Scroll down for this week's project. On tap this week: Making Math Marvelous!
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!
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This Week's Project
Project: Making Math Marvelous!
Resources Needed: a variety of hands on math centers where they can independently practice grade level appropriate mathematical skills and concepts
School Poverty Level: Moderate
State: North Carolina
Total Cost: $399.93
Still Needed: $49.52 FUNDED! See bonus project in comments.
Expires: Jun 29, 2011
Click to Donate
Teacher's Comments:
My Students
Math should be much more than writing answers to problems! My students need to be able to actually experience math concepts with hands on applications where true understanding can develop. Practicing these skills in a meaningful way will ensure solid connections.
My students are are a very engaged and motivated group who enjoy independent pursuits of learning. I can give them a concept and they are eager to take off on their own to further understand and practice this new learning! I want to be a responsive teacher who is able to provide
My Project
These hands on math centers will offer my students practical ways to further their learning of key math concepts--including time, measurement, and operations. Each center gives the students a variety of ways at different levels to practice and further expand these necessary skills. The activities are self checking so I can be sure that clear understanding is being developed.
My classroom philosophy is centered around students developing independence and taking responsibility for their own learning. These centers will provide them that opportunity to develop these key understandings and independently practice these mathematical concepts and apply and transfer them in a variety of situations. These centers will also enable met to work with individuals and small groups as needed with the confidence ALL students are meaningfully engaged!
Please consider rescuing this project by making a small donation to it. Small dollars make a big difference.
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Good News
Last week's project, Forensics Cookie Mystery, got funded! While we didn't take it across the finish line, we got it close enough to make it easy for another kind donor to come in a couple days later and pick up the little bit left.
Here's what the teacher had to say:
My students will be so happy to experience this hands-on crime solving activity. Many of these activities and techniques are included in their resumes for job seeking. Often, this is the first time, students have had an opportunity to complete a project that contains many different laboratory activities and techniques. This type of experience pulls together many different results and conclusions in order to reach a team consensus solving a problem. Hopefully, this type of problem solving will help these students to perform better in the real world.
Thanks again.
With gratitude,
Mrs. L.
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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 111 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.)
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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.
