You're on track to get doubled donations (and unlock a reward for the colleague who referred you). Keep up the great work!
Take credit for your charitable giving! Check out your tax receipts
To use your $50 gift card credits, find a project to fund and we'll automatically apply your credits at checkout. Find a classroom project
Skip to main content

Help teachers & students in your hometown this season!
Use code HOME at checkout and your donation will be matched up to $100.

Your school email address was successfully verified.

Ms. Nelson from Chicago IL is requesting other through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

Inspire Creativity with Orff Instruments

My students need assorted xylophones, metallophones, and mallets.

  • $1,330 goal

This project expired on June 21, 2013.

This project expired on June 21, 2013.

Celebrate Black Teachers and Students

This project is part of the Black History Month celebration because it supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of the students are Black.

My Students

Nearly every day of my life, I hear the same question. Students are always asking me "Can I play your xylophone?" And by xylophone, they mean the one, singular, lonely Orff instrument in my classroom with mismatched bars and missing pegs. Clearly, we need some more instruments to go around!

My school was created as a model school for the inclusion of students with special needs.

It is also an urban school, serving a population of students who have minimal access to fine arts programs. It is a mid-sized school with about 400 students. Each student, regardless of disability, comes to fine arts class once every three days.

My Project

Children have an innate desire to create music. They want the chance to improvise, to compose, to create accompaniments, and to be more like "real musicians". I could stand in front of my classroom all day and explain all the mechanics of music theory, but what my students crave is the ability to figure it out for themselves. Learning the difference between steps and skips, learning how two or more pitches sound together, and learning how to create a melody or accompaniment are some things that can only be learned from experience. I am requesting assorted xylophones, metallophones, and mallets. Orff Schulwerk is an approach to Music Education that makes the experience of performing, composing, and improvising music accessible to children of all ages and ability levels. Though Orff instruments are of high quality, they are designed with children in mind. They have large, removable bars that are easy to arrange and adapt to meet the needs of the music and the child.

Entrusting students with "real" instruments is a privilege not to be taken lightly, and I believe it can instill them with a real sense of self-worth.

In addition to regular use in the classroom, these instruments would also be used for performances, giving individual students their chance to demonstrate their abilities. I don't think that poverty, academic struggles, broken families, or any of the other problems my students face should prevent them from having successful musical experiences.

Ms. Nelson
Grades 3-5

Boost your odds

Add a profile photo in addition to your classroom photo. If you add a photo, it'll show up right here on your project page.

You are more likely to receive funding if you put a face to your name.

Upload a photo

Top rated for efficiency and transparency.

You donate directly to the teacher or project you care about and see where every dollar you give goes.

Expand the "Where your donation goes" section below to see exactly what Ms. Nelson is requesting.

See our finances

TEACHERS, FEELING INSPIRED?

You can start a project with the same resources being requested here!

Where Your Donation Goes

Materials Cost Quantity Total
6-piece Orff Instrument Set • Woodwind & Brasswind $999.99 1 $999.99
Orff Mallets • Woodwind & Brasswind $13.99 2 $27.98
Orff Mallets • Woodwind & Brasswind $13.99 2 $27.98
Orff Mallets • Woodwind & Brasswind $13.99 2 $27.98

Materials cost

$1,083.93

Vendor shipping charges

FREE

Sales tax

$0.00

3rd party payment processing fee

$16.26

Fulfillment labor & materials

$30.00

Total project cost

$1,130.19

Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

$199.45

Total project goal

$1,329.64

Our team works hard to negotiate the best pricing and selections available.

View complete list Show less

Support your local school!

Donate directly to any school in the US. Your donation will go towards directly purchasing urgent supplies.

Find a local school

Project Activity

{"pmaHash":"","schoolCity":"Chicago","showProjectRecommendations":true,"teachersOnPage":[1521287],"isTeacherViewingTheirOwnProject":false,"hideTeacherDetails":false,"schoolState":"IL","teacherPossessivePronoun":"her","PMsManager":null,"schoolGradeType":{"id":2,"name":"Elementary School"},"TeacherPMForms":{},"proposalId":970554,"proposalMessageFormModel":null,"numActiveProjects":0,"completingDonationAmount":1330,"teacherHasClassroomPhoto":true,"proposalURL":"https://www.donorschoose.org/project/inspire-creativity-with-orff-instruments/970554/","verifyShowPhotos":"","eligibleToBeCopied":false,"mayHaveReplacements":false,"numStudents":375,"teacherScreenName":"Ms. Nelson","isEquityFocus":true,"authorIds":{"1521287":{"owner":"Ms. Nelson","donationSalutations":{}}},"displayedPercentFunded":0.0,"proposalsOnPage":[970554],"proposalHash":"588126310","isApplePayMobileOnly":true,"progressBarPercentage":0.00,"pmaId":"","teacherProfilePhotoURL":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/136/teacher-placeholder-4_136.png","teacherHasProfilePhoto":false,"currentWorkflowStatusCode":23,"teacherChallengeId":271699,"photosPublished":false,"queryString":"","DonorPMForm":null,"isApplePayEnabled":true,"fundedByTarget":false,"activeProject":null,"donorIdsForImpactPhotoCheck":[],"teacherId":1521287,"schoolCounty":"Cook","fullyFunded":false,"isStudentLed":false,"isExpired":true,"schoolStateObj":{"code":"IL","name":"Illinois"}}