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
Music is a part of every child's life. My fifth graders will work hard on a project if they know that music is involved. Students who have trouble focusing and sitting still in class will stop and pay attention when they start to hear the beat of a song.
In my room, we us music and songs that reinforce our teaching and learning.
I have a large class of fifth graders, many of whom struggle to have the basic necessities of life met. Several of my students are, or have been, homeless in the past year. We are a high poverty school, with 100% of students receiving a free lunch and breakfast each day. There has been a struggle to employ certified teachers in our district, leaving us without a music teacher. This is so disappointing for a group of students who enjoy playing music or singing on a regular basis.
My Project
My students desire a project that will allow them to incorporate music. They are creative and love to add music to daily activities. This project will allow my students to explore figurative language and poetry by analyzing songs. They will choose a school appropriate song, analyzing the lyrics, and present their findings to the rest of the class. Even my most reluctant readers will be engaged with the learning, since they will be picking the song to decode. They will be able to determine types of figurative language in the song and what the lyrics mean. They will be able to find the theme and the point of view of the lyrics. Students will then create a PowerPoint presentation that highlights their findings and informs their classmates. Through this project, I am empowering students through art. They will be having fun, yet learning how to analyze text. By having my students teach each other, they will retain and understand the concepts more.
With the flash drives, students will be able to store their research information and PowerPoint presentations.
There are only three computers in the classroom, so taking turns and storing information is important, especially since most of my students do not have computer technology at home. The bongos will allow my students to beat along with the raps and songs that they present. This will engage my active students who like to beat on any surface they can find.
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. Cain and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
