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This teacher needs your help!

Mrs. Smith from San Diego, CA is requesting supplies through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

See what Mrs. Smith is requesting

Cardboard Boats: How Can They Possibly Float?

My students need many rolls of tape to construct and seal their cardboard boats, which they will get to sail around the bay.

  • $433 goal

Hooray! This project is fully funded

Hooray! This project is fully funded

Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month

Celebrate Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month

This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.

My Students

Do you think you could stay afloat in a boat made solely of cardboard and packing tape? Most of my students don't! I will help them to realize that with a little physics and a lot of ingenuity, they can sail the San Diego bay in their cardboard boats!

My students are different.

They aren't what you think of when you walk into a classroom. There are no desks, only tables and groups of students. There are no regular formal lectures, just opportunities to share some of the knowledge that I have with them. There are no quiet students - they are too busy working with their group members on projects and problems. Our school provides students with a project-based learning environment. In this type of environment, the teacher is given autonomy to design projects around curriculum that they choose. Students are given an opportunity to learn subject matter in depth, versus whipping through a host of topics that they will likely forget. They are provided with unforgettable learning experiences, because learning is an adventure, where students take risks and teach me just as much as I teach them. Learning is never mundane. Classes are small, allowing teachers to really get to know the students they work with. It is a school like no other.

My Project

Imagine standing in front of 52 students and telling them that they are going to create boats made solely out of cardboard and packing tape. Then imagine telling them that these boats will be about 6 feet by 4 feet (or bigger) and that two or more people from their group will be setting sail in them. The reaction from the students is priceless. For two weeks during building, they continually tell me that there is no way that this will work. They don't even believe me when I show them pictures of people in cardboard boats. They especially don't believe me when I tell them to check their calculations - they just figure that they did something wrong. They aren't convinced until race day is upon us, and they push their boats out into the water for the first time. Your contribution will make sure that my 52 students can explore the subject of boat design (buoyancy, density, volume, and mass) and will turn non-believers into believers.

I want my students to truly understand what those calculations on paper result in.

Figuring out the required volume for their boat is meaningless unless they can take those calculations and build a boat they can actually sail. What is even better is that these boats seem to defy all odds, proving to the students that even when it doesn't seem possible, there is always a way. I love seeing my students find meaning and value in what we learn together (not what I teach to them).

Mrs. Smith
Grades 9-12

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Expand the "Where your donation goes" section below to see exactly what Mrs. Smith is requesting.

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TEACHERS, FEELING INSPIRED?

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Where Your Donation Goes

Where your donation goes
Materials Cost Quantity Total
SEALING TAPE 1.6 MIL 2''X110 YARDS CLEAR • Sax Arts & Crafts, Inc $2.46 112 $275.52

Materials cost

$275.52

Vendor shipping charges

 $27.55

Sales tax

 $25.21

3rd party payment processing fee

$4.13

Fulfillment labor & materials

$35.00

Total project cost

$367.41

Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

$64.84

Total project goal

$432.25

How we calculate what's needed

Total project goal

 $432.25

3 Donors

-$216.13

Donations toward project cost

-$183.71

Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$32.42

match offer

-$216.12

Match offer toward project cost

-$183.70

Match offer to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$32.42

Still needed View calculationHide calculation

 $0.00

Our team works hard to negotiate the best pricing and selections available.

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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 Mrs. Smith and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.

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