The cost of this proposal is $1103 including shipping and <a target="new" href="http://www.donorschoose.org/html/fulfillment.htm" onclick="g_openWindow('http://www.donorschoose.org/html/fulfillment.htm', 300, 800, 'fulfillwindow');return false;">fulfillment</a>.
I am a 5th grade teacher in a self-contained classroom, which means that I teach all subjects. I believe music is an important subject, and thus I have taught it to increase students' language skills as well as making it a cultural experience in my class. I am so proud of my students, who are learning and have learned the songs of Rodgers and Hammerstein, because in spite of their limited English abilities, they have worked hard in tackling this challenge. Most of my students live in the Tenderloin community and their experiences are limited. That's why our concert performance on May 13, 2005 is important--because it will give them performing experience in singing and oral language, as well as raise self esteem.
In order to elevate the oral English of my 5th grade English language learners, we have learned, studied, and sung songs from the Rodgers and Hammerstein repertoire. This has been a great challenge for both teacher and students. For the students, it has been learning unfamiliar tunes and difficult lyrics and committing them to memory. For the teacher, a main goal is to teach language to equip them to succeed in school and beyond. By learning the songs, students strengthen their language skills and become familiar with and appreciative of the music of Rodgers and Hammerstein. Often, I play a cassette tape on my dated cassette recorder where students sing to the music after learning to read and recite the words. Normally, it takes about a week to learn a song. They are given written assignments to complement oral learning.
I stress meaning as a way to strengthen comprehension. Several weeks ago, the class reached a milestone. They learned the last of the 23 songs in our song collection! Some of the songs will be staged, thus giving students an opportunity to dance and act, as well. There is a culminating concert performance scheduled on May 13, 2005 for parents and students.
We are making our own props to the extent possible. Therefore we are requesting toner with which to print signs and props, a cassette recorder to play music, and real stage lighting to all help our May 13th performance be truly AMAZING!
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