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Goal

The goal for this grant to to provide students with special needs an opportunity to create music together. By studying music using Boomwhackers, my students will have the opportunity to be featured in our school performances. 

What will be done with my students

My grant is geared toward my class of Modified Curriculum students who study music with me. Each of these students has a special need, and requires a slightly different education experience than other students. The curriculum of my class, Exploring Music, is arranged in a way to expose them to all aspects of music including: different genres, instrument families and individual instruments, reading music, creating music, music history, world music and more. The most important aspect of this class is creation of music. My students love any chance they can get to perform in class. While my students have played many of the various instruments in the band room, there is a unique set we are lacking that I believe would be perfect for my students. These instruments, known as Boomwhackers, are pitched, virtually indestructible tubes that are played by striking them together or on the floor. They can be played together and individually to create music ranging from basic melodies to complex popular tunes. It is my goal to teach these students to read and perform music using these instruments, and to eventually have them perform their work on an upcoming concert. The use of Boomwhackers would be a main focus of the class, and would be used daily to teach music to my students. I want to ensure they have plenty of time to learn music, and so I would plan to invite them to perform in Winter or possibly early Spring.

 

Benefits to my students

The benefits of providing Boomwhackers to my students are numerous. My favorite benefit is that they will have the opportunity to work together to create music. This is a powerful experience because in a music ensemble no one individual is more important than the other. Students will learn that teamwork is absolutely necessary to have a successful experience. A huge benefit is that anyone can play these regardless of musical ability, use of motor skills, or any other challenge. Another benefit is that students will learn to distinguish different pitches and music by ear. They will also have the opportunity to learn a new language, music, both by ear and by sight. Still another benefit is that my students will learn life skills like responsibility, as taking care of these instruments will require them to meet expectations. An example is that students will be expected to store their Boomwhacker in the proper place after each use. The last benefit I'd like to highlight is the fact that students can unlock much more music and it will be a more meaningful experience for them when they can actually perform rather than listen to someone else perform.

If we were to own a set of Boomwhackers at North Naples Middle School, not only would my 25 students benefit, but also any students who will take Exploring Music in the future. This addition to the class will drum up much interest, especially when the students are featured in one of our band concerts. These instruments could also be used in other classes for students with special needs as a reward for time well-spent in class. I believe that any musical experience will be a better reward than time spent online playing a game. My band students would also benefit from these instruments as a tool to practice aurally identifying intervals, or the spaces between certain pitches. My colleague, who is the choir and orchestra teacher at this school, would also be more than welcome to share these instruments with her students.  

Budget Narrative

The cost of $185 would be for 54 different-pitched tubes (2 sets of 27), which would be enough for each student to have one in each hand. There are also 16 caps included, which extend the range of each instrument. There is also a set of stickers that are used to label each tube according to pitch. Finally, there is a storage bag to hold all the instruments and caps. 

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