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.
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My students, approximately 400 of them in 18 different classes and two different school sites, see their music teacher (me!) one time a week for 50 minutes. Our goal is learning the wonderful capabilities our body has to express unique, thoughts and feelings we individually experience in the communal experience and creation of music. We see it as empowering our voices.
This project, "Songs Are Stories That Float in the Air; Lyrics Are Words With Musical Flair" will highlight the melodic rhythm of literature and poetry. The selection of books and materials for this project will empower student voices through the exploration of storytelling (verse and lyric writing/original composition); the study of melodic rhythm (syllabification and accentuation of words and the proper "flow" or phrasing of sentences including proper syntax); symbolic systems (alphabets in spoken languages and musical notation systems in music) to communicate singular thoughts, then"sentences" and entire "stories"; and mnemonic vocalization that aid multi-language learners to recognize the patterns (rhythms) of words and phrases and properly pronounce them. Of course, I will say none of this to my students-- they will happily be reading and creating stories and poetry, banging and clanging on instruments (hence, the earplugs) and learning about words and music all around them!
Chicka Chicka Boom/K-1
Your Name is a Song/3-5th
Giraffes Can't Dance/1-2nd
Pout Pout Fish/K-2nd
When Step Met Skip/3-5th
Rhythm Rescue/3-5th
Wild Symphony/2-4th
Change Sings/K-3
Simon B Rhymin/4-5th
Everywhere Blue/5th
These materials are for use in group work in the classroom. In the case of virtual learning, the project can continue online. Composition books are for upper grades; handouts (paper) for lower grades and will go home with them at end of the year.
About my class
My students, approximately 400 of them in 18 different classes and two different school sites, see their music teacher (me!) one time a week for 50 minutes. Our goal is learning the wonderful capabilities our body has to express unique, thoughts and feelings we individually experience in the communal experience and creation of music. We see it as empowering our voices.
This project, "Songs Are Stories That Float in the Air; Lyrics Are Words With Musical Flair" will highlight the melodic rhythm of literature and poetry. The selection of books and materials for this project will empower student voices through the exploration of storytelling (verse and lyric writing/original composition); the study of melodic rhythm (syllabification and accentuation of words and the proper "flow" or phrasing of sentences including proper syntax); symbolic systems (alphabets in spoken languages and musical notation systems in music) to communicate singular thoughts, then"sentences" and entire "stories"; and mnemonic vocalization that aid multi-language learners to recognize the patterns (rhythms) of words and phrases and properly pronounce them. Of course, I will say none of this to my students-- they will happily be reading and creating stories and poetry, banging and clanging on instruments (hence, the earplugs) and learning about words and music all around them!
Chicka Chicka Boom/K-1
Your Name is a Song/3-5th
Giraffes Can't Dance/1-2nd
Pout Pout Fish/K-2nd
When Step Met Skip/3-5th
Rhythm Rescue/3-5th
Wild Symphony/2-4th
Change Sings/K-3
Simon B Rhymin/4-5th
Everywhere Blue/5th
These materials are for use in group work in the classroom. In the case of virtual learning, the project can continue online. Composition books are for upper grades; handouts (paper) for lower grades and will go home with them at end of the year.