Librarian Jahnan Barak (Inland Leaders Charter School in Yucaipa) and celebrated author Carmen Oliver present an in-depth student study of Oliver’s new book Building an Orchestra of Hope: How Favio Chavez Taught Children How to Make Music From Trash. Barak will present how library sciences, Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), and the love of music and literature have combined in a science and literature study by 3rd-8th grade students of Inland Leaders Charter School. Student project samples, lesson ideas, literature study, author interviews, and Q & A all included! Best for librarians, 3rd-8th grade teachers (multiple subject and science), and any lover of literature, music, and creative invention.
by Carmen Oliver
Building an Orchestra of Hope
How Favio Chavez Taught Children to Make Music from Trash
Written by Carmen Oliver
Illustrated by Luisa Uribe
In Cateura, Paraguay, a town built on a landfill, music teacher Favio Chavez longed to help the families living and working amid the hills of trash. How could he help them find hope for the future? Favio started giving music lessons to Cateura’s children, but soon he encountered a serious problem. He had more students than instruments!
But Favio had a strange and wonderful idea: what if this recyclers’ town had its own recycled orchestra? Favio and Colá, a brilliant local carpenter, began to experiment with transforming garbage into wonder. Old glue canisters became violins; paint cans became violas; drainpipes became flutes and saxophones. With repurposed instruments in their hands, the children of Cateura could fill their community—and the world—with the sounds of a better tomorrow.
