Bright+Ideas+Grant+2010

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====TPE was the lucky recipient of a Bright Ideas Grant!!!!! The grant allowed 2nd and 5th graders to work to construct and design REAL, WORKING, cardboard guitars. ** Special thanks to ** ** North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation for funding the grant!! ** ==== I went to the Board of Education Meeting on February 17 to be recognized! :)  

How did we build the guitars? That is a GREAT question! The guitars came to us in pieces and using wood glue and painters tape we were able to build these fantastic, working instruments. Check out the work in progress... 

Second Graders having fun... working on their guitars.

The purpose of the grant was to connect 2nd grade Science, Music and Art. We chose 2nd grade because they study sound as one of their Science units. As a homework project from their classroom teachers, students were asked to create an instrument of their choice. Students brought in drums, maracas, shakers, guitars and other instruments. After seeing this last year, I thought it would be an awesome experience for the students to build their own ‘real’ working guitars.

After some research, I found a cardboard guitar kit that used real tuning pegs and steel strings to make the guitar. The online review said that it was suitable for children, and thus Bright Ideas Grant was developed.

The guitar making process was long, but worthwhile. The students began the project by first studying sound and sound production in Science class.



The next step was creating the guitar. This was a HUGE task!! It turned out to be harder than we expected, so we enlisted the help of our fabulous fifth graders. Between the 2nd and 5th graders, we were able to glue, tape and drill our guitars together to make them working masterpieces. Our Art teacher, Mrs. Ramey, helped the students design their guitars. Students painted, colored with crayons, and used stickers to bring their guitars to life. Some guitars had an underwater theme while others traveled to Outer space. Sponge Bob Squarepants made an appearance on MANY of the guitars. 

 We learned many important lessons during this project including the importance of teamwork and that it’s OK to ask for help! We had several volunteers from the school and community help us too! Mrs. McKinnon, a parent, came in and spent an afternoon tuning guitars. There’s dedication for you! It takes a lot of patience to tune 30 guitars!! Mr. Moore, a grandparent, also came in and showed us his guitar collection. He has a LOT of guitars!!! Some of them are really expensive and very old. The students enjoyed seeing them and hearing the different sounds they made. Our principal’s son came in and gave us a demonstration on his guitars too! He told the students how he got his start playing guitars and gave them some advice. Now, we are learning to play the guitars. Like learning any instrument, it is a long process. Right now, we can play two chords (C and G7) and can sing along with a few songs. Maybe someday, we’ll be famous! For now… we’ll just keep on truckin’! Below are more pictures... media type="custom" key="9404792" width="130" height="130" ﻿media type="custom" key="9405120" width="130" height="130" media type="custom" key="9405284" 