My students need 25 ukuleles for musical instrument instruction.
$980 goal
This project expired on April 3, 2015.
This project expired on April 3, 2015.
Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month
This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
My classroom is very noisy and very active. What my students lack in discipline, they make up for with enthusiasm, especially for things they like. I have noticed that for some students with behavior problems, music time is the only time there are no behavioral issues.
My students are nearly all English learners in a working-class, predominantly immigrant neighborhood, fourth graders.
They are enthusiastic about music, which incidentally is the only thing that seems to calm some of them down. They have also bought soprano recorders for use in the school holiday program. My 4th grade level colleagues requested that I teach ukulele music this year during mixing, due to the wonderful response my class received last year playing "Hallelujah" on recorders, keyboard and uke for the holiday program. Therefore, these ukuleles will benefit not only my own students, but the entire grade level! And they will stay in the classroom and benefit future students in years to come. In the future, everyone who passes through 4th grade at our school will know how to play the uke. The entire community!!!
My Project
My students will each have the use of an individual ukulele for mixing, one hour every afternoon. They will learn basic music theory, note and chord structure, and basic playing techniques, fingering chords and plucking notes. Five mixing groups of 20+ students will rotate through my class next spring. By year's end, every fourth grader in the school will know how to play the uke! They will know several songs and will play orchestrally and as soloists. They will know enough to even write their own songs! Perhaps we can even do a special show for parents at the end of the year.
Music instruction is often the only time some of my students knuckle down and concentrate with enthusiasm.
Creating music, a thing of beauty, is a thrill for every first-time music learner. When they play for someone else, they will feel pride in their skills. They are creating beauty, and it will last them their whole lives.
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