Past projects 8
Singing in Unity
Funded Aug 13, 2024My students were so excited to receive their nice quality choral folders! They told me they felt like professionals. It helped them stay organized since their music wasn't falling out all over the place.
We were able to use the folders in rehearsals to keep their music organized. It even helped keep their music in great condition, where previously it would easily tear, rip, and fall apart. We also used the folders during a community performance. Students were able to sing from their music while maintaining a professional appearance.
I am so excited to continue using these folders with my students as we gear up for our next concert season. These folders will be able to last us for years to come. Thank you so much for making such a huge impact on my choir!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Gray
I Said a Boom-Chicka-Boom(whacker)!
Funded Aug 7, 2021Thank you so much for helping my students have access to boomwhackers! They're such a versatile instrument that can be incorporated into many pre-existing units as well as stand-alone units. So far, we have been able to use the boomwhackers to compose ostinatos (short repeating phrases), in a Science of Sound unit to investigate how sound is created, and to create sound effects for a silent video.
My students were so excited to see the boomwhackers! Many of them had previous experience with boomwhackers at their elementary schools. They were thrilled to learn how to use them in more advanced ways than they had before in their elementary level music classes.
In the future, I plan on using the boomwhackers for themed activities and play-a-longs, like before a holiday break or to play along with some of their favorite songs. These instruments truly are versatile, even if they are "just a tube."”
With gratitude,
Ms. Gray
Music Exploration, Manipulatives, and Centers! Oh My!
Funded Aug 21, 2019Thank you so much for the centers supplies and other various classroom materials. Kindergarten has really enjoyed the sound exploration center with the Otamatones! They ask to use them every time they come to music class. They have shared their experience with friends and siblings and other grades have requested to use the Otamatones, as well! They are loved by many!
4th and 5th grade students have used the Melodicas to help them learn music theory concepts as well as basic piano skills. They always seem to really enjoy using them! It has helped them grasp concepts more concretely by adding the hands-on element. The Melodica has already proven to be an invaluable tool in my classroom! I can't wait to get a full class set!
The other supplies you helped bring into my classroom have been extremely helpful as well! The students are enjoying using the tuners to tune their own ukuleles, the stickers have helped students more easily learn chords, and the other center supplies like musical Jenga have been put to great use! My classroom is more hands on than it has ever been and the students are really enjoying it! Thank you so much!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Gray
This classroom project was brought to life by Walmart and 4 other donors.Immersed in a World of Their Creation
Funded Nov 11, 2018These headphones have greatly improved my students experiences in music class while creating music with an iPad. The addition of the headphones has allowed them to listen intently to musical selections, reinforce music theory skills, and compose, all while removing distracting sounds and competing iPad volumes.
Headphones drastically increase the fine details that students can hear in listening activities. Often times percussion parts and bass notes are lost when music is played through regular iPad speakers. The headphones help the students hear all these fine details. When working on music theory skills, many activities require audio interaction. The headphones allows the students to practice their music theory skills without distracting those around them. The students also use the iPads to create their own compositions. The addition of headphones helps them focus on their work and truly be immersed in a world of their own creation.
My students have been very excited to have the addition of the headphones. Before we had them, they would often complain about not being able to hear or being distracted by a classmates iPad. These headphones have completely removed that dilemma!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Gray
Posture Perfect
Funded May 24, 2018These chairs have been a tremendous resource so far this school year! I am able to have the students set them up when needed and take them down when the extra floor space is needed, as well. I am able to utilize the chairs in a manner so that every student can see the front of the classroom without having to peak around other students. These chairs also come in very handy with our bucket drum classes as the drums are difficult to play seated on the floor.
My students were very excited to see that we had chairs this year. The floor space these chairs has opened up is tremendous! We all truly cannot thank you enough for your generous donations and support within the music classroom!
The next project coming to the music classroom is more technology based instruments. I hope to receive a grant to purchase Otamatones, which is a digital instrument played similarly to the frets on a ukulele but held like a recorder but isn't a wind instrument. I believe my students would find this project very interesting and would enjoy learning music with this technology!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Gray
This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Arts Funder and 5 other donors.Orffin' Around
Funded Oct 9, 2017Thank you so much for supporting the students at Coal City Elementary and their desire to learn more through music. With the addition of a soprano metallophone and alto xylophone, my students were able to have more time practicing on their instruments. They really enjoyed playing them on our Veteran's Day concert! These Orff style instruments are so important to the music classroom because they are customizable. I am able to take off any bars the students may not need for a song, which gives them a chance to learn the instrument and note reading without getting overwhelmed.
When the students realized we had new instruments they immediately began cheering and celebrating! They were beyond excited! I could even overhear a few students whispering with their friends about how they hoped they would get the chance to play on them that day. They were overjoyed when they realized each student would get a turn on the new instruments. Even now, whenever we get the new instruments out they take special care to make sure they're not dropped, stepped on, or kicked while students are moving around the room to take their spots at the instruments.
Moving forward, I plan on writing more grants to achieve a full classroom set of Orff instruments. I received a grant to purchase two soprano glockenspiels and two alto glockenspiels. This means the collection has grown from 7 (before your help and the help of the grant) to 13 (woo-hoo!)! My next step is is to purchase bass bars to add more variety to the pitches these instruments can create! Typically, the 3rd graders learn how to play the Orff instruments each year - so next year, a new group of students will do a focused study. In addition to 3rd grade doing focused learning of these instruments, I also intersperse the Orff instruments throughout lessons for other classes as well! These instruments will be very useful and will be used nearly every day!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Gray
Can You Hear Me Now?
Funded Oct 20, 2015The students have been thoroughly excited to get to use these microphones! They have been able to use them twice since the project was funded! The first time we were able use them 2nd grade, 3rd grade, and choir were able to use them on a Veteran's Day Concert. The second time we were able to use them was for a Winter Concert where PreK, Kindergarten, 1st Grade, and Choir performed using the new microphones.
The purpose of this project was to use the microphones to help my students produce a safer vocal sound. They always would struggle to be heard in our concert hall (gymnasium) and would strain their voices so their families could hear them. After just the first concert with the new microphones, I had many parents approach me and tell me how well the classes sounded and how much easier it was to hear them. My students also enjoyed using the microphones, especially to test just how far they could stand and still be heard (pretty far!).
Thanks to the donations made by family, friends, students, and businesses my students are now able to learn from a young age the appropriate way to create a safe, unstrained vocal sound. As I continue to learn how to to maneuver and position these microphone for optimum sound production, I plan to begin recording concerts so the parents may have a good quality copy of their child's performance. The microphones are also being used when we have guest speakers or performers. They are definitely getting used and can be used for many years to come!
Thanks again! Coal City Elementary and it's students send a very warm thank you!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Gray
Uke Can Do It!
Funded Oct 9, 2014So many of my students were absolutely thrilled when they found out they would have the opportunity to learn the ukulele. They have been working very hard to learn this instrument and how to read the music written for it. I even had one student tell me that, "[He] is going to impress so many ladies with [his] ukulele skills when he gets to middle school." They are very attentive during class and I know many of them will continue to learn ukulele in middle school, since our local middle school also has a ukulele program.
The students have been using the ukuleles to learn chords, notes, how to read the music, and how to create their own songs. They picked up the instruments very quickly, learning a new note or chord each time I saw them. Many of them went above and beyond and learned how to tune the instruments. The ukuleles will stay at my school and next years 5th grade class will get to learn on them as well.
The ukuleles boosted my teaching by giving me a topic that a vast majority of my students are interested in. Some may have acted disinterested, but when they didn't realize I was watching, I saw them enjoying themselves! Because of their increased interest, I am able to reach a greater number of students and help them learn not only music, but also skills in focusing, fine motor skills, and creative processes.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Gray
This classroom project was brought to life by an anonymous donor and 11 other donors.