Teacher+concerns+with+Unit+4+implementation

Please post any concerns you have with the Unit 4 implementation.

I have thoroughly enjoyed implementing the "Planting a Community" unit and my students have responded well to the challenge it presents. I have to say that my biggest challenge was making the musical instruments. While my students were very helpful in finding and donating the materials needed, I found myself spending a ton of time cleaning the materials and putting them together to make "instruments". I also found that many of the instruments that could be made fell mostly in the rhythm category. So, when you listen to our rondo, you'll hear mostly a variety of beats. I would love to have more instruments that provide a variety of pitches. (Which I just found a xylophone at Goodwill during spring break & can't wait to take that back for my kids.) I think having more instruments **on hand** would offer more musical opportunities to students during the motif creation process.

I think it would be great if the county could, over time, develop kits (similar to the science kits) that have the necessary materials for each of these arts integration units. That way, teachers could check out the kits and have the materials without having to create, collect, or store those materials each year for this specific unit. Personally, I know that I will use my instruments in other lessons and units of study and will add to my collection of instruments as I find or create things along the way, but I can foresee this being a problem for other teachers. I was also fortunate to have a few parents who offered to make some of the instruments for us, which was a blessing! Having experienced that this year, I think that next year I will use this unit as an opportunity to involve more of my students and their parents in the instrument making process, building rapport and relationships along the way.

Finally, my last concern is being able to keep up with my students! Because my kids have so enjoyed this unit I find myself getting wrapped up in all of their ideas and wishes. We now have two flower boxes (one outside each fifth grade window) to serve as our "community garden" and we are planning a huge symphony to share our rondos with the larger community. I think it's great that my students have blossomed during this unit, now **I** just have to be able to keep up with **them**!

~ Submitted by Samantha Blake - E.B. Ellington 4/12/2012