I am the only music teacher in my rural school. I get to teach every single child in my school, all 470 of them! My students are special needs, gifted, and everything in between. They are creative, bright, and incredibly funny; they constantly make me laugh. I teach PreK-5th grade general music, Show Choir, and 5th grade band. There is a large variety of music making in my room on any given day!
My students need to learn and explore the world around them by moving, dancing, playing, and creating.
In my classroom, we prioritize making music by being tuneful, beatful, and artful through singing and playing with joy!
Providing the supplies my students need to succeed is so important as our students are from a low socioeconomic area, and our school budgets are very limited. Our school is a Title I school where every child receives free breakfast and lunch daily, and many of our students come to school without basic supplies. In our Orff inspired classroom, we focus on making music, moving expressively or with the beat, and out-of-the-box creative thinking to ready my students for higher education and for life!
My Project
In my classroom, children's literature and instruments go hand in hand! As an Orff educator, I am trained to use children's literature as a springboard for musical topics.
We will often incorporate a book with singing, dancing, and instruments.
In this project, I'm asking for two seemingly unrelated things, but they will be used together! We need 3 Orff stands to move our instruments quickly in to position. Then, we will use the picture books as a basis for the music we will make.
I've been using literature for many years, but a recent dig through my books made me realize that my literature does not well represent the diverse student body I teach. I have many students from Spanish speaking homes and many African-American students, and I want my bookshelf to represent the range of children I teach every day. We will use these beautiful books to create beautiful music that reflects the children I see and teach every day.
Tito Puente, Mambo King/Tito Puente, Rey del Mambo: Bilingual Spanish-English Children's Book (Pura Belpre Honor Books - Illustration Honor)
• Amazon Business
$17.99
1
$17.99
Never Play Music Right Next to the Zoo
• Amazon Business
$15.99
1
$15.99
What a Wonderful World (Jean Karl Books)
• Amazon Business
$15.60
1
$15.60
Your Name Is a Song
• Amazon Business
$15.29
1
$15.29
Danza!: Amalia Hernández and El Ballet Folklórico de México
• Amazon Business
$14.59
1
$14.59
All Are Welcome
• Amazon Business
$13.94
1
$13.94
I Got the Rhythm
• Amazon Business
$13.85
1
$13.85
Drum Dream Girl: How One Girl's Courage Changed Music
• Amazon Business
$13.49
1
$13.49
When the Beat Was Born: DJ Kool Herc and the Creation of Hip Hop (Coretta Scott King - John Steptoe Award for New Talent)
• Amazon Business
$12.99
1
$12.99
Materials cost
$490.73
Vendor shipping charges
$21.42
Sales tax
$33.86
3rd party payment processing fee
$7.36
Fulfillment labor & materials
$30.00
Total project cost
$583.37
Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms
$102.95
Total project goal
$686.32
How we calculate what's needed
Total project goal
$686.32
5 Donors
-$674.12
Donations toward project cost
-$583.37
Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms
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. Blizzard and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.