This week, we’re helping a Detroit high school class learn about the brain, and a Texas fifth grade do a big project on fossils. 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, math, and literacy projects for public schools in low-income neighborhoods. As always, our conduit is DonorsChoose, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation that facilitates tax-deductible donations to specific, vetted projects in public schools.
In our new project #1, a Detroit high school teacher sees a path to inject some science into her social studies classes.
Once again, we have 2x matching funds from Michael Jordan and the Jordan Brand: Education is a key pillar of the Jordan BCC and we are proud to support teachers and their students in equity-focused schools. Black educators are essential to advancing equity in our communities and impacting the lives of every student, and all teachers play a role in uplifting Black students.
PROJECT #1
Resources: Help me give my students a "science" brain break. I actually teach social studies, however, a great way to take a break from HISTORY is by doing HANDS ON SCIENCE.
Economic need: An Equity Focus School; nearly all students from low‑income households.
Location: Pathways Academy, Detroit, Michigan
Total: $395.31 (2x matching funds from Michael Jordan and the Jordan Brand)
Still Needed: $275.31 $150.89 ($76 from us)
Project description by Ms. Bailey: Teachers and adults are always talking about USING your brain. I want to SHOW my students what the brain actually looks like. I actually teach Social Studies on a daily basis but we sometimes need a "BRAIN BREAK" from all the dates.
We are hoping to STIMULATE the brain while learning about history and science.
My students don't always have the opportunity or the time to "go down the rabbit hole" of science. This will give them a fresh hands-on perspective.
The students are always told to use their brain! Now they can Play with it too!
Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference!
A brainstem model is one of the items requested. Here, a neuroscientist gives a two-minute overview of what goes on in there.
I’m keeping project #2 where it is, but it could very possibly be completed this week too — you never know! Ms. Urbina is a never-before-funded teacher. In the Texas border city of Laredo, three classes of fifth graders are very excited to create an art extravaganza about fossils!
PROJECT #2
Resources: Help me give my students coloring supplies, glue, tape, and pencils for their science/art project.
Economic need: An Equity Focus School; more than three-quarters of students from low‑income households.
Location: Finley Elementary School, Laredo, Texas
Total: $353.12
Still Needed: $193.12 $128.71
Project description by Ms. Urbina: I have three 5th grade classes which I intend to start a fossil poster project with. The posters will allow the students to work together in a group and create a landscape full of different types of dinosaur or animal fossils. They can make it as big as they like by connecting posters sheets together. To create this landscape they will need many markers, crayons, color pencils, scissors, pencils, glue, and tape.
The students are allowed to draw out their fossils on white paper and then piece it together by cutting and pasting the drawings onto the poster.
This will allow each student to play their part in the project and collaborate on ideas. This group of 5th graders are very outspoken and love doing group projects with their classmates. I asked each class to pick a topic and the majority agreed on a fossil project because they find it very interesting.
I have many students who have great artistic skills. These supplies will allow them to fully use their artistic abilities to create a great poster. They are also very interested in science and love to learn about old historic pieces such as fossils, rocks, and landforms. I am very excited to see what they create on their posters. My goals for this project are to inspire students to research about Earth's past through fossils, use their creativity, and work together as a group by collaborating and negotiating their ideas.
Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference!
From the end of last year: SciShow rounds up 2023’s coolest fossil discoveries!
Our main project from last week was completed! A lot of times, other donors show up and help us out, but in this case, it was 100% our donors (with the matching grant). Thank you SO MUCH!
Project #1, Preserving Biodiversity: Creating a Sustainable Herbarium for Future Generations: Ms. Atupan teaches high school in a small Arkansas city west of Memphis, TN, and she was hoping to enable her students to preserve dried plants as herbarium specimens.
She writes: I am so excited to see that this project has funded. I can't wait to start this project early this opening of classes for my Science students and let know they can start preserving herbarium specimens. The support of the DonorsChoose community is overwhelming and I feel so blessed to know so many people that value public education as much as you do. Thank you again for allowing me to provide these materials for my students. The need of preserving herbarium specimens like parts of the plants (leaves, roots) is so great and this project will certainly help with that need.
| DonorsChoose has developed the designation Equity Focus Schools to describe some schools that submit projects. They meet two criteria: at least 50% of students are Black, Latinx, Native American, Pacific Islander, or multiracial, and at least 50% of students qualify for free or reduced price lunch, the standard measure for school economic need. You can read more at the link about their efforts to address the longstanding inequity in education. |
Founded in 2009, The Inoculation Project seeks to fund science, math, and literacy projects in public school classrooms and libraries. Our conduit is DonorsChoose, 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 projects 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 1116! The success-list diary also contains links and additional information about DonorsChoose.
