My students need a variety of children's music story books and kid-friendly classic literature scripts to learn about the art of story-telling in music and theater.
Our students put the "perform" in performing arts! As the Performing Arts teacher of over 600 K-5 students, I get to experience their enthusiasm for learning both Music and Theater all year long. I regularly hear excited students say things like, "Remember when we did that last time?" "That was so much fun!" "Can we do it again?"
There's something about music and stories that captures their attention, engages their hearts, and stimulates their minds for more.
Whether the children are playing music and theater games, or performing songs and stories, the room is vibrant with activity. We also create family memories and a sense of community as each grade performs its own show. They range from "Kindergarten's Famous Holiday Songs Sing-Along" in December, to Fifth Grade's STOMP-like "Pounding the Percussion" in April.
So not only do our students put the "perform" in performing arts, but they put the "imagine" in imagination! I am excited about the possibilities within them yet to be created!
My Project
When students can immerse themselves in good books, their imaginations are free to learn, create, and solve problems. Each requested musical book has a CD of the song and a matching video animation on the publisher's website. The books and videos work well for our Kindergartners and First Graders. We use them for class sing-alongs and story time as the children play different characters.
We sometimes learn best from stories because they stay with us.
We can relate to some characters' traits, and learn about virtue and vice. Kid-friendly classic literature remains a vital part of our theater curriculum. No matter what their age, twenty-first century students need connection to the past through stories such as Shakespeare's "A Midsummer's Night Dream" and Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist". Classic literature holds within it timeless lessons still applicable today. As a bonus, with each small reading success every child builds confidence and slays the dragon of fear of public speaking!
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