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
I teach at a Head Start through 5th grade elementary school. Many of my students have never had the opportunity to play an instrument, much less to learn how to write or compose music. I was able to have several projects funded throughout the years that allowed me to extend my program in terms of strings, percussion, and recorders. Since 2012, I have managed my music program using materials from DonorsChoose.org projects; but now, help is once again needed as music technology is going to be part of our school's new STEAM program.
My school has a high number of students who were affected after Hurricane Irma devastated our community and now we are welcoming students from Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, who were displaced by Hurricane Maria.
Even though the memories of the devastation is still ever present, my students have found comfort and stability through music and the performing arts. They also bring joy wherever and whenever they perform in the community and for the school population. Now it is time for them to learn how to use technology to read, create, and compose/write stories through music.
My Project
My students have been utilizing with marked end results and improvement, the online learning and practice resource called IXL (I Excel) for the past six or more years.
During this time, I have been paying and renewing out of pocket and at no cost to my students.
My fourth-grade students specifically, benefit the most from IXL's language arts and writing components as they are assessed in writing at this grade level. IXL teaches them how to create strong sentences/sentence construction, avoid passive voice, punctuation, and corrects grammar. The rules of Standard English are strongly emphasized and taught, which makes this online program an invaluable resource for students who are ESOL or struggling with English.
Besides assisting my students academically in Language Arts, there is the storytelling component in music that I teach through songwriting. My 4th graders were recently entered in the Little Kids Rock songwriting contest and this IXL program will assist them in creating compositions that are well written. The current subscription of IXL expires on March 12th and your donation will renew IXL for one more year.
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 Mrs. Aming and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
