Many school teachers have built simple shakers or rainsticks in their classrooms.  But constructing musical instruments from reused materials can be a springboard for students to learn about a web of curricular connections that include environmental issues, science, math, literacy, social studies and of course, music.  This professional development workshop will prepare the music or general education classroom teacher to not only build musical instruments, but also how to play and compose for them in creative and educational ways.  As students build a variety of instruments and learn how they work, they are also exploring the concepts of reused and recycled materials as resources, sustainability, and the waste-stream cycle.  Each instrument also teaches a lesson in the science of sound and the families of instruments, and leads to a deeper understanding of the cultural use of music. Multiple intelligences, arts assessments and state and national learning standards will be addressed throughout this participatory, hands-on and fun workshop.  Each teacher will bring home several musical instruments, a 30+ page study guide with illustrated step-by-step instrument building instructions, sample lesson plans, materials and vocabulary lists, assessment ideas, and a bibliography.

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Multiple session or full-day sessions can go deeper into the subject, building more complex instruments for deeper scientific investigation, as well as creating more complex and sophisticated musical stories or other expressive media.

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