Each time I play a piece of classical music for my students the first question they always ask is. "Is he dead?". Each time I show a portrait of a well known composer such as Beethoven, they say, "Look, it's George Washington!" My students need biographies in order to gain historical context.
My students love to listen to all types of music.
They tell me about songs they hear on the radio and in return, I share music from all over the world with them. They especially enjoy music from Asia and their most recent famous composer is Handel.
My students have very few resources at their disposal. We have a low socio-economic rate of approximately 96%. Approximately 80% of my students qualify as LEP or "Limited English Proficient". At this time, our school library does not contain any biographies about composers.
My Project
Every Friday, we have what I call "Composer Friday". All students regardless of their grade level explore a work of music and study the life of the composer. Sometimes we compare multiple works and sometimes we dig deeply into one specific work. When we have access to the biographies of composers at our finger tips, the students are able to research the background for a specific piece of music or read about something that interests them specifically. Also, as a music teacher I feel that it is very important that I provide opportunities to apply their non-fiction reading skills to a subject in which they are interested. Biographies offer both candid insight into the lives of interesting people but also a unique historical perspective about the music we study.
What if the first non-fiction book a 2nd grader is interested in reading is about Beethoven because he thinks it's funny that Beethoven put his piano on the floor?
I've seen moments like that happen over and over in my classroom. Each time a little interest sparks I want to add kindling to the fire so that my students will keep learning. It is a wonderful feeling when I can hand them a book and say, "Why don't you find out more."
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
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 Ms. McSpadden and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
