This week, we’re helping a Milwaukee third grade do some hands-on STEM projects, and an Iowa middle school class learn about children in South Sudan. 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.
We’ve made so much progress on this project, it’s moved up here today!
Mr. Oni teaches third grade in Milwaukee, and he’s seeking some cool STEM activities for his students.
PROJECT #1
Resources: Help me give my students Solar Cars, Solar Bugs, and Electrical Circuit Models, because it will Foster Hands-On Learning, Critical Thinking, and Understanding of Renewable Energy, Electricity, and Engineering Principles, Making Complex STEM Concepts Accessible to them.
Economic need: An Equity Focus School; nearly all students from low‑income households.
Location: Westside Academy I, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Total: $566.41
Still Needed: $147.88 $83.47
Project description by Mr. Oni: This STEM project for 3rd graders, including activities like the Wooden Solar Car, Solar Bug, and building electrical circuits, aims to make complex concepts tangible and foster critical skills.
Impact on Learning:
1. Wooden Solar Car: Students learn about renewable energy by building cars powered by sunlight. They experiment with variables like sunlight angle, enhancing their understanding of energy conversion and encouraging scientific inquiry.
2. Solar Bug: This project introduces energy transformation in an engaging way. The bug's movement, powered by solar energy, stimulates curiosity and allows students to integrate art by personalizing their bugs.
3. Electrical Circuits: Through designing and troubleshooting circuits, students grasp basic electrical concepts, develop problem-solving skills, and collaborate with peers, laying the foundation for teamwork.
Project Goals:
The goals are to inspire a love for STEM by making learning interactive and enjoyable, develop critical thinking through hands-on activities, promote teamwork, and introduce foundational concepts in renewable energy and electricity.
Special Characteristics of Students:
my 3rd graders are diverse, bringing varied perspectives that enrich learning. Their natural curiosity and creativity make them eager participants in exploratory learning. Developmentally, they are ready to engage with both abstract and concrete concepts, making these hands-on projects particularly effective.
Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference!
This little solar-car kit is much like those requested in this project.
This new project #2 is quite ambitious! But, we have until January, and it won’t take until January.
Mrs. Filippelli, a never before funded teacher, wants her Iowa middle school students to learn about children’s experiences in the Second Sudanese Civil War.
PROJECT #2
Resources: Help me give my students the chance to read multiple perspectives of the lost children from the Second Sudanese Civil War with the book "Lost Boy, Lost Girl Escaping Civil War in Sudan."
Economic need: An Equity Focus School; more than three-quarters of students from low‑income households.
Location: Weeks Middle School, Des Moines, Iowa
Total: $753.46
Still Needed: $743.46 $679.05
Project description by Mrs. Filippelli: In order to understand the events that children experienced during the Second Sudanese Civil War I want my students to read from multiple firsthand experiences, including the Lost Girls, which is often times overlooked. In order to do this, I need to find the funds to buy two classroom sets of the book "Lost Boy, Lost Girl Escaping Civil War in Sudan" by John Bul Dau and Martha Arual Akech.
By being able to read multiple books about the same topic from different firsthand accounts, my students will have a deeper understanding of the Second Sudanese Civil War.
Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference!
There’s a good deal of interesting video on this subject! Let’s start with the girls; this video explains why they are less well known than the boys, and gives us one young woman’s story.
Our #1 project from last week was completed! A million thanks to our readers, who used the available matching funds to bring this all the way home!
Project #1, Empowering Innovation-The Science of Human Resilience and Climate Change: Dr. Brown, a never-before-funded teacher, wanted their North Carolina middle school students to have copies of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind in English and Spanish.
They write: My teacher’s heart is so full of gratitude right now because of your amazing contributions! I can’t thank you enough for showing up for my students. I am so excited about my students getting the opportunity to grow their reading muscles, and be empowered in science class. What you all did was open a door for a spark to catch fire. They will learn that they can bring about change.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! A win for education. A win for science. A win for our environment.
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 1130! The success-list diary also contains links and additional information about DonorsChoose.