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This teacher needs your help!

Mrs. Bencic from Woodbury, TN is requesting supplies through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

See what Mrs. Bencic is requesting

Owl What?!?

My students need owl pellets, an owl biorama, and investigating owls DVD.

  • $290 goal

Hooray! This project is fully funded

Hooray! This project is fully funded

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

Help Mrs. Bencic

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

My Students

Owl Pellets...so what are they? Well, they are undigested parts of food that owls regurgitate. Yep, it's pretty disgusting, but dissecting owl pellets is a wonderful way to allow students to investigate skeletal systems, food webs, and predator/prey relationships.

My students are BEGGING for this lesson!

They really are! I have a few owl pellets already (only about 4 pellets), but I don't have enough for all of my students to work together in small cooperative groups and actually experience the dissection as intended. I really need your help to provide this memorable hands-on activity to my class. My 4th grade class has 17 students who live in an underprivileged rural area. About 75% of our school's students live in poverty; we have approximately 120 students in grades K-8. Understandably, our school can provide only the most essential supplies for our students. Even though our school isn't new or fancy, it's clean, well-maintained, and we love it! Our little community school has supportive parents, caring faculty, and students who are eager to learn! We have such a wonderful school, but we can still use help!

My Project

First, I am requesting twenty owl pellets. This will be enough pellets for this year and next year, too! I will place students in groups of two, and they will identify the skeletal remains, sort them, and begin to learn about the behaviors of Barn Owls. I am also requesting a DVD which uses animation and live footage to introduce Barn Owls. This DVD will be used for many years to come. Finally, the Prey Biorama is simply a mounted, partially-open owl pellet and the mounted skulls and mandibles of five mammal prey. This resource will be valuable if I am not able to provide owl pellets for my future classes--at least they will be able to watch the DVD and view what a real owl pellet looks like.

Thanks so much for considering my project.

I have presented this lesson to my previous 4th grade classes, and word travels fast! Each year, my class anticipates the owl pellet lesson. Apparently, it's become a "rite of passage" to the upper grades! This is my fourth year teaching, and each year DonorsChoose has provided this lesson for my class. I don't want to let my kids down this year. Can you help?

Mrs. Bencic East Side Elementary School Grades 3-5

More about Mrs. Bencic

Woodbury, TN View local requests

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

17 students impacted 3donors

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

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Where Your Donation Goes

Materials Cost Quantity Total
Owl Pellets and Common Prey Biorama • Carolina Biological Supply Company $79.32 1 $79.32
Owl Pellets • Carolina Biological Supply Company $3.13 20 $62.60
All That Remains: Investigating Owls Through Owl Pellet Labs DVD • Carolina Biological Supply Company $47.45 1 $47.45

Materials cost

$189.37

Vendor shipping charges

$18.94

Sales tax

$0.00

3rd party payment processing fee

$2.84

Fulfillment labor & materials

$35.00

Total project cost

$246.15

Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

$43.44

Total project goal

$289.59

How we calculate what's needed

Total project goal

$289.59

1 Donor

-$144.79

Donations toward project cost

-$123.07

Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$21.72

match offer

-$144.80

Match offer toward project cost

-$123.08

Match offer to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$21.72

Still needed View calculationHide calculation

$0.00

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

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Project Activity

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