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This teacher needs your help!

Mrs. Brandon from Staten Island, NY is requesting supplies through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

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Create Your Own Body Farm: Research in Forensic Anthropology

My students need a dog kennel to enclose the body farm, and the padlocks to secure the door and top. The raised bed will be used to simulate "burial" in soil (I have soil).

  • $555 goal

Hooray! This project is fully funded

Hooray! This project is fully funded

Keep the momentum going! Make a donation to Mrs. Brandon for her next project!

Help Mrs. Brandon

Keep the momentum going! Make a donation to Mrs. Brandon for her next project!

My Students

“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” With the new emphasis on test-prep, the true purpose of education is sometimes lost. Students will eventually forget facts they have memorized, but what they always retain is enthusiasm and excitement. Time to get out the matches.

The students in my school are highly motivated to succeed academically and to pursue prestigious careers, with very few exceptions.

By far my biggest hurdle is finding new ways to keep the students challenged and engaged. I use a variety of teaching methods, with a strong emphasis on critical thinking skills, including online research investigations, round robin presentations, inquiry-based laboratories with performance-based evaluations, analysis of case studies, analysis of scientific papers, evaluations and critiques of court testimony by forensic experts, presentations by guest speakers from the scientific and legal community, creating models, using manipulatives, and in-depth discussions of current events based on readings from periodicals and scientific journals. My forensics class recently completed a project in which they were required to listen to the blockbuster podcast Serial, and my AP students will soon complete a fossil scavenger hunt at the Museum of Natural History.

My Project

I have been looking for ideas to revitalize my unit on forensic anthropology. Right now, the the laboratory activity for this unit emphasizes identification of plastic bones based on the presence of bony landmarks. While we discuss the process of decomposition, the students never have the chance to do any hands on activities to demonstrate this process. One of my students recently sent me an article describing a high school forensic science class that set up its own “body farm” using roasting chickens. (The original Body Farm at the University of Tennessee was started by Dr. William Bass in 1987). Each team will design and carry out an experiment on how different factors (such as burial in soil, presence of clothing, temperature) affect decomposition rates. Data will be collected by approximately 65 students for a period of two months.

This is a hands-on, inquiry-based activity that will maximize student engagement and teach them about the process of science.

They will design their own experiment, make modifications to their procedure as necessary, collect and analyze their data, and present their results to their peers. I am certain this will be one of the most memorable experiences of their high school career. They will learn invaluable lessons about the time-consuming, messy, and (at times) smelly process of science.

Mrs. Brandon Staten Island Technical High School Grades 9-12

More about Mrs. Brandon

Staten Island, NY View local requests

More than 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

65 students impacted 2donors

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Where Your Donation Goes

Where your donation goes
Materials Cost Quantity Total
Lucky Dog 6'Hx4'Wx8'L Uptown Welded Wire Kennel • Amazon Business $329.99 1 $329.99
Greenes 4 Ft. X 4 Ft. X 10.5 In. Cedar Raised Garden Bed • Amazon Business $69.99 1 $69.99
Master Lock 140D Solid Brass Keyed Different Padlock with 1-9/16-Inch Wide Body, 1/4-Inch Shackle • Amazon Business $6.24 5 $31.20

Materials cost

$431.18

Vendor shipping charges

 $3.49

Sales tax

 $0.00

3rd party payment processing fee

$6.47

Fulfillment labor & materials

$30.00

Total project cost

$471.14

Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

$83.14

Total project goal

$554.28

How we calculate what's needed

Total project goal

 $554.28

1 Donor

-$277.14

Donations toward project cost

-$235.57

Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$41.57

match offer

-$277.14

Match offer toward project cost

-$235.57

Match offer to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$41.57

Still needed View calculationHide calculation

 $0.00

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

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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. Brandon and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.

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