The Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County, Inc. has announced that the following Robert P. Bell grants totaling $1,195 have been awarded to local teachers for the third quarterly grant cycle of the 2008-2009 academic year. It is estimated that nearly 300 Delaware County students will benefit from these grants.
- Gina Jobe, Cathy Thomas, and Heidi Palmer, South View Elementary School, were awarded $221 to defray the cost of supplies relating to a unit culminating with a trip to the Indianapolis Zoo for the school's second graders. Students will explore the zoo in pairs and participate in a scavenger hunt. They will work together to document their findings through writing and photography. They will create story problems and graphs using the information gathered in the scavenger hunt and share their work with other second grade classes.
- Devon Barbosa and Stacie Ballenger, South View Elementary School, were awarded $265 to defray the cost of supplies relating to a unit culminating with a trip to the Indianapolis Zoo. Along with the other second grade classes, students will explore the zoo in pairs and participate in a scavenger hunt. They will work together to document their findings through writing and photography. Students in these classes will create animal reports with the descriptions and photographs collected and will present their reports to the other second grade classes.
- Samara Newnam, Storer Elementary School, was awarded $250 for fifth grade students to choose one important person in American History and create a permanent portrait of that person's life. Students will use library books and other outside resources to gather information and about their chosen historical figure. They will then create albums with historical pictures and text which would tell the highlights of their great American's life. Finished albums will be shared with other students in the class through an oral presentation.
- Sara Jarvis, Northside Middle School, was awarded $124 for sixth grade students to study erosion of a stream and how natural disturbances affect the area surrounding a stream. A 5-foot by 3-foot water table will be constructed by students with a water pump and tubing creating the simulated stream. Physical features will be built and development of the land will be made with sand, mulch chips, rock, and model trees. Students will add man-made features and natural improvements to see the effects that pollution, overuse, and poor land management have on our ecosystem.
- Pamela Meier-Fisher, Wes-Del High School, was awarded $335 for ninth grade English students to participate in a unit titled "Monstrology." After reading the epic poem "The Odyssey" and researching Greek, Egyptian, Roman, Japanese, or Chinese myths, students will choose a "monster" to create in the form of a three dimensional mask. Classical mythology monsters may include the sphinx, the kappa, the medusa, etc. Students will then create a second mask symbolizing the monsters in our world today such as fear, greed, arrogance, crime, or selfishness.
Bell Grants of up to $350 are awarded to teachers with innovative ideas, programs or projects designed to stimulate learning in their students. The next deadline for Bell Grant applications is April 1, 2009.
For more information about Bell Grant applications click here, or contact Suzanne Kadinger, Foundation Program Officer, at skadinger@cfmdin.org or by calling (765) 747-7181.
