(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . The Inoculation Project 7/9/2023: Growing Plants, Reading Books [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-07-09 This week, we’re helping an Ohio second-grade class to do a plant-growing project, and a Houston school librarian to stock her shelves with some new books. 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 red-state 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. This project was number 1½ last week, on deck for when project #1 was completed, as it soon was. I said then, I don’t usually preface the project description with the “about” material on the teacher’s page — it’s usually not that informative. I think the one from this Youngstown, Ohio second-grade teacher says a lot, however: I work in an amazing school district in a low-income community, filled with passionate teachers and diligent administrators. Together, we all want the same thing- the best education for the students in our community. Our school system has just come out of financial emergency so our funds for anything "extra" are on hold. With that said, I have 17 of the most amazing second grade students this year. Housing the full inclusion class, my students ability levels vary from identifying sounds and letters all the way to reading books at the fifth grade level. Because of this wide range of learning capabilities, I need a variety of resources to make sure I am differentiating instruction in all subject areas to make sure all students learn and grow at their own levels. Having resources like technology, books, flexible seating, and hands-on materials make learning achievable for all in my class. PROJECT #1 Project: Make Our Grow Lab Come to Life! Resources: Help me give my students materials to make our classroom Grow Lab come to life! Economic need: An Equity Focus School; nearly all students from low‑income households. Location: Guy PreK-6 Elementary School, Youngstown, Ohio Total: $190.36 Still Needed: $ 105.36 $55.36 Project description by Mrs. Collins: I have had a Grow Lab for about five years now. Each year, the kids have learned so much about life cycles, the environment, and how to take care of living things through the use of this Grow Lab. However, these materials are all consumable so each year I have to buy more materials to make the magic of the Grow Lab happen for the new set of students. This project would fund all of the essentials to get the Grow Lab up and running at the beginning of next year's school year- including seeds, tools, pots, trays, and even a Life Cycle of a Plant book. Specifically, this project will fund both marigolds and grass seeds. I like to have students plant both as they can compare and contrast the seeds and how they grow. I also like them to observe what happens to them when the lights aren't on and how they move to the window to get as much light as they can They love this! It will also fund for trays to put them on while we take them outside to plant so it doesn't make a mess in our room prior to transferring them into the Grow Lab. It will also fund dirt, popsicle sticks to be used as plant markers, as well as little tools to dig holes to place the seed in. The Grow Lab creates so many opportunities for learning beyond just science- they measure the plants, learn about what climates or environments certain plants can live in, as well as they write about their noticings. DONATE HERE Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference! (Searching YouTube for the term “Grow Lab” does NOT immediately return anything relevant for here!) This is about school gardens. x x YouTube Video And we have a new project #2! An elementary-school librarian in Houston needs some classic fantasy books for her students. PROJECT #2 Project: Read and Celebrate Fairy Tales That Inspire Students Resources: Help me give my students access to the world's most popular fairy tales to read and learn life lessons. Economic need: An Equity Focus School; nearly all students from low‑income households. Location: Billy Reagan K-8 Education Center, Houston, Texas Total: $324.29 Still Needed: $ 302.29 $252.29 Project description by Mrs. Payne: I am a new librarian and love helping kids find joy in reading and writing. My students live in a lower-income area and deserve to participate in activities that will allow them to be better readers and writers. My students want to also be engaged from the time they enter the library and when they leave. My students are learning to understand and appreciate fairy tales and their significance around the world. I will use the world's most popular fairy tales to help students understand what can be learned from reading fairy tales. Students will use the books "Peter and Wendy", "The Wind in the Willows", "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz", and "The Tailor of Gloucester" to appreciate the differences in the world around us and understand how different fairytales and stories allow us to learn life lessons. They will also use Under Water Math to discuss math in stories. DONATE HERE Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference! The Wind in the Willows is one of the requested books. This is the theme from the 1983 film, while the lyrics, sung by Ralph McTell, originated with the 2010 TV series. x x YouTube Video The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is another requested book. The 1939 film version gets lots of exposure, so I picked a song from the 1978 film version of the Broadway musical The Wiz. Diana Ross as Dorothy and Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow do some great dancing! x x YouTube Video I’m happy to say that our other two projects from last week, aside from 1½, were completed, with lots of help from our readers! Project #2, in particular, we advanced week after week, until finally a local Alabama group picked it up and carried it over the finish line. Yay! Project #1, Nonfiction Books: Ms. Valdez wanted her San Antonio first-grade students to read non-fiction books as exciting as the fiction they enjoyed. She writes: Thanks to you and your generosity, our first-grade classroom will have amazing nonfiction books for the new school year! These books are filled with beautiful, vibrant photographs, as well as important information about animals, plants, space, and interesting jobs. Not only will these books reinforce standards in science and social studies, but they will also encourage our first graders to do one of the most important things they can do this year: read! Project #2, New, Exciting Books!: Mrs. Rodgers needed help to overhaul the school library in a Huntsville elementary school, and bring in new books to appeal to her young readers. She writes: Thank you so much for donating to my project. With your help, we’re putting awesome new books into the hands of deserving kids. With your help, we’re spreading the love of reading & learning. With your help, we’re making a huge difference in the lives of my students. Thank you for your goodness, your kindness, and your generosity. 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 combats the anti-science, anti-education push in conservative America by funding science, math, and literacy projects in red-state 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 1043! The success-list diary also contains links and additional information about DonorsChoose. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/7/9/2180058/-The-Inoculation-Project-7-9-2023-Growing-Plants-Reading-Books Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/