I love that our school is a growing, diverse school of about 425 students in Corvallis, Oregon. It is a Title I school and has a wide range of students from many different backgrounds: socioeconomically, racially, and culturally.
Our school strives to provide a supportive, engaging environment where students can reach their maximum potential.
It celebrates abilities and believes in the possibilities of students. My classroom is a place that celebrates this diversity and explores our world through music, dance, and play!
My Project
For this project, we're asking for help in diversifying the kinds of instruments we use. Having instruments representative of global cultures lets us explore both the sounds but also the cultures they come from and how music is experienced by people different than us. Students are fascinated by talking drums in multiple ways! Most of them haven't experienced the opportunity to see such a unique drum and then we get to dig even deeper into the science of how such an incredible instrument works.
How amazing is that?
Music, social studies, and science all from a single drum! The shekere and seed pod rattles will create richer textures in our Zimbabwean style marimba pieces. Not to mention their handheld size helps encourage students to move to the music and dance! Younger students will be thrilled to practice high/low melodies on the both the log drums. Caxixi are a dynamic addition to anything from traditional folk songs to global songs to even pop music!
Our campus is very fortunate to have so many students from other countries and these instruments help expand our world and can help our multicultural students feel more welcome. These instruments will not only introduce us to a global community but will help fill out ensemble music, be used in rhythm activities, games, and assist in how we express ourselves. Students from Kindergarten through 5th grade can enjoy these instruments all year long! Thank you for helping show these tremendous young artists how engaging and exciting music is!
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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. McKinnon and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
