Ever heard of the Tower of Babel? Teaching biology to an extremely heterogeneous classroom of 100% English Learners feels quite similar! However, through creating authentic tasks, hands-on projects and heterogeneous class groups, my goal is to help students advance in both biology and English.
My students are recent immigrants to the United States (less than 2 years) between the ages of 14-19 who come from a variety of countries.
About 40% come from Latin America and another 40% come from China. The other 20% come from a variety of countries such as Yemen, Thailand, Eritrea, and Russia to name a few. One thing all my students have in common is an incredible story of how they immigrated to the United States and the desire to learn English.
My Project
I am requesting 1 MakerBot 3D printer. 3D printing is so incredibly futuristic that I am excited to put this tool in the hands of my students. It is my desire to open a 3D printing club at my school and offer students the opportunity to print whatever their imaginations can concoct. Additionally, I hope to use the 3D printer to print models of extinct organisms (for example Tiktaalik, an important transitional fossil), print models of human tissues (like a blood vessel) and possibly make tools used for experiments. However, I imagine that my students' imaginations will be far more robust than my own in terms of imagining what to print.
Because all of my students are new to the country, many of them (those who are not working) are excited about after school activities which represent a chance to spend time practicing English with adults and other students.
I would love to channel that enthusiasm and create a Makers Space where students who love to create can get together and share ideas... ideally in English.
Half of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mr. Degas and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.