Tin Can Composer

Hello all! So I completely transformed this idea (and stole it from a fellow classroom colleague that does it just slightly differently), but I can't wait to try it out this year!

I'm calling it "Tin Can Composer" (but you could use any empty food or oatmeal can). I'm planning to use it with my 5th graders at the end of the year, after we've learned a fair amount of info about a few composers.

My plan is to give them two weeks outside of music class to create their Tin Can Composers, but they will have a few things to add to them. First, they'll have to use at least three different textures on their can to create the face/hair/etc. of their composer. Next, they'll write the name on the bottom (for us to check at the end of voting), and five facts about them written on slips of paper that will be inside of the empty can.

I'll show them to each class and have them vote as a class on who they think the composer is, only by seeing the creation and hearing the five facts about them. Once all classes have cast their votes, the 5th graders will graph their results to post beside the composer.

At first, I was thinking this would be a great end-of-year project, but now that I'm thinking more and more about it, I wonder if it would be better to have them set out around the music room or hallways at parent-teacher conferences. If I'm really being honest, I don't usually get a lot of parents to visit the music room on those nights, so I do get work done, but it would be a fun thing for parents to see...

Either way, I'm super excited about it and can't wait to tell the kids about it! (Even if I do have to wait until next semester...)

Happy Sunday, Everyone!