Reflection 9: Music 2

What did you learn from the process you engaged in to create this music lesson? What did you learn from the actual presentation experience? 


I learned that using folk song tunes to make up a song using the core is a VERY beneficial process. It is a great tool to use when you need your students to memorize and ingrain something into their mind, for example what a pronoun is. 


I felt like our presentation went really well, but I feel that when teaching a song you need to be sure you have great classroom management control. If not you will lose some of the students to miss behavior and not everyone will learn the song.


So What is important for you to remember and learn? 


It is important to remember to  pay attention to the lyrics you use as well as how the students sing them. As well as be patient as your students learn the song, it may take some tume.


Now What are your next steps?


My next steps are to continue to build my creative arts files. The more resources I have the better. I will use this method a lot in my teaching. I think it is a great way for students to learn, and it links what they know to another part of the brain.

Reflection 8: Music

What is music and why should it be included in the elementary classroom? 


Music is a significant part of life, it is everywhere we go. Music is made up of 7 different elements:
Rhythm--movement of sounds through time
Melody--the tune
Harmony--blending of tones or sounds

Duration –length of sound

    

Form—overall structure of sound

  

Dynamics—energy of sound

         

Timbre—color of sound

Music is a wonderful teaching tool. Today in class we learned how to teach a song and came up with other ways that teaching a song could be useful, for example, spelling or vocabulary. Music promotes attention and memory, mental health, and makes us happy. So why not incorporate it in your classroom?

So what are your goals for using music with your future students, and, so what is important in teaching music to children?



As a teacher I really hope to have great management skills and feel that music is a great way to gain control of a classroom, as well as unite the students as peers. I hope also to use music to help stimulate their creative process. I will play music anytime we are doing an activity they are stretching their thinking. 


I think musical theory is very important. At some point in any ones life they are asked to know a little about music. As a teacher it is important to teach theoretical elements of music to prepare my students for future musical encounters. 

Now what do you plan to do to prepare to effectively teach and integrate music in your future classroom?


As always, our book is a great resource, as well as links on our class website. I will use my colleagues' resources to add to my files as well as continue to look for new--up to date methods of integrating music into my curriculum.

Reflection 7: Dance

What has changed in your understanding of what creative children’s dance is, and why and how to use it in the classroom? 

Last weeks class was so much fun. I loved seeing everyone's ideas and activities to get our students moving.

My understanding of dance in the classroom before we did this unit is that there was no way to apply it to the other cores. But now that i have seen all of my cohorts presentations and ideas I am so excited to incorporate dance into my classroom. I think that dance is a great way to help concrete information into student's minds.

So what will you be taking with you from your experience with creating, teaching and participating in creative dance lessons in class?

I think that using dance in the classroom is a creative, FUN, and easy way to incorporate the arts into the other cores. I've learned that is important to maintain good classroom management while doing these activities because if you do not they will not be effective in helping the students learn the material.

 Now what do you plan to teach your future students and how will you prepare for that?

I am going to strongly incorporate dance in my future classroom. I am going to try and use it once or twice a week. I think it helps students to remember the information they learn in multiple parts of the brain. I will prepare to teach dance by purchasing the book Dr. Escalante mentioned in class. It is full of great lesson plans. I will also be sure to keep myself in good physical conditions so I can move along with the class.

Reflection 6: Dance

What new insights do you have regarding what children's creative dance is and why it is important?
I thought that our reading was full of great examples, but as usual it was class that really showed me how useful and how easy it is to use the arts in the classroom. I think that creative dance is a great way to get my students minds going in the morning and it is important for them to have a well rounded day full of lots of different types of learning.


 What  important philosophical and practical things became clearer as you worked in class?
In class I realized how practical using dance can be in the classroom even when studying math and science. I loved the idea of using dance to help the students with geometry. I think that is a great activity that really applies to the core while incorporating the arts.


 So What does that mean for your preparation for next week and for field?
I  am really excited to use dance in field. As my group works and prepares for our presentation I really hope to create a lesson plan that can be used in the 4th grade curriculum so I am able to use it in the classroom.


 Now What do you need to do to incorporate this knowledge and skills into your practice? 
I think that it is important to have a basic background knowledge of everything you are teaching. So I believe reviewing key points of the chapter as well as reading through the class website will help build my knowledge of dance. Also, it is important to attend different arts seminars to lessons current and new.