The test scores at my PDS school for the fall, East Dale Elementary, seems to be generally above the state and county level. The lowest levels there are social studies, where only 50.13% are proficient, and 32.62% are below mastery, and 17.22% are novice level. Also, only 8.45% are at the distinguished level. So, a definite learning need at this school is to increase knowledge in the social studies area. One thing I thought about was using music from other cultures in the music classroom to get students interested in learning about other cultures. Specifically, I was thinking about an experience with African drums and dance. I could teach the students about the instruments and dances, and possibly have an African percussion group from FSU or WVU come in and give a performance for the kids. I could also teach the kids about the culture, even using books about African stories and reading them aloud to the class. Reading aloud improves students' vocabulary, improves students' listening comprehension, and allows them to enjoy texts that they may not be able to read. From these activities I would hope to increase not only the student's interest in these kinds of cultures and instruments, but their ability to play rhythms on these types of instruments. For an assessment, I could assess the students' abilities before and after the lesson to repeat a rhythm on a drum.
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