Living in a homogeneous suburban area of a Midwestern city does not allow for many multicultural opportunities for my students. My students need to experience dance from other nations but we have few multicultural dance resources.
My students live in a suburban area of a mid-sized city in the Midwest.
There are approximately 400 students in grades K-5, with 43% qualifying for free/reduced lunches and 15% minority. My students come to music for two thirty minute classes per week. They love learning new things in music class. All of my students love to move and they are intrigued by music and dance from around the world.
My Project
Tinikling is the national dance of the Philipines. I am requesting nineteen sets of bamboo tinikling poles and a tinikling resource CD to teach them how to do the dance. My students will learn about the history of tinikling, how to move the tinikling poles properly on the beat of the music, how to do a number of tinikling steps and jumps, how to move with the poles, and finally a fully choreographed Filipino tinikling dance. We would have enough poles that an entire grade level could do the dance at the same time for a combined physical education/music class or for a public performance. The students will learn about an important part of Filipino culture, dancing.
My project is extremely important in several ways.
First, our world is small. When my students become adults, they will connect with people from around the world through technology. It is vital that they understand others' cultures. Tinikling will reinforce musical concepts already taught, such as beat and rhythm. Finally, learning to dance will teach my students self-discipline, develop self-esteem, and help them practice social skills such as taking turns and being respectful of others.
More than half of 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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