and running for the last few weeks, mostly for students who were finishing their semester and graduation portfolios. It was a whirlwind time of year, as always.
Entering this school year, I was able to get the Chromebooks organized and ready for nearly constant student use. The first big project of the year that let us test our computer programming chops was in combination with another DC donation, our Arduino kits. Students designed murals in their humanities classes to represent the struggles of refugees from all over the world. In my class, they used their Chromebooks and Arduinos to program lights, motors, and sounds to enhance their murals. Students programmed simple motors to simulate an axe chopping wood, lights flashing over a desert scene to show the harsh conditions in these conflict nations, and even buzzers to simulate the sounds of gunfire. Your Chromebooks made possible these experiences.
Just today, students participated in the Hour of Code, www.code.org, a wonderful effort to help kids become coders. As you can see, your donation has given new life to our digital life. The 15 Chromebooks from this donation are amazing, but as you can expect in classes of nearly 30 students, on a team of over 80 students, we are always in need of more. Please spread far and wide the link to my latest Chromebook project, "Chromebooks To Power Our Graduation Portfolios" which is receiving a match offer from Google.org. Your donation will go twice as far.
Thanks for getting us off on the right foot, happy holidays, and a wonderful new year!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Wolf
This classroom project was brought to life by an anonymous donor and 6 other donors.All A-Board! Science Fair Presenters Need Boards!
Funded Dec 29, 2015This project request is a rare instance where one of my Donorschoose proposals grew far beyond my original intentions. As you can see in the photos, we had a successful science share (like a science fair, but over a whole day and many classes) and the centerpieces were the boards you donated. Students were excited to get the boards and start putting together their work to share with other students and teachers from across the school. As you can see from the looks on their faces, it was science at its best - excitement, curiosity, and frankly a bit of surprise when other students had strong opinions to offer.
The way this grew beyond my original intent, was that the math teacher got wind of my trifold boards and wanted to use some for his own class. The thank-you notes you will receive reflect this. Students used the boards to present about a real engineering feat - building their own catapults. It was fantastic to see kids get excited to share their work in multiple disciplines, and most importantly, do it in both native language and English, and also do so collaboratively. Your donation is such a simple tool, but the canvas it provides seems to have no limits. Thank you again for your generosity. You made wonders happen.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Wolf
This classroom project was brought to life by Quill and 3 other donors.Creating Multicultural Unity Through Genetic Research
Funded Dec 14, 2015I'm pleased to report that your donation has made this one of the most memorable years in my teaching career, and created memories that I think may last a lifetime for my young students. This project is unbelievably powerful because it challenges core assumptions students make about people. It teaches students how to think scientifically, setting up null and alternate hypotheses, then seeking evidence to refute one or the other. When confronted with evidence that what you thought you knew is incorrect, there is an incredible a-ha moment. As far as the issue of race and what makes us human goes, this project has hit a home run, and it was all possible because of the reagents you donated.
Throughout this project, I saw students have had so many moments of discovery. The first time seeing their cells in a test tube, seeing DNA on a gel, or just getting to use the lab equipment, students were doing something that pushed their boundaries every day. None was more powerful, though, than at the culmination of the project when they finally saw their own DNA sequences on the computer screen and could test their ideas about race on a population as diverse as the world we live in...themselves (it pays to teach immigrants - our diversity rivals that of the U.N.).
All through history lessons on race, activities on skin color and traits, many students were still holding on to the stubborn belief that race was something real and observable. Frustrated that all of their hypotheses about their ability to identify and divide people by race were coming up null (that is, no effect), they finally just said, "Race must just be in your DNA!" Then the fun began.
Upon analysis, we saw that the DNA tests were accurate - they correctly turned up zero differences between the siblings in two brother-sister pairs in my classes. Next, what students saw floored them. Asians weren't always most related to Asians. Sometimes Dominicans and Europeans were more related to Bengalis than were other Bengalis. Once in a while, two students from the same country found few differences between them - one or 2 base pairs in 400. More often than not though, students from continents a world apart were asking me - "why am I more related to this guy than someone from my country?" My favorite example has been an Ecuadorean girl and a Chinese boy sharing more than 99% of their sequences and the next closest person from their home countries didn't exceed 97% similarity. They looked at each other very differently than before.
In a year marred by racism in the news, my school had its own share of turf wars between "racial" groups. Your donation is breaking down those barriers for my students right now. Whereas before they "just knew" there were different races, now many of them are saying there's only one race - the human race. This type of knowledge, hard-fought, requiring persistence and commitment over many weeks, will stick with them for a long time. Your donation is creating change that can transform the world, and for that I sincerely thank you.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Wolf