Students and parents got to enjoy the results of a songwriting project at Nanoose Bay Elementary School recently.
Through an Artstarts grant for Artists in the Classroom, two classes spent months writing a song based on their Social Studies lessons.
Grade 4 and 5 students in rooms 10 and 4 worked with local singer-songwriters, Merisa and Emily Tibbo and the band Trinitude to write a catchy tune called Let’s Vote, with the kicker at the end, “when we’re 18, we’re gonna vote!”
Room 10 worked on a project called ‘Chronicling the History and Exploration of Canada in Song,’ learning about the song writing process and pulling the main ideas out of their lessons for the song’s theme.
Room 4 focused on the Canadian government and how to put a song together and both classes learned how to work together, explained co-ordinating teacher Mary Gardner.
“Both classes have learned to be a team, to share ideas freely, to respect the ideas of others and to collaborate and agree on which ideas will end up in the song,” she said by e-mail.
She said combining arts and academia leads to new kinds of learning “and deepens understanding of that topic,” pointing out “the kids are incredibly engaged.”
In order to receive the AIC grants, both projects were adjudicated on a merit basis by a provincial jury made up of educators and professional artists.