The question I get asked the most is, "Ms. Tierney, will I get a turn to play the instruments today?". Imagine a class of 33 little ones who all want the opportunity to play...while knowing that half won't get the opportunity that day. These instruments will allow more hands on experiences in music.
Our students love the arts and being able to express themselves creatively.
Each class (Kindergarten through 8th Grade) has both music and art twice a week with limited materials and suffer at the expense of a financial crisis they didn't create. While we do our best with what we have, I would love to offer the best experience I can to these students while they are in music class.
Our school is a small, high achieving neighborhood school in the heart of a large urban city. The small size of our school contributes to our unique family atmosphere that values fundamental regard for all children. Our learning community serves an economically and culturally diverse population of students living both in the surrounding neighborhood and communities from around the city, all of whom receive free breakfast and lunch each day.
My Project
"In Orff Schulwerk classrooms, children begin with what they do instinctively: play! Imitation, experimentation, and personal expression occur naturally as students become confident, life-long musicians and creative problem solvers."-AOSA
What is incredible about this approach is the ability to blend literacy and reading directly into the music classroom. Books, nursery rhymes and text galore can be incorporated to inspire creativity and spark the imagination. In this approach, children use their knowledge of language, it's rhythm and flow and directly translates into how we play instruments, sing songs and create.
Our students, coming from a very urban area, often struggle greatly with literacy skills. By giving them exposure to language in a new area, applying it to music (which is fun for everyone), we not only get to expand on ideas and concepts from the classroom, but use those skills as a means for creating in music.
The Orff philosophy is a music education for the whole person, incorporating and encouraging student experimentation and creation, as well as their heritage through folk song and dance.
By incorporating this multi-faceted approach into the child's education, we are allowing them another area for success in not only music, but literacy.
Nearly all 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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