John Paul Jones Elementary School (858-496-8140)

  • "Science Through Literacy"

    • Lyn Haval, First Grade Teacher

    A grant of $875.00 purchased the following items:

    • Ten units with one Big Book, Teachers Guide, a read-along audio cassette, one photo card set, one tote bag
    • Magnifying glasses, safety goggles, beads, clay, jars, thermometers, sticks, eyedroppers, and various items for scientific experiments.

    Through the use of Big Books on scientific topics, identical small books, and hands-on materials, first graders were introduced to basic scientific principles. This newly gained scientific knowledge opened the doors to investigation of a variety of scientific topics through experimentation and discussion.

Spencer Valley Elementary School (760-765-0336)

  • "Science on Wheels - An Outreach, Multigrade Laboratory Experience in the Microworld"

    • Lance Moles and Julie Savary, Kindergarten through Eighth Grade Teachers

    A grant of $1,000 purchased a Boreal 1000x binocular microscope with accompanying software for Macintosh and PC computers. The microscope enhanced the school's microbiology program initially funded with an $8,000 grant from Medtronics, Inc.

    This rural outreach science program provided elementary and middle school students from various ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds with "hands-on" science instruction. Students studied the function of cells, how organisms generate energy for life, did a research project that was presented at "Science Day," learned about industry and food production, as well as ecosystems of soil and wetlands. The microscope connected through a video camera to a wide screen television for class demonstrations and also connected to computers for data collection and analysis.

Cardiff Elementary School (760-632-5892)

  • "Literacy in the Real World: Learning by Looking"

    • Jan Hamilton, First, Second, and Third Grade Teacher

    A grant of $1,000 provided the following:

    • 40 jewelers' loupes
    • Two copies of The Private Eye: Looking and Thinking by Analogy
    • Two copies of Nature Journaling: Learning to Observe and Connect With the World Around You
    • 40 nature journals/sketchbooks
    • 10 sets of envelopes and note cards
    • Ten ink cartridges

    The PTA provided financial support to purchase some of the items.

    This was a learning activity that allowed students to create nature note cards based on their close observations of nature with jewelers' loupes. Forty jewelers' loupes were purchased for students to conduct close observation of nature. Sketching the items followed observation and transformed into an art piece-watercolor, oil pastels, charcoal, crayons, etc. Students wrote detailed notes with each observation.