2nd Grade: Recycled Music

In 2nd grade humanities, we have been talking about ways that we can protect our environment and keep our earth clean. Since our school received new recycling bins that now allow us to recycle cans and bottles, as well as paper, we have been talking about the importance of using the 3 R's (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle). One way in which we have been reusing in music class is by taking old water cooler jugs and using them as drums. We also have a gong that is made out of an oil drum top.

In class, students watched a video called "Landfill Harmonic" about a group of students who live in a village in Paraguay that is built on a landfill. Even though these kids do not have a lot of money, they have found a way to still have music in their lives. One member of their community started making instruments (violins, cellos, saxophones, flutes) out of items found in the landfill. It is amazing to hear how real these instruments sound and to see how important they are to these students. We talked about how lucky we are to go to Ann Arbor schools, where we get to play instruments no matter how much money we have.

Lastly, we were introduced to the music group "Stomp" that originated in the UK. These musicians and dancers make music out of ordinary items. We loved listening to their rhythms and seeing what great music they could make out of the most interesting things.