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 am just one person, but I know that it will matter when I try to make the changes that I know could help this world..." These are the first lines from the Music K-8 song, "Tomorrow Needs Us," that my students sing each day. We sing this tune as a daily reminder that the small things we do can truly make a difference.
In Music, I teach students more than "how to keep a steady beat", music literacy, cultural awareness through music, and vocal technique - I teach my students how to be part of a large extended family.
While we may not always agree, we learn to speak our opinions with respect, to resolve problems calmly, and, when it's all said and done, support each other like a true family. My students have an abundance of untapped potential that they themselves have yet to discover. A day in Music is filled with laughter when we make mistakes, frustration when we first encounter difficult concepts, and a shared excitement when the entire class learns that last difficult phrase from a song and the dynamics and articulations are just right!
My Project
Language skills are an important part of our everyday life, and research shows that developing these skills is critical at an early age. In Music Class, my students build literacy skills each day. We discuss poetry, make global and cultural connections when singing songs from around the world, apply the grammar skills being learned in their core classes (sometimes even changing song lyrics to make them grammatically correct), and begin to put meanings to the words we sing in our songs. The teaching resources that would be provided through the funding of this grant will provide new 'sound' stories and poems for my students. 'Sound' poems/stories take a text, pair certain words or phrases with a musical instrument, and ask the students to play that instrument when that word is read in the story. The other instructional resources included in this grant would provide fun songs to teach grammar rules and engaging folk tales, myths, and legends designed to reinforce reading comprehension while also addressing the Common Core Music Standards.
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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 Mr. Langdon and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
