Students Take Musical Journey Around the World

Thanks to your donations this week, Keeping the Blues a Alive Foundation donated a slew of instruments in Chandler, Arizona!

Most of the supplies included a Continents of the World photo book series, a world map, arts and crafts materials including pom poms, feathers, craft sticks, and glitter, in addition to a music around the world CD to make instruments from each of the seven continents of the world.

Students will be taken on a journey to the seven continents of the world. While studying the culture of each continent students will create a model that resembles an instrument from each area. The goal of each model will be to produce a sound that is similar to the actual instrument.

The school music teacher caters to 20 English language learners who are in the third grade. They are a self-contained class that has a lot of fun learning and playing together. School is a safe place for them to grow as new citizens of this country.  They learn cultural etiquette and social paradigms. They learn about collaboration and compromise.

Additionally, students are very much challenged by their living conditions at home. Some students are from migrant families. These children are required to help their family make money after school and don’t have time to do anything else. Some students live in trailers with as many as three other families living with them at the same time. Last, most of the students’ parents don’t speak English at home, so they have a hard time helping with homework and school projects.

The first social studies unit of the year will be studying the seven continents of the world. They will analyze music, dance, food, clothing and customs of each area. Then the students will bring the lessons to life by creating a model of a musical instrument from each continent.

Music provides a unique identity for each continent. Over thousands of years each continent evolved its own unique musical instruments. Students will study the structure of the instruments then create a modern day model. In Europe the students will create bagpipes. In North America students will create maracas. The Cajon will represent South America. Everyone will then create clap sticks from Africa. Next the students will make didgeridoos from Australia. The Dizi flute will represent Asia. Finally skin drums will represent Antarctica.

Appreciation of other cultures leads to ultimately understanding our world and the people who populate it. Music is the gateway to connecting and communicating with the world. Students will be changed for the better by understanding that there are dozens of musical styles and instruments to play it.  Beyond the music advantages, cultural differences are something to be celebrated. Once students understand this concept a better classroom climate will be created.

Thanks to your donations, these students will get to enjoy those cultures and grow and become better citizens because of it.

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