Mrs. Corallo's Classroom Edit display name

Past projects 4

• Express Yourself Through the Power of Reading

  Funded Oct 23, 2021

  I am so excited to finally have books in my music room! With your donation, I was able to purchase about 30 books. Some of the books are folk songs beautifully illustrated, like "Kitty Alone" and "Jennie Jenkins" as well as classics like "Moon River" and "Over the Rainbow." Children are able to sing along with me as I show them the pictures.

  I also bought books that are biographies of musicians like Celia Cruz and Ella Fitzgerald, specifically chosen to represent people of color and women. That way when we celebrate different cultures the children learn about these groundbreaking leaders. The past two weeks we read "Sing a Song: How Lift Every Voice and Sing Inspired Generations" and learned of its importance to many Black Americans and where it came from. We then listened to many artists sing the song, like Alicia Keys and a choir conducted by Kirk Franklin.

  I also have books that teach about music, like "Zin Zin a Violin" and "The Jazz Fly." The children learn how in jazz, musicians take ideas from what they experience and incorporate it into their music. We then tied that into watching Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington perform "It Don't Mean a Thing" and how they manipulated the song and made it their own.

  These books have added a deeper dimension to my teaching and my students' learning. They will literally benefit hundreds of children in the years to come. Thank you so much for your generosity. I will always think of you when I open up a book to read to my students.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Corallo

  This classroom project was brought to life by Dollar General Literacy Foundation and 14 other donors.

• Keep Calm and Ukulele On!

  Funded Oct 9, 2017

  Thank you so much for your donation to Crestwood's music program. I am super excited to use the drums and ukuleles. I teach a Modern Band program where in 4th and 5th grade, students learn how to play guitar and the drum kit. In order to prepare them for this in the earlier grades, we learn how to play hand drums and ukulele.

  Hand drums are perfect because they have a cool sound but are much simpler than an actual drum kit. In past years I've had to borrow them from other schools and lug them around in my car if I wanted these children to experience these hand drums. With the Donor's Choose drums, my students will always have access to the hand drums.

  Ukulele is WAY easier to play than guitars, and are a perfect starter instrument that lead into drums. Because ukuleles have only four strings, finding chords is much less stressful than a guitar chord with six strings. Once you've learned how to play a G chord on the ukulele, then students know how to play a D chord on the guitar because they have the same chord shape. Plus the small instrument is easier to handle for smaller bodies. In past years, I have not had enough ukuleles for all my students, so they've had to share. With this donation, no one will have to wait around until it's their turn.

  Your donation has improved my program tremendously and I'm forever grateful. Your donation will last for many years to come. Thank you so much!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Corallo

• Technology to Help Students Learn Better

  Funded Oct 30, 2015

  I received a document reader from Donor's Choose and it is an amazing tool for teaching! Most teachers use a document reader to project a paper or book onto a screen for all to see, but I use it to show how to play a chord on a guitar to a class of 35 students. Because the technique is pretty intricate (using correct fingers, strings and frets in a small space) it is time consuming to model for each student what is happening.

  With the document reader I can demonstrate for everyone and then help those that need extra help. The document reader's camera is super sharp in its image, and I can zoom in or out, depending on how much of the guitar I want to show. It used to be that only the first two rows could see what I was doing, and usually it was only the kids right in front of me, so I would have to spend time demonstrating for different sections of the class. Now I can demonstrate one time how to play more difficult chords, and how to move from one chord to another, and the whole class can see - even the ones in the very back of the room. The students are less frustrated and more productive.

  Thank you so much for your generous donation. The document reader is helping me teach over 400 guitar students each week, and will impact many more for years to come.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Corallo

• Complete Our Rock Band!

  Funded Nov 21, 2014

  We are so excited to finally get our merchandise! After some minor delays, our students are now fully mic'd and ready to rock. The first time they walked into the classroom and saw our new equipment, there was an audible gasp of "wow!"

  With our new mixer/amplified, I am able to plug in my keyboard plus six microphones. We purchased a decent monitor and now the whole class can hear the singers. Whenever I ask who wants to be the lead singer, half the class raises their hand because they are so excited to sing into a microphone and be able to hear themselves. They even get excited about singing back-up vocals!

  Without this equipment, we were really being held back from our true potential. A song isn't complete if all you can hear is some chords and a drum beat. You need the vocals. Every student is motivated now, even the ones not using the microphones, because it now feels like a complete band. We look forward to performing our songs in May for the parents and school community. Thank you for helping us make this happen!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Corallo