Available for your school: Young Audiences of Maryland debuts hands-on arts-integrated creativity literacy kits for elementary students!

Pricing & Availability

General Info

Teachers and teaching artists face a difficult question: How can we bring the arts to students that is relevant to their education?

One artist, partnering with his colleagues at Young Audiences of Maryland, has implemented a unique hands-on arts experience that is transforming the summer for 1,320 students in Baltimore City this summer. And we’re writing to you because we want to make this available to your school. You can purchase these Word Game Boxes and distribute them to students. With your purchase you will have access to all the accompanying videos to make it all come alive.

YA Maryland artist Alden Phelps has been performing Singing, Reading and Writing Songs: an Interactive Assembly for several years at schools across Maryland. It's a hybrid show & workshop. Alden plays guitar and sings his original children's songs, then leads students step by step as they design their own musical couplets. Featuring magnetic words on easels, this hands-on experience is designed for an entire school grade to enjoy together. 

By physically manipulating magnetic words, roadblocks that inhibit participation (spelling, handwriting, etc.) are removed; students at different levels are able to engage meaningfully and achieve writing success in activities that build language skills. Guided exercises encourage rich vocabulary, reinforce parts of speech, and introduce rhyme and meter. Most importantly, it's a whole lot of fun! The assembly ends as students transform Alden's opening song into their own original creation, using individual boxes of magnetic words. This Interactive Assembly is designed for 100 students/one full grade (grade 3, 4 or 5).

But Alden has been dreaming: if only he could build thousands of his boxes of words so that thousands more elementary students could participate in the joy of playing with words and writing parodies with him. This summer, Young Audiences of Maryland partnered with Alden to launch the first printing of Mr. Phelps’ Word Game Boxes! With accompanying pre-recorded & live video, every student in YA’s “Summer Arts and Learning Academy” will receive their own box of magnetic words to keep, so they can sing and create along with Alden. The inner box lid is a dry-erase magnet, so students can work with their magnets and easily add new ideas. There’s a dry erase marker and a 16-page book included, full of games and activities which start simply: write a couplet from Alden’s song Ted the Rhino. Ten video lessons help students practice playing with syllables, rhymes, parts of speech, and parts of a song. 

Alden will also be creating specific video lessons for K-1 students. 

To order Word Game Boxes for your school/organization, contact info@artsforlearningmd.org, or Alden at aldensings@gmail.com