what we do

What is rock the classroom?
rock the classroom 501 (c) (3) restores music education in underserved public elementary schools by teaching an original standards based "Literacy Through Music" curriculum. Our professional musicians use music and songwriting to complement the literacy curriculum schools are required to teach while providing a creative musical experience otherwise missing from the classroom.  

For example?
Our first group of students spent eight weeks studying The Civil War.

Our kids start off by learning the building blocks of music: rhythm, melody, and harmony. They recite the poem “Harriet Tubman” from their textbooks to different beats. Through this exercise, they practice reading, projection, enunciation, and how different tempos and rhythms create different musical styles.
 
They sing “Follow the Drinking Gourd” to understand metaphor and simile.
 
They learn about the blues, a musical genre that grew out of slavery, and ultimately write original blues songs about their own experiences, as well as blues songs from the point of view of the civil war characters they study. Each song follows the same rhyme scheme, illustrate a specific Civil War character and point of view, uses simile and metaphor, and captures a sense of emotion – the essence of any blues song.

The students perform their songs in groups, which we recorded.

An excerpt of our favorite...
"Hey General Grant, Hey General Lee,
I don't know, but it seems to me,
If some people are slaves, nobody's really free."

Students then receive a CD of their songs.

Sounds like fun, but aren't there more important things to do for schools?
It is fun, and given music's universal ability to engage, it's one of the best ways to get kids hooked into all learning, not just learning about music. Music education has been shown to improve memory, test scores, and overall performance and participation in virtually all subjects - including reading and math. rock the classroom's interdisciplinary approach reinforces the required, standards-based lessons students must master with a hands-on musical approach they love.

Are you giving music lessons?
No, not music lessons per se. But students who do play instruments will be encouraged to use them. And students will be provided with simple percussive instruments, i.e. drums, bells, shakers, to help them learn the building blocks of music.

Who are the teachers?
Accomplished professional musicians, composers, singers, musicologists, who play classical, jazz, rock, reggae, etc. All participating musicians will receive classroom orientation, lesson plans, supervision, and evaluation. Because they're volunteers, the regular classroom teachers will always be present.

Musicians receive a small stipend for their time.

Why elementary school?
When it comes to literacy, elementary school students are at an educational crossroads. Students who are reading near or at grade level can go on to achieve academic success in a variety of subjects.

Students who are not reading at or near grade level have a significantly smaller chance of achieving academic success – and are less likely to meet graduation requirements.

rock the classroom can provide these students another way to get excited about reading and writing, at a critical point in their development.