I teach 23 third grade students in South Carolina. We have a wide variety of cultures represented including African American, Russian, Cambodian, Indian, Hispanic, etc. My students also bring with them a wide variety of academic challenges. I have some students receiving speech, special education, ESOL, and gifted and talented services.
The majority of my students receive free or reduced price lunch, meaning that there may not be excess funds available for things other than basic necessities.
In the past, it has not been uncommon for one third of my students to come into Third grade reading below grade level. Regardless of the individual challenges they face, my diverse group of learners are extremely hard-working! They have an amazing enthusiasm for learning and are an inspiration to me. They get along well with others and respect diversity. They are a joy to be with in the classroom!
My Project
African dialect in script and song, djembes, dance, and more! All of these things will be a part of our school-wide musical production of Lion King, Jr. this year! My cast and crew of 68 3rd-5th graders have been working hard to learn to say, sing, and understand African dialect in order to put forth the best performance of Lion King in the spring. We will soon be learning to play African djembe drums to enhance our performance, and will be adding in dance! Our cast and crew members will be researching animals and culture of the pridelands in order to create costumes, scenery, and props to correctly showcase our setting. The only problem is that we desperately need a spotlight to bring this production to life and give each scene a real-life feel. There are several characters who sing and speak key African songs and dialogue, which would be enhanced with a spotlight.
Our school is moving to an arts integration model, so our musical theater productions are so important as they allow us to expose both the cast/crew and the school audience to theater and music.
In order to showcase our productions properly, we truly need enhanced theater equipment, beginning with a spotlight. Our productions are entirely student-driven, so my sound and lighting crew will be able to learn all about how to use the spotlight most effectively in our productions.
Your donation to our project will help bring our vision to life! The best part is...this spotlight will be able to be used in future productions as well!
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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. Wofford and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
