This week, we’re helping a Florida 8th grade whose geometry project is quilt-making, and a Texas elementary school computer club that’s ready to move up from repairs and build a computer! We hope that readers who support quality public school education will help by sharing or supporting our featured projects.
The Inoculation Project is an ongoing, volunteer effort to crowdfund science and math projects for red-state public schools in low-income neighborhoods. As always, our conduit is DonorsChoose.org, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation that facilitates tax-deductible donations to specific, vetted projects in public schools.
This never-before-funded teacher at a Florida middle school has figured out a very creative way to engage her students in hands-on geometry.
MAIN PROJECT
Resources: Help me give my students the remaining materials (quilt batting and backing fabric) so they are able to finish their class quilts!
Economic need: More than three-quarters of students from low‑income households
Location: North Marion Middle School, Citra, Florida
Total: $347.41
Still Needed: $153.88 Completed, thank you! Please consider long-term project below.
Teacher’s Comments from Mrs. Hall:
My Students: Teaching in a school with a very high poverty rate takes a toll on the students and their parents as well as their teachers. My students are always excited to work on projects that are hands-on! They come to school ready to work when they know they will get to participate in an activity or project that is active and engaging.
I think it's important for students to know that the application of the math concepts we learn in class can be really fun!!
My aim is to include as many opportunities for students to apply the mathematics as possible.
My Project: My 130ish 8th grade math students have already begun their quilt project! They each designed a quilt block that incorporated at least two different types of transformations (reflections, rotations, translations or dilations) and have started hand sewing their blocks using the English Paper Piecing technique. Each class is creating their own quilt...so we are in the process of making 6 quilts! The quilts will be donated at the end of the school year and the students will decide where they will donate each quilt.
Surprisingly, my 8th grade students are ENJOYING the process of sewing by hand and applying the math concepts they have learned in class.
We are all excited to see the final quilts!
Please help me provide the remaining materials to finish off the quilts for my students. Your donation is greatly appreciated!
Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference!
Mr. Fenner’s 5th grade after-school computer club has been fixing computers, and now they’re ready to build one! We hope to take advantage of the current 1.5x matching-funds offer to get them on their way: Verizon is helping to give millions of kids a brighter future. We're putting technology, access, and innovative learning programs in the hands of students to put them on the path to success. Through proceeds from our education device trade-in program, we're proud to support technology projects on DonorsChoose.org.
LONG-TERM PROJECT
Resources: Help me give my students an experience building our own computer in our after-school club.
Economic need: More than three-quarters of students from low‑income households
Location: Viola Cobb Elementary School, Channelview, Texas
Total: $750.72 (1.5x matching funds from Verizon)
Still Needed: $750.72 $413.34 ($276 from us)
Teacher’s Comments from Mr. Fenner:
My Students: I am a sixth year teacher working on my first year trying flexible seating. I teach in a low-income/Title I school district, and my students face several challenges both in and out of the classroom. This year we were struck by Hurricane Harvey and our school was really not damaged, but the homes of many of my students were.
Despite the hardships they have faced, they are resilient and spirited learners making their way back.
They like to move, they love to read and love lots of positive attention. From the minute they walk in the door of my classroom, I focus on their potential and growth while they are with me. I may not be able personally to solve the many challenges they face outside of school. However, I can certainly make a powerful impact on the eight hours they spend here at school every day.
My Project: I run an after-school club at my elementary school where I teach 5th graders how to build and repair computers as a valuable skill, hobby, and potential future career. My students love getting their hands in a computer and learning how it works.
This project would give us the parts that we want to build a new computer for our after school club.
These computer components would help us with the missing pieces that we still require in order to build our next computer.
The processor, ram, graphics card, SSD, power supply, monitor, and mouse will be combined with some other pieces we already have to complete a computer. The students will be able to build this computer from start to finish in order to learn how it works and how they can do this to save money or as a future career. Since we are an AVID campus I am all about teaching students about future STEM related professions.
Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference!
Our two projects from last week were completed!
Mrs. Schow’s second-grade students in an isolated Missouri farm community will receive new tools and supplies for their MakerSpace area. The project was Our MakerSpace Needs Some Materials & Tools - Part 1. She writes [my emphasis]: I cannot even begin to share how blessed we were to have Daily Kos share our project this past week! What an unexpected surprise...and even better yet was how quickly our project funded due to so many kind, generous people. I just would like to say thank you from the bottom of my heart and send hugs of thanks! My students will be so excited!
We also helped complete our long-term project, Future Engineers. Ms. McKenzie’s Mississippi third grade will receive a variety of new learning materials, including microscopes, building bricks, modeling material (for making a volcano!) and a kit that allows them to work on cleaning up an oil spill. She writes: I am extremely grateful for your generosity in helping to fund my project. My students are so excited about being able to study microscopic specimens, create volcanoes, and clean up oil spills. It is my hope that some of them will take a greater interest in that particular field of study and become engineers. Thank you so very much for granting us this opportunity.
Our Dollars at Work
Last October, we helped Ms. Wilson’s gifted and talented elementary students in South Dakota to upgrade their creative engineering skills with Makey Makey projects and a wide variety of electronics supplies. (The Pine Ridge BIA School is located on Pine Ridge Reservation, and the student body is Oglala Lakota.) Their project was Makey Makey STEM Project. (More photos at the link.)
First of all the Oglala Nation from the Pine Ridge School students, would like to say wopila (Thank you) for providing us this opportunity to connect with the 21st Century through the use of Technology.
The students are so enjoying creating, designing and inventing with the materials you the donors provided. Our first activity was to build a circuit and decide what does and does not act as a conductor. The next activity was to make a controller using cardboard, rubber bands, tin foil tape and foam rubber. The students then plugged in the Makey Makey to the computer and were able to play games. They took it a step further and realized they could have two players.
The students have just begun there are so many more activities to explore.
An explanation of the pictures. The first four are of the students using the Makey Makeys and materials. I could only upload four pictures and before I could move on in the process of thanking you, I had to upload six pictures. So chose pictures of our cultural activities prior to technology. Horse Back Riding.
Again thank you for the materials from the bottoms of our Cante's (Hearts)
Founded in 2009, The Inoculation Project combats the anti-science push in conservative America by funding science and math projects in traditionally red-state classrooms and libraries. Our conduit is DonorsChoose.org, a crowdfunding charity founded in 2000 and highly rated by both Charity Navigator and the Better Business Bureau.
Every Sunday, we focus on helping to fund two science or math projects in red states, preferably in neighborhood public schools where the overwhelming majority of students come from low-income households. We welcome everyone who supports public school education — no money is required!
Finally, here’s our list of successfully funded projects — our series total is 722! The success-list diary also contains links and additional information about DonorsChoose.org.