Scroll down for this week's project. On tap this week: The case of the kidnapped cookies!
Reminder: Look for "The Inoculation Project" every Friday afternoon!
The Inoculation Project: Math & Science in Red State Schools
Solid science education is the best inoculation against ignorance.
The objective of this weekly project is to combat the anti-science push in conservative America by providing direct funding each week to math and science projects in red state classrooms.
Fortunately, a conduit organization for achieving this direct funding already exists: DonorsChoose.org. DonorsChoose.org allows you to make direct contributions to specific classroom projects (all vetted), resulting in tremendous and immediate impacts from small dollar donations.
Each week we focus on funding a single small-dollar project in a traditionally red state classroom. These are projects whose funding requests are expiring within the next week. If the projects are not funded by their expiration date, they die.
This week, we have a project that has 12 days before it expires. Sometimes the pickin's get a little slim toward the end of the school year and through the summer, so we relax the rules a bit!
.
This Week's Project
Project: Forensics Cookie Mystery
Resources Needed: fingerprinting supplies in order to study fingerprinting & the safe and user friendly kit "Case of the Kidnapped Cookies"
School Poverty Level: Moderate
State: North Carolina
Total Cost: $294.85
Still Needed: $109.85 $69.85
Expires: Jun 22, 2011
Click to Donate
Teacher's Comments:
My Students
In order to learn what real CSI agents do, students need the hands on experience of determining fingerprints and using critical thinking to solve a safe kidnapped cookie mystery. These activities relate to real life. My former students work part time at college due to these types of activities.
I teach in an inner city school with high diversity. These students com from many different incomes and life experiences. Some have been born and raised in the same city their whole lives while others have moved often. Some have free or reduced lunch while others have families with second homes at the beach or mountains. They all seem to blend well and show true caring and concern for the welfare of each other regardless of their backgrounds. It is a real pleasure to work with these children.
My Project
Students in my Forensics class hear from many types of speakers. They perform actual laboratory hands-on activities which excites them about science and Forensics.
With theses types of experiences, students can show their initiative and training and enable them to get part-time college jobs because of these activities.
These activities relate to real life. Many of my former students work part time at college due to these types of activities. I have them write resumes that include all the lab work they have done in Forensic class. Science labs at college are impressed with their hands on experiences enabling them to pay part of their college expenses.
Please consider rescuing this project by making a small donation to it. Small dollars make a big difference.
.
Good News
We had a great week last week, with both our main project, Math: To Understand or Not To Understand, and our bonus project, Geologists-In-Training, reaching their funding goals with the help of Kossacks!
Here's what the main project teacher had to say:
I was so thrilled when I read the news that you have funded my needs for my classroom! My students will benefit so much from these materials. I can't wait to teach math with great stories. I was able to begin this new teaching method last year with the few books I could borrow, and met with great success in opening the minds of my students. And now I will have the materials available to continue in this effective teaching method. It will open a completely new world to my class as we explore math concepts within literature. Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity to reach my students in a whole new way!
With gratitude,
Mrs. O.
Here's a note from the bonus project teacher:
The materials that you have funded will enable my students to learn through scientific inquiry. They will question, observe, explore, and then discover answers on their own - without having to just listen to me "give" them the answers or read the information in a textbook. They will be able to work together cooperatively and then share their findings with their team members.
The collections of rocks and fossils will get my students so excited about learning about Earth, and the photo books will allow them to see things in an entirely new way. The learning center and game will provide a great review for them not only after we finish our unit but also before our state test at the end of the school year. Thank you again so much. I can't wait to introduce these tools to both my previous and future students!
.
Projects Funded So Far
Our list of successfully funded projects has gotten so huge, I gave it its own separate diary!
We're up to 110 funded projects.
Go check it out! (And be sure to click on the links for pictures of the kids working with the resources we provided for them.)
.
Helpful Links
DonorsChoose.org
DonorsChoose.org Blog
DonorsChoose.org Donor FAQ
All DonorsChoose.org Math & Science Projects
Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with DonorsChoose.org, or any of the classroom projects presented for funding. I'm just volunteering my time and pixels to make a difference.
