I teach approximately four hundred K-4th graders in a low income/high poverty school district in Wisconsin.
The energy that these kiddos possess is my true motivation!
Their is no challenge that they won't attempt, and they crave all things musical. I want to provide every opportunity for them to explore music in their lives - experiencing music in the every day or leading the way towards music specialties that have been piqued through sound experimentation in our music classroom.
After one year of teaching these incredible students, huge strides have been made in their musical abilities. However, our classroom still houses some materials that are either well past their prime or lacking in musical effectiveness. I continue to sort through, dispose of damaged or ineffective materials, and freshen up my curriculum, using motivation as the key ingredient leading to their future success.
My Project
Currently, our students spend most of their time on a large rug in the middle of our music room floor. Each lesson begins there, and, especially for the younger students, that round rug is the focal point of the room. When we listen to music excerpts from our "Composer of the Week" or watch video clips of our "Around the World" musicians, we spend our time reclining on that rug.
I would like to provide medium sized pillows for students to use for added comfort and to promote active listening during these whole group activities.
I have intentionally chosen pillows that are constructed for classroom use - for durability, as well as proper sanitation. Ease of distribution and cleanup is also a necessity, as our room gets moved around frequently, depending on which instruments we are using that day.
I believe that this "special touch" in our music room space will provide a welcoming option to our more traditional "around the tables" or "on the rug" seating -both building relationships and promoting healthy conversation about a large array of musical topics.
More than half of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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