We are diverse title one school where more than three-quarters of students come from low-incomes households. I have five hundred students that range from kindergarten to fourth grade. Students in my school love coming to music class! We learn about music through singing, dancing, saying and playing. But most importantly, we learn by experiencing music with a hands-on approach.
Students use instruments on a weekly basis to experience music in order to grow in areas of rhythm, melody, harmony, improvisation, and expression.
Using the Orff approach, students are given the opportunity to learn many facets of music through instruments. Outlined in the curriculum are ideas that focus on rhythm foundations, melody explorations, improvisation, harmonic support, and music-literature connections.
My Project
In the music classroom, playing drums can allow students to experience music and can appeal to all learners: aural, kinesthetic, and visual. The more time a student has on an instrument, the more time he/she has to experience learning the music with a hands-on approach.
Playing drums has been known to provide therapeutic effects such as reducing anxiety and stress.
This could be very helpful when returning to the classroom after the recent school shutdowns.
Our school currently only has four tubano drums. Our first "Just Beat It" project funded three more drums. This brings us to seven drums. Adding three more drums will bring our total number to ten. This will allow students more time to experience playing. The more hands-on experience they receive, the more time students have to achieve mastery of rhythms, ostinatos, beat, improvisation, expression while providing a positive emotional outlet.
Although we are currently out of school due to COVID-19. I would love for students to come back to new instruments that not only put a smile on their face but provide an outlet for them to reduce stress.
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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. Seagraves and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
