Washington Center’s Adapted Music Class

Teacher: Mrs. Julie Dail 

New Acoustic Guitar

Brings Many Smiles

Students in Mrs. Julie Dail’s adapted music classes at Washington Center have been learning about sound and how instruments in the String Family produce sounds. Mrs. Dail began by asking students a question. “What is sound, and how do instruments with strings make sounds?” Following this introduction, students began learning that many things in our environment make sounds inside and outside of the music classroom. Students learned that sounds are heard with our ears. To help students understand how some instruments produce sounds, they were encouraged to pluck a bright pink string to hear its soft sound and to see it wriggle, or vibrate. With a little more information from a News 2 You online book called, Sound Waves, students learned that sounds are carried to our ears through the air on sound waves. Students wriggled their hands up and down like sounds waves in the air (they could not see) and enjoyed discovering many different stringed instruments that make sounds this way. One of the instruments that brought smiles to many faces was the acoustic guitar that was recently obtained through our Donors Choose project. What a surprise to come to music class and find a large delivery box! Mrs. Dail quickly and carefully removed the packaging, tuned the strings, and played some delightful chords. Using simple “yes” or “no” questions, students decided that this instrument was also part of the string family. Of course, many students already recognized this instrument by sight because it is so common in the popular music around us.  With appropriate assistance, when needed, students took turns carefully strumming the guitar to see the strings vibrate and hear their beautiful sounds. Next, students placed their open hands on the front of the guitar to feel the vibrations made by the strings. With so many possible music-making activities ahead, we look forward with excitement to all the learning that will take place with our new guitar in the future. Thanks so much to our wonderful Donors Choose donors!

Washington Center Adapted Music Teacher Julie Dail shares guitar fun with students thanks to a Donor’s Choose grant. 

 

Photo 2- Washington Center student Noah Cronic enjoys the sounds of a guitar with Para-Educator Sandy McDowell thanks to a Donor’s Choose grant to Music Teacher Julie Dail.