Mrs. Clyde's Classroom Edit display name

Current requests

Past projects 15

• Skip to My Moo and You Can Too

  Funded Oct 4, 2024

  I am so grateful for the wonderful books you provided for my classroom. People don't often equate books with music, but they are so very wrong. Books can be the gateway to musical magic! Books that promote music are even better! Recently, I read the story, "Down By the Bay" to my second graders. There is so much rhyme in that story/song and my students delighted in creating their own rhymes once they got "the hang of things". We spoke, we sang, we rhymed, it was all so fun and engaging.

  I never have to worry about class management when I have one of these beautiful books in my hands. Throw in some instruments and a few whacky verses, and my students are transported to a place where fun and learning collide in a brilliant kaleidoscope of joy and laughter. Dancing to "Skip to My Moo"? Yes, please! Hand clapping to "Miss Mary Mack"? Of course! Language arts practice, check! Social and emotional learning, also check! Character study, sequence of events, rhyme, sentence structure, syllables, the list of academic connections in my classroom is endless! I'm seeing student growth in not only music, but core academic subjects as well. A big "shout out" to everyone that contributed, and special acknowledgement to the SONIC Foundation for their generous donation. Thank you so much for contributing to the success of my students!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Clyde

  This classroom project was brought to life by SONIC Foundation and 7 other donors.

• Lyrical Language Arts!

  Funded Aug 15, 2024

  The instruments you donated to my classroom have been an absolute hit! I'm teaching younger students rhythms and integrating syllabic recognition with those bright, beautiful drums, and the kids can't get enough of them! I've found that they are wonderful for encouraging my kiddos to stay on beat and follow a conductor! There are big smiles all around in my classroom when these hand drums come out!

  I'm using the ukuleles as a solid and durable option for students with disabilities who struggle to be gentle with instruments. I am also using them as a reward for students who work particularly hard at their assigned instrument. They get to play them as an alternative to their regular one for one class period, and it cuts through discipline. We're just beginning our ukulele unit in fifth grade and there are so many wonderfully integrated social studies/music lessons to dive into. We'll be exploring our country through the eyes of it's folk music and spending time on the underground railroad. That kind of exploration is invaluable and the impact is immeasurable. If you could only have seen their faces when they saw the new instruments! It's hard to impress fifth graders, and they were impressed!

  Unfortunately, we just barely started our recorder unit and so the kids haven't been trained on the tenor and garklein recorders yet, but I have put them into a master plan designed to be employed as accompaniment for our soprano recorder melodies. They will provide an exciting backdrop for my students' performances and a unique opportunity to encourage excellence and reward both behavior and progress. I just can't thank you enough for your generous donation.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Clyde

  This classroom project was brought to life by The Gates Foundation and one other donor.

• Prized Puppets Push Pupils

  Funded May 11, 2024

  Wow! My kids nearly lost it when they saw the fun puppets they get to interact with this year! Students in more than a dozen classes at my school have had the opportunity to enjoy them and it's been a game changer! I've already used those puppets to help keep students engaged, teach them beat, musical form, help kindergartners learn to sing, and create music videos with fifth grade to help our third graders learn their math facts, and, honestly, that's only the beginning of what we can do with them! Your gift has meant so much to me and I'm beyond grateful for your generous support of my program. Music is like the icing on the cake for students, and you've just made my job and classroom environment that much more impactful.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Clyde

• Magic Mallets!

  Funded Oct 21, 2023

  I am truly grateful for the soprano xylophone you so graciously donated to my classroom! Second grade recently learned and performed "The Three Billy Goats Gruff" with puppets, floor drums, xylophones, and voice. It was a tremendous success, but that's not the only project I needed this instrument for. My third graders are using the xylophone to practice reading music, the fourth grade has used it to accompany songs for a native American unit they participated in, and 6th grade will be using it for cultural lessons on the Philippines and their national dance, "tinikling".

  My students get so excited every single time they have the opportunity to play the xylophone. More than one student enters the classroom asking if they will be able to play it that day. It's popularity has made it a wonderful tool for classroom management.

  Not only that, but this instrument has really gotten my creative "juices" flowing. I keep composing new "Orff" arrangements for regular use in my classroom, so there isn't a grade I teach which hasn't benefited from having the xylophone.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Clyde

• Vibrant Tones From Xylophones!

  Funded Oct 11, 2022

  Thank you so much for the xylophones! I got two and was so excited to add them to my permanent instrument library. I am two xylophones closer to having my own set and not needing to borrow extras from the district. What a gift!

  These xylophones have been such a blessing. We've been able to use them to accompany vocal, boomwhacker, and recorder pieces, and my kids get so excited when I tell them they'll be able to use the xylophones in class. Students are reading standard music notation and learning to stay on their own parts while performing multi part compositions.

  The xylophones are an amazing tool to help kids learn music theory and make such a wonderful contribution to performances as a whole. Recently, my fourth grade recorder students were able to add the xylophones to their own version of "Hot Cross Buns" and the excitement was palpable. We played that song at least 10 times just so everyone had a turn to rotate out to the xylophones. Thank you again for your generous donation. I can't express my appreciation enough.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Clyde

• Welcome Home Xylophone!

  Funded Jan 23, 2022

  When my kiddos saw the xylophones you so generously provided for my program, there was a buzz of excitement in every class. Even sixth grade wanted a piece of the action. Deciding who would get to play them first proved to be the challenge. We have used the xylophones daily ever since receiving them. My students use them to accompany songs and their musical movement performances, but they are also using them as they learn to read standard notation and harmonize with melodies.

  Recently, third grade used the xylophones to practice and perform a multi part arrangement of "Au Clair de La Luna" for voice and xylophone. There were actually two xylophone parts and the kids had fun learning both parts and then putting them together. It's been wonderful watching them grow musically through the process of application, practice, and performance.

  While I have used the xylophones in most grades, I was reticent to allow my first graders the opportunity because they are a little harder on instruments, that being said, I am creating lessons to teach them how to appropriately play the xylophone next year and will incorporate what they've learned in their grade level program. I can't thank you enough for your generosity. The xylophones are a gift that have opened up doors I didn't even know existed before.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Clyde

  This classroom project was brought to life by Utah State Board of Education.

• Master Musicians Need Rhythm!

  Funded Sep 16, 2020

  This project was amazing! I was able to help my students grow so much rhythmically! What a gift! In particular, the kids could not wait to get their hands on the drum sticks we made and start accompanying songs on buckets! We even attached glow sticks to the handmade drum sticks and put lights under the buckets for a rendition of Trans-Siberian Orchestra's "Carol of the Bells".

  I also used the scarves and rhythm instruments to "beef up" a listening and movement exercise to Vivaldi's "Spring" from "Four Seasons" for second grade. The performance was replete with storm clouds (scarves) rivers, sunshine (scarves tied to a hoop), birds (scarf wings), and flowers! What a joyous performance!

  I can't thank you enough for your donation. Rhythm is essential to a student's academic growth and helps with literacy and reading more than most people are aware. I plan on continuing the traditions I've established already and creating new ones as well!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Clyde

  This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose 20th Anniversary Fund and one other donor.

• Going "Bonkers" for Bells!

  Funded Aug 12, 2021

  My students and I can't thank you enough for your generous donation of handbells to my music classroom! I wish you could have seen my students' eyes light up the moment I opened my cupboard doors and revealed what has come to be a magical instrument with so much application and potential!

  I used the bells for a very special parent performance at Christmas time this year involving fourth through sixth grades. They were highlighted as both an accompaniment and solo part in our program and the layers of musical depth they provided left all in the audience moved. Teachers described the sound as having brought them to tears. Likewise, my students found great joy and developed a tremendous sense of accomplishment as a result of practicing and performing with them.

  Currently, I am using the bells to help kindergarten and first grade students improve their ability to read iconic notation in preparation for regular musical notation. The bells are particularly helpful for little minds and have increased student recognition of letter names and their musical associations significantly. I can't wait for parents to hear the bells in our upcoming Spring concerts for those grades. Again, thank you so much for

  your very generous donation. Words of adequate gratitude fail me.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Clyde

  This classroom project was brought to life by Bill Gates and one other donor.

• Tubanos, Our Vessel to Discovery!

  Funded Dec 4, 2019

  I am unable to adequately express my gratitude for your generous donation of tubanos to my classroom. My students gravitate toward these instruments like flies to butter. There were audible gasps of delight when I first unveiled them and allowed my students the privilege of creating music with them.

  We have had many opportunities to put these drums into action. I have included a few to show you the amazing and beautiful experiences they have provided students in my classroom. We celebrated African rhythms and diversity with fun "round robin" games where students focused on "talking" with their drums and learning how to associate difficult rhythms with simple phrases. Fourth grade also performed interpretations of traditional Navajo legends to drum accompaniments they created. Younger students learned loud-soft (forte, piano), fast-slow(allegro, andante), and how to maintain a beat in music as well as the difference between beat and rhythm. It has been amazing to see how versatile these instruments are as I have additionally used them to accompany various movement exercises and provided punctuation to a number of class compositions and performances for both upper and lower grades. The aforementioned activities are only the tip of the iceberg so to speak. These tubanos have and will continue to provide a multitude of musical experiences for my students.

  I had planned to create a 6th grade drum corps with tubanos and buckets for the last portion of this year. Unfortunately, covid-19 upended those plans, however, I am excited for the opportunity I will have to implement that experience in the coming year. I have already set the stage in my class with preliminary activities. Additionally, I have read through an excellent training book and obtained some wonderful music to learn and perform. I couldn't be more excited to strengthen my students' ability to play different parts simultaneously!

  Again, I am so grateful for your generosity! These tubanos will provide many, many years of opportunity and growth for my students!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Clyde

  This classroom project was brought to life by An anonymous classroom supporter and one other donor.