(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . The Inoculation Project 10/29/2023: Science in Louisiana and Nebraska [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-10-29 This week, we’re helping a Louisiana early-grades STEAM teacher stock up on a trove of science materials, and a Nebraska elementary teacher teach about electricity with Snap Circuits. 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. This week’s new project is for a never-before-funded teacher at a public magnet school in Baton Rouge. Once again, we have the help of matching funds from the College Football Playoff Foundation: The College Football Playoff Foundation is dedicated to elevating the teaching profession by inspiring and empowering teachers. We’re thrilled to match your donation and go the extra yard for teachers. PROJECT #1 Project: Stem Games, Materials, and Resources Oh, My Resources: Help me give my students labs, games, and materials for our STEAM Class. Economic need: An Equity Focus School; nearly all students from low‑income households. Location: Forest Heights Academy of Excellence, Baton Rouge, Louisiana Total: $406.06 (2x matching funds from the College Football Playoff Foundation) Still Needed: $ 356.06 $251.65 ($126 from us) Project description by Mrs. Tillman: I teach STEAM to some very excited, energetic Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd-grade students who love to learn, collaborate, and most importantly just have fun while doing it! Our schedule only permits each class to meet one time a week for 30-45 minutes. So maximizing the time we have together is a must! In order to make this happen, additional resources are needed to make our time together worth it. Having various sets of interactive STEAM/STEM labs, games, materials, and resources will not only help to enhance my students’ engagement levels but also make them more excited about learning in my class. Finding the balance between math, science, and the arts is sometimes tricky for students to understand, but the materials I am requesting will help the students understand the connections between the different areas through discovery and collaboration. Having students learn and practice working in groups or teams will also help them develop engineering practices while developing socialization skills. Our students come to school not only to learn and grow but to also build the necessary socialization skills that the COVID-19 pandemic failed to give them. Students are more inclined to participate during lessons when they know their lessons are engaging and fun. In conclusion, having the materials listed will not only help to create a healthy balance of interactive learning and fun for the students I serve, but they will also encourage and give the students some much-needed excitement about attending and participating in school. DONATE HERE Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference! A crystal-growing lab is one of the many activities in this project. Here’s a TED-Ed video about how crystals grow and why they take their characteristic forms (or don’t have one!). x x YouTube Video We made good progress last week on this long-term project! Mr. Sutherland teaches at an elementary school in a mid-Nebraska city. He’s hoping some Snap Circuit boards will help his class understand science concepts better. We have a different matching grant helping with this one: the CBS show Young Sheldon (actually, the foundation of the show’s creator, but “from Young Sheldon” is understandably how they want to bill it): In celebration of Young Sheldon on CBS, The Chuck Lorre Family Foundation is thrilled to support STEM projects. PROJECT #2 Project: Snap Your Way to Success! Resources: Help me give my students Snap Circuit boards to expand their knowledge of light and sound. Economic need: An Equity Focus School; nearly all students from low‑income households. Location: West Lawn Elementary School, Grand Island, Nebraska Total: $945.64 (2x matching funds from Young Sheldon on CBS) Still Needed: $ 760.34 $634.16 ($318 from us) Project description by Mr. Sutherland: Help me give my students Snap Circuit boards to expand their knowledge of light and sound. We have an awesome reading curriculum that has a unit on light and sound. It does a great job of describing how each works. I want to take it a step further and allow my students to experiment and see firsthand how electricity can benefit us. I was fortunate enough to use these when I was in elementary and they absolutely helped me retain what I had learned. My students and I would greatly appreciate any help. DONATE HERE Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference! This short video from the manufacturer demonstrates some of the projects that can be made with the sets being requested here. It’s a great idea to allow kids to build circuits without having to learn to solder! x x YouTube Video Our main project from last week was completed, thanks in large part to our readers and their matched donations! Project #1, Books a Million: in Need of Sprucing Up My Classroom: Ms. Guillory teaches third grade in a small city just north of Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana. She is in serious need of some new books that will appeal to her students. At this writing, she hasn’t heard the good news yet, so we’ll bring you her note next time! 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 1059! The success-list diary also contains links and additional information about DonorsChoose. 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