Elise's Grade 5 Exhibition

As part of the primary years program (PYP) curriculum in international schools, students in the 5th grade spend 6 weeks working on a topic of their own choosing.  The topic is supposed to be something they are interested in, and something through which they can "make a difference".  Elise chose the topic "The Effects of Music" and had a great time doing it.  She did lots of research, both primary and secondary, including an online survey with more than 150 respondents.  She worked with a mentor at school, the secondary music teacher named Ms. Ward.  She was so independent in doing this, and it all culminated in the Exhibition on May 10th and 11th where the students presented their projects to the school community and parents.  Each student had a table set up showing their work.  Elise had a poster with the highlights from her 4 key questions (How can music therapy help us?  Why do we listen to music?  How does music make us feel?  What do composers think about when they compose music?).  She had 4 iPods with headphones each set up to play one of the playlists she had put together to create different moods (Happy, Relaxed, Energetic and Studying).  She also had a video she had made showing how different music can create different moods.  And she presented it orally to visitors as they came by her booth.  She also composed a song on the piano to evoke different moods, which she played on the evening of the exhibition.  The whole thing was amazing!  Congratulations, Elise!