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
When some people look at my students, they see children raised in urban poverty. They see 10 year olds who look after their younger siblings, 8 year olds who play basketball in the street, and 5 year olds that cannot get help with their homework because their parents work late. I teach music at a Title 1 school in urban Savannah, GA.
When I look at my students, I see children who are creative!
They need an outlet for creativity. I see children who love to sing, dance, play instruments, and create music. Most of them cannot afford after school piano lessons, and one hour a week in my classroom is all the musical training they get. It may be the only creative outlet they get. My job is to help them get the most out of that one hour, and to use music to help mold creative, responsible, music-loving people.
My Project
My students are creative. They love to do art and music, but we do not have any art supplies. My students need crayons, clipboards, glue, and paper to help them visualize music.
My students need to be able to see music!
Music is abstract, and if they can make diagrams and pictures, it will help them to understand music. My students will use pencils, crayons, and paper to draw pictures about music while they are listening. They will use them to write rhythms and create their own songs. They need clipboards, because I do not have desks in my room. My students will bend pipe cleaners to create shapes, then they will move their voices up and down to match it. They will use pipe cleaners to make music notes and create songs. They will use all of the supplies to create their own musical instruments, to help them better understand sound.
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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 Mrs. Davis and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.