For many of my students, my classroom will be the first time they’ve encountered a new language or culture. Even in an increasingly globalized world, pockets of Eastern Kentucky remain isolated. I have the awesome responsibility of guiding my students on an exploration of the Spanish-speaking world.
My students inspire me.
Despite living in difficult situations and lacking basic needs, they are resilient and show up each day eager to learn. Their unbound potential motivates me to seek out the best resources for them to continue learning the skills they need to be successful. They are curious about the world and together we grow our abilities to understand and interact in Spanish.
My Project
One of the ways we explore the Spanish-speaking world is through music. This allows my students to not only grow their language proficiency, but also allows them to learn a lot about culture. Together, we learn more about the artists, the genre of music, and the instruments they hear in the songs. Many students share that the music we listen to is their favorite part of class.
I want to take my students' love of Spanish music even deeper and teach them how to play traditional hand-percussion instruments used in salsa music.
Our school currently only offers music and band classes half day, so many of our students do not get the opportunity to learn or play music. Numerous research studies tout the benefits of learning music--improved academic and social skills, development of discipline and patience, and exposure to new cultures, just to name a few. I hope to provide more access to the benefits that playing music provides that through a cross-curricular study of the influence of Celia Cruz and salsa music. During this unit, my students will immerse themselves in both language and culture! In addition to learning about the life of Celia Cruz, and listening to her music, they will also learn to play simple salsa rhythms on traditional hand percussion instruments such as the güiro, claves, conga drums, maracas, and the campana. It is my hope that by integrating visual and performing arts within my classroom, that students will not only improve their language proficiency and deepen their cultural appreciation, but that they will also receive some of the benefits of playing music, such as improved academic and social skills, discipline, patience, and self confidence.
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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. Palazzo and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
