Dreaming of drumming…
This year’s Spark Grant winner, Clay Fissel, used his awarded funds to purchase percussion instruments for a unit titled “Poetry Meets Percussion,” and we had a blast reading about the growth and successes of his students. We hope that reflecting on the successes of stories like Clay’s gets your own imagination mulling over how a Spark Grant or Beacon Scholarship could impact change in your program in the coming year!
Clay used his 2023 Spark Grant to achieve a unit titled “Poetry Meets Percussion,” and purchased three Remo kids percussion Konga drums, five 10-inch Remo frame drums, a Toca Freestyle Djembe, and a talking drum.
With his new gear, Clay dived into his “Poetry Meets Percussion” plans, enabling second-grade and third-grade students to explore the intersection between poetry, rhythm, meter, and instrumental performance. Second and third-grade students used the instruments in a multiweek unit titled “Snowetry.” The students students got to engage with the asymmetrical meter by engaging with a snowflake-themed speech piece in ⅝, and built on it by transferring speech to body percussion to the new classroom instruments. The whole project culminated in a myriad of percussion pieces, and in the expanded opportunities and musical empowerment of Clay’s students.
ACEMM is growing and looking forward to adding to the forward momentum and positive change in the lives and programs of many more educators. Please consider helping us meet these goals by contributing the our Beacon Scholarship and Spark Grant funds as part of your #endofyeargiving!
Did you know that you automatically will be rewarded with ACEMM goodies
when you donate? Be sure to tag us when you sport your ACEMM merch!
