Part 3: Arranging a Final Product

These activities were completed with a mixed group of 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students of varying cultural and linguistic backgrounds, though the specific activities might be adjusted and simplified for a younger audience.

The purpose of this group is to provide a space for recently immigrated students and emergent multilingual students to engage with other students through musical play and community building opportunities.

The last phase of this project continues focus on individual musicailty and musical expression, but combines it with ensemble strategies to produce a final product for a performance. Depending on the ability and development of your group, you as the facilitator will have to select your ensemble piece with care. Provide a challenge for your participants, but nothing that they wouldn't be able to handle that may lead to frustration. The primary goal is still to have students leaving the group feeling confident and excited about the Drum it Up opportunity.

Music is the driving feature of the Drum it Up idea, with instrument performance on percussion instruments the method to achieve our goals of building self-awareness and community amongst the participants.

Floor drums (such as djembes, tubanos), unpitched percussion instruments (ideally, ones capable of producing high and low tones, such as two-tone blocks, agogo bells, bongos, temple blocks, etc.). You may even use D.I.Y. “drums” (plastic buckets, boxes, tubs, etc.) and two-tone instruments (pots, pans, PVC pipes, cardboard tubes, etc.)

Drum it Up provides the opportunity for musical experiences to happen even without formal language usage. Through the use of pantomime, gesture, echoing, demonstrating, and nonverbal communication, participants of all language abilities are able to be equally engaged in the activities.

Relationship skills is the central focus of Drum it Up – with individual participation vital for the group’s success. Where one student might disengage or lose interest, the game or jam session might weaken!

Like before, it is important for you as the facilitator to select pieces that your students will find challenging and be successful in. Below are some criteria  the sequence I used to prepare my students for the third stage of our groups' meetings.