Donorschoose for Supplementary Science Activities

I  love my classroom science station.  I have posted about science at least once a month this year as I have been posting all my science units on TPT.  From food groups, to landforms, weather, and body parts, there are so many awesome topics to cover!  These topics are especially great, because they cover a lot of functional vocabulary our kids need to learn to talk about every day happenings.  

When I began setting up this station in my classroom 5 years ago, I actually started by posting a project on Donorschoose to get hands-on science activities (for more info on Donorschoose, read this post)!  

After brainstorming my topics (1 for each month), I went shopping online on  Nasco, Lakeshore, and Kaplan for any hands-on activities related to my topics.  I also asked for general science materials like scales, measuring tapes, calculators, and general science file folder activities to be used year-round.  Then, as I waited for my projects to be funded (which they were!), I started creating my own worksheets and activities.  

I definitely recommend using Donorschoose to supplement your science units.  Unfortunately, since I wrote these projects about 5 years ago, a lot of the materials are no longer available.  Here are some of the items I found still available:

Inflatable Solar System (for your solar system unit).  We hang this in my classroom every year and the kids love it!

http://www.enasco.com/product/SB37813B

Tornado Tube (for your weather unit)

http://www.enasco.com/product/SB20424B

Weather Tracker (for your weather unit)

http://www.kaplanco.com/product/21548/weather-tracker?c=9%7CSC1080

Root Vue Farm (for your plants unit)

http://www.enasco.com/product/SB22804B

Anatomy Apron (for your body part unit) 

http://www.enasco.com/product/EL11445B

A Newer version of a Food Group Pocket chart (for your Food Group Unit)

http://www.enasco.com/product/EL10762B

Sink or Float Kit

http://www.lakeshorelearning.com/product/productDet.jsp?productItemID=1%2C689%2C949%2C371%2C896%2C102&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=1408474395181113&bmUID=1394399419983

To see an example of my project, look here.  The write-up part of this grants is very short and to the point.  I didn't want to lose my readers' interest by making it too long or detailed.  See what I wrote below:

"I teach a class of students age 6-10 with Autism. My students all come from high need communities. I teach them all subjects from academics, to social skills, behavior management, and life skills.

My class this year is academically higher than any I have had in the past and they are not being challenged by the materials we have available to us in our class and school. When my students are not challenged, they end up being bored which can lead to frustration and behavior problems.

I would like to start a science center in my classroom to help challenge my students more academically. Since students with Autism are very visual and hands on learners, I am asking for all science materials that would meet their learning style.

With your help, we can challenge my students to work up to their potential and help them understand science and how it affects the world around them."

To see my science units currently available on TPT, you can click on the following links.

Weather Unit, Food Groups Unit, Dinosaur Unit, Plant Unit, Body Parts Unit, Insect Unit, Landform Unit, Solar System Unit.