Past projects 37
World Music Drumming Level III
Funded Oct 28, 2017This past week I had the amazing opportunity of attending the World Music Drumming Level III workshop in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I studied West African and Afro-Cuban music with Josh Ryan and Sowah Mensah. I learned many new songs in different languages, I played an African flute, a Ghanaian gyil, I drummed with my hands and with sticks, and began training my ear to hear calls from the leader's drum and play a response on my own. I learned a dance from Ghana and played rattles and bells.
The highlight of the workshop was the sharing event on the last day. Every class had time to perform pieces of music learned during the week. On a piece called Adenkum, which is played and sang with dried gourds, I was given the opportunity to sing a solo call. The entire performance was great fun! I am so excited to have had the chance to better learn Adenkum so that I can teach it to my students this fall.
Thank you so very much for supporting me in this endeavor. Although learning music from other cultures is a lifelong process, I had a great start at this workshop learning from some of the best in the field. I hope to go back to this workshop next summer so I can learn more and bring this wonderful music to my students. Thank you again! It has meant the world to me!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Lawrence
This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 37 other donors.Learning to Read Music with Manipulatives
Funded Mar 27, 2018Every since our new music manipulatives have arrived, my students have been busy learning and creating! In first, second and third grades, the students used the Music Go Round Alphadots and Stick Rhythms to create short, eight-beat songs to play on boomwhackers and rhythm instruments. They used the rhythm dots in second and third grade to decode rhymes the students learned in class. In first through fifth grade, the solfege rounds have helped the students figure out the order of the pitches of songs they learned in class. Kindergarten students use the magnetic heart beats almost every day! The magnetic organizers help me keep everything organized so I don't waste precious teaching time drawing on the board. All I have to do is grab what I need from the organizers and stick it to the whiteboard!
I'm very grateful to you for helping me bring this project to life. I'm not sure what I did without them! My students and I sincerely appreciate your incredible generosity. It is because of people like you that my students are singing, playing, and composing their own music in my classroom. Thanks again for your support!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Lawrence
This classroom project was brought to life by Ripple.Supplies For Budding Composers
Funded Mar 27, 2018Since we received our supplies for composing, we've gone to town with our creations! First and second graders have practiced writing musical patterns using solfege and proceeded to create their own patterns that they performed in class for me and their peers. Third, fourth and fifth grade students have composed short musical pieces on their own and in small groups. Their compositions included a wide variety of classroom instruments, from xylophones to drums to recorders, as well as body percussion. They have had a great time doing this!
My students couldn't have done this without your incredible support. We are so very thankful for your generosity. Almost all of our supplies will be used for students for years to come. I'm so excited that my students will have what they need to grow their creativity in music.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Lawrence
This classroom project was brought to life by Ripple.Boom, Boom, Buffalo Drums!
Funded Feb 3, 2018Our buffalo drums arrived and made a huge impact on our music classroom right from the start! The after-school drumming group used the drums in their performance for the school and community last month. Fourth and fifth grade students have been using them to learn a drum piece from West Africa. It's wonderful to have them so we can play all of the parts to our drumming pieces. I am so happy to be able to give my students truly authentic experiences in music.
I am so grateful for you and your support of my classroom and music education. It really warms my heart to know there are people who love and support the arts and feel it is important for children to have amazing opportunities in the arts. Thank you so very much for giving us this wonderful gift!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Lawrence
Teaching Tolerance Through Dance
Funded Jul 19, 2017Since our materials for Teaching Tolerance Through Dance arrived, we have been busy learning new dances from cultures around the world. The older students have learned La Raspa from Mexico, Palapala from Argentina, Pata Pata from South Africa, Captain Jinks and the Virginia Reel from the United States, and have tried some Yankadi dance moves from West Africa. Younger students have enjoyed creative movement with folk music from around the world using ideas from the Yoga Pretzels cards. We also added music to some of the stories from the Movement Stories books. All of the students have been intrigued by these dances, and they love hearing the history behind the dances and always have questions about the cultures these dances represent. We have talked a lot about how people from all over the world use dance to express themselves and their culture, and that even though we may live hundreds or thousands of miles away from these people, they use dance in many of the same ways we do.
These dance resources have given my students a chance to experience other cultures without even leaving the school building. We have had some meaningful discussion about people from the other side of the world. I think it has really opened my students' eyes. I'm so thankful for your support. I couldn't have done this without you! My students and I are truly grateful. Thank you!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Lawrence
This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Funder and 44 other donors.Teaching Tolerance Through West African Music
Funded Sep 1, 2017We have had the Adenkum gourds in our classroom for about two months. The students are loving them! They have learned a rhythmic pattern on the gourds and are now learning to sing a song in Twi, a dialect of the Akan language spoken by many people in Ghana, Africa. It's challenging, but they are determined to learn it! They feel special and important because as I have told them, there are not many kids in the United States that have access to Adenkum gourds and a teacher who knows songs in a foreign language to teach them - especially in Twi! We've also talked about life for kids in villages in rural Ghana, and how their lives are similar to and different from our lives here in the United States. It has made for fantastic conversation!
Thank you so much for your generosity and kindness to make this project a dream come true! It really has been a gift for my students to be able to learn music from Ghana. It has shown them that no matter where in the world you live, music is an integral part of life! Without you, my students wouldn't have known about Ghana and its rich musical history! Thank you!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Lawrence
This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Funder and 44 other donors.American Orff-Schulwerk Conference
Funded Mar 29, 2017The American Orff Schulwerk Association Conference was last week, and I had a wonderful time learning and experiencing innovative ways to teach young children music through singing, saying, moving, playing and drama. I attended sessions where I learned how to play complicated polyrhythmic West African rhythms, how to teach ukulele using Carl Orff and Gunild Keetman's Music for Children volumes, how to apply body percussion to create and move to an famous orchestral work with mixed meter, and how to take a known melody and change simple elements of that melody to create a completely different work in a different meter and mode. I experienced the thrill of watching high level children's choirs and instrumental groups as well as an adult group that took the idea of dance, theater and music to a level beyond imagination.
I came home with my spirit filled by this experience. I've already used some of the ideas I gained at the conference in my classroom, and my students were thrilled by what they created. I just wanted to thank you again for giving me the opportunity to attend this conference. It was an experience I'll never forget, and one that will help me enrich the lives of the students I have now and the hundreds I will have in the future! Thank you!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Lawrence
This classroom project was brought to life by Aspect Ventures and 32 other donors.Building a Choral Music Library
Funded Jun 7, 2017Our school choir has started! The students and directors love the new music! The students have commented about how beautiful and "mature" the new pieces are. They are so excited to come to choir to learn the new music for our two performances in December. Thank you for giving us the gift of new music. These pieces are not only beautifully artful, but also challenge both our youngest and oldest choir members in different ways.
We are very thankful and grateful that there are people like you out there who care about and support music in schools. Without your help it would have been very difficult to find the funds to purchase new music for my students. You've helped us more than you'll ever know! Thank you once again for your generosity! We are truly grateful!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Lawrence
Adding Sizzle With a Cajon
Funded Apr 24, 2017Our new cajon has found its place in our music room. We have added it to our daily music activities. It helps us keep the beat, it gives our percussion ensembles a new and different sound, and it has been the lead drum in our drumming lessons. We have used it to play along with some Caribbean and South American style recordings to learn more about music from those areas.
My students and I are so grateful to have your support. We are honored that you chose to donate to our classroom so that we could have a high quality instrument to help us in our musical studies. We wouldn't have our cajon without your help, and we sincerely appreciate it! Thank you so much for your kindness and generosity!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Lawrence
An Electrifying Ukulele!
Funded May 3, 2017I've been using our new electric ukulele for a few weeks now, and my students and I just love it! Kindergarten and first grade students have enjoyed singing songs while I strum. In second and third grade, the ukulele has helped the students' mixed drum and xylophone ensemble lessons stay together by keeping the beat. In fourth and fifth grade, the electric ukulele has helped my students hear the correct chords to play as they learn to strum our classroom acoustic ukuleles.
Thank you so much for funding this project. I'm humbled by your kind support and it warms my heart to know there are people out there who support music education. You have improved my ability to reach district music objectives as well as my own personal goals for myself and my students. Thank you once again from all of us!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Lawrence