My students need to have the opportunity to see high quality, authentic, live, musical theater from great seats with a multi-ethnic cast of New York City school children.
FULLY FUNDED! Mr. Levin's classroom raised $774
This project is fully funded
Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month
This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
My Students
With over sixty percent of our students coming from households where Spanish is spoken, educating English Language Learners is one of our chief mandates. True meaningful enrichment must come from different learning modalities, such as music and live theater, which most of our kids have never seen.
As library teacher, eight of my twenty-one weekly class periods are spent with our four bilingual classes.
These students face not only the challenges of a learning a second language, with limited support from home, where English is often not spoken but, for many, they also are acclimating to life in a new city and country. Having taken numerous classes to TADA! over the years, I have seen the wide-eyed looks of wonder from kids who have never seen a live performance, something many of us take for granted. Beyond the fact that it is fun, which arguably should be reason enough, live theater provides an incredible array of learning opportunities. Music with lyrics has proven effective with ELLs and all the skills of reading comprehension are used to evaluate the narrative. With the pressures of normal state testing, along with English language proficiency tests, I know this field trip will be not only educationally rewarding but one of the most memorable days of the school year.
My Project
For many years I have taken my classes (4th, 5th, 2nd, and 3rd grade) to see live theater at TADA! Youth Theater in Manhattan. For the majority it is typically their first time seeing a live theatrical performance. There are a number of things that will make TADA! an ideal experience for our ELLs:
1. The shows are always original musicals, which really hold the kids' interest.
2. The shows have a narrative story that can be discussed and analyzed as literature.
3. The shows are an hour-long, the perfect length for an elementary school audience.
4. Although the shows are professionally produced (adult writers, composers, directors, musicians and set, lighting and costume designers) they are performed entirely by area school children.
5. The casts are multi-ethnic (and multi-talented.) Our students can envision themselves on stage.
6. The seats are great and the production values are first rate. See www.tadatheater.com.
We will spend weeks before and after the show on related lessons.
Due to my long-standing relationship with TADA, our students will be able to see parts of the script and lyrics ahead of time and also to hear some of the recorded music.
Our goal as teachers is to enhance learning in a fun, meaningful way. While the academic component is, of course, important and essential, I want to emphasize the actual magic of the experience. Often I find myself watching the kids' amazed reactions more than the show itself and I've had many kids call it "the best day ever."
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
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