OAC - Success!
Integrated MUSIC for the WIN!
Thanks to the TeachArtsOhio Grant from the Ohio Arts Council, we were able to hire two rockstar teaching musicians, Risa Cohen and Christopher Antalek. Over their 32-day residency, Risa and Chris worked with ALL of our K-12 Graytown students! Through explicit instruction and musical games, students learned beat, rhythm, dynamics, and pitch. Students in grades 3-12 learned to play string instruments: guitars, ukuleles, and baritone ukuleles.
At the end of the residency, families were invited to “Music Share Day,” where students performed. The K - 2 class performed a musical game called, “Can You Make Your Sticks Go Click, Click, Click.” Each of the other classes had voted on which song to perform. The 3-6 class performed “Riptide,” the middle school class performed “Wake Me Up When September Ends.” and the high school class performed “Three Little Birds.”
Not only did the students learn musical skills, but also, and perhaps more importantly, they learned collaborative skills and the art of integration. While each student had a chance to work as a leader and also as a follower in musical games, they also learned the benefits of working collaboratively. Also, these musical skills were not presented in isolation, but as part of an integrated curriculum that wove literacy strands throughout. Students read the lyrics of songs, interpreted them, and analyzed the text as you might do with a poem. In this way, literary skills were practiced alongside music.
This Music Integration Experience was made possible in part by an investment of public funds from the Ohio Arts Council (OAC).
The OAC is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally, and economically.