*Week 13*

This week seemed to pass by very quickly, but we did some really fun activity. Before we had worked in binary form, and we did something similar this week, except rather than having only an A and B, there was A, B, and C. The song was split off into 3 parts rather than the two that we had learned about before. To understand the concept of this a piece of classical music was played and we started off by just listening to it. After we had heard it we learned a clapping pattern that we would do during the A part and than listened to the music and clapped through with it. Next we counted out the other parts of the song, and divided it into the B section and C section. We then got divided into two different groups and we had to come up with different movement to do with the counts. This was a really great fun activity because we were able to be creative with out moves and work together as a team to come up with something that matched the music. It helps with themes we had before such as teamwork and creativity. This is really important for children because those are some of the key concepts they need to know. We also did an activity where we followed a sheet of music through different patterns. The song had something to do with a cucko bird and it made it easier to read, and is a great idea for music. We didn't do as much this week for actual in class activities, but it was because we had Friday to work on our lesson plans. Overall it was a very good week in Music 373.

**Week 11**

This week we spent a great deal of the time working on our group project for children’s literature. Although we have no gotten a chance to present out lesson yet, so far it has been a really great experience. Finding the actual book was not difficult because a few people in our group had picked out some extra books when they were looking for their individual book. One person in our group had a very good book about the social skill of friendship, so we decided to go with that book. Deciding the book and coming up with the lesson was actually fairly easy because we had so many people collaborate and work together to get everything we needed accomplished. The biggest challenge that we found did not actually have that much to do with the lesson part of it, but simply finding time for the group to get together because it was such a large group and everyone’s schedules were so different. Putting all of our ideas together and coming up with something great was the most exciting part. We all had very different ideas, but they came together great and I feel we really did a good job because of it.
This is a really great experience and children in the classroom can benefit from something like this for many reasons. Although students may not be getting in groups to do lesson plans, working in a group overall can have a great deal of benefits. It really helps a lot with their social skills, and it helps with creativity because they can hear ideas that they hadn’t really thought of which will help them expand their ideas. They would really benefit from a similar experience.

*Week 10*

This week one of the first concepts we worked on was Binary. We actually began working on this concept last week when we did a dancing activity with the song Hit the Road Jack, but we expanded on it much more this week. The concept of Binary is that a song can be broken into two distinct sections, A. which is the chorus or refain, of B. which is the verse. The chorus is what gets repeated over and over again, and can be seen quite often in pop music. On Monday we did an activity to go over Binary form with a song about a butterfly. We made two circles that moved in opposite directions and when it was the verse we just skipped around the circle, but once it got to the actual chorus we did a butterfly motion. It was a good way to help us remember Binary form.
Also, this week we did several other activities focused towards the children's literature project. Last week we focused on how music enhances creativity in literature, but this week we focused on how music and literature can be used to teach other subjects as well, such as social skills, social studies, science, and math. The first activity we did was with the chicken little story. This was really great because it encorporated a ton of the classroom instruments. Usually we will use some of the basic instruments, but for this song we used just about everything. It was awesome to hear everything come together. Our class actually sounded like an musicians, so it shows that you can teach children who do not usually play instruments a few simple things to do, but when you combine it all together it makes something really great. Not only does this help the literature lesson, but it also enhances teamwork.
On Wednesday we also read a book called Thunder cake. We were asked to all bring some sort of recycable trash with us back to class on Friday. Most people brought back things like waterbottles, pop cans, cerial boxes, or things of that nature. We were divided into groups based on numbers and given sounds that we had to come up with using our recycled garbage as our instruments. This is a great idea because in our classrooms chances our we will not have fancy instruments like we had used on Wednesday, so this is a much more realistic lesson plan for us. It also gave us an opportunity to be creative, which we said was important. This book was excellent to use though because it taught several others concepts, such as science, home economics, social skills, social studies, importance of recycling, math, and a few other things. It was great how many different concepts it taught, so it showed us that using one book we can teach a multitude of different things.

*Week 9*

The main focus this week has been on how music can be incorporated into children's literature. We were assigned a children's literature project which we will be working on in the next few week. It is very important to mix music with literature because not only does it help enhance the creativity of children, it also helps them stay interested in the story and the concepts that are being taught. As an example we were read two different books that incorporated music in different ways.
In the first, The Listening Walk, everyone was assigned a certain thing and we were supposed to come up with out own interpretation of how we believe that thing should sound. For example, some people had different types of cars or different animals. What is interesting about this is although many of us thought of similar sounds, there were many sounds that people made for their particular object that I honestly would have never thought of. This just shows another way to enhance the creativity of a child. By having them come up with a musical sound they have freedom because there is no right or wrong answer, so they can try to think of things they have heard before and express it however they want. Hearing what other children chose would also help them because it gives them more ideas and enhances their creativity that much more. What is great about this project though is that it also works on some of the actual music concepts that we have been focusing on, such as dynamics. Again, the listening walk is a great example of this. The children have to decide whether their sound is loud or soft, forte or piano, so they're using that whether they realize it or not. These concepts can also be incorporated directly into the lesson somehow, like we had explained with having the children place pictures of their object in paper bags labeled piano or forte.
The next book that we were read was Boo Hoo baby. Rather than everyone coming up with their own sound, we were given the tune of "what do you do with a drunken sailor," and came up with the new words, What do you do with a boo hoo baby, for it instead. When a particular part came up we were given a cue and knew to sing it. This can help children with melody as well because they will try to keep a particular tune and pitch. By children realizing that there can be a musical connection with the stories they are hearing, it makes it much more interesting for them and helps their creativity that much more.
Student centered learning is enhanced in an activity such as this because you are giving the children the freedom to come up with different sounds, pitches, and dynamics the story. The entire idea of the activity is focused around their ideas and allowing them to come up with different things, be creative, and play around with the ideas, rather than having a teacher at the front of the room lecturing about music or reading. It is an interactive activity that gets everyone in the class involved and active, and helps to sustain the attention of the children.
This week we also worked on the recorder a little bit more. I feel like we haven't been spending that much time on it so I haven't been doing as well on it as I had in the beginning of the year, but we D and E, and are now able to play quite a few more notes. I am really enjoying playing the recorder and feel like if it is something that I become good enough at I will definitally encorporate into my classroom, I just need a bit more work on it as of right now. I also think instrument such as the recorder or handdrum can be used in the childrens literature project as another way to get the students to have fun while singing a melody or coming up with a sound.

**Week 7**

This week we concentrated on our test more than anything. After taking the test I can say there were parts that I knew quite easily and very well, and other parts that I struggled with a bit. My biggest problem with the test was that I was unable to make it to class on Wednesday and there were things that were on the test that had been presented to the class that day, so I was definitally at a large disadvantage on a few questions because of that. However, because we were given the extra credit I'm confident that it will help make up for the points. Part of the way I study is by going to class and taking lots of notes. I'm an auditory learning, so I can read something out of a book and get next to nothing from it, but if I hear what is being said than it's a totally different story. I will remember everything quite easily, and writing down what I hear just helps me reinforce that. I really believe that writing is a great reinforcer for learning, so another thing I did to study was write out every answer to each question on the study guide. It helped me remember a lot of things. However, some of the questions asked very specific things, such as vocal characteristics and ability, and I just think that it is so easy to get those things confused, no matter how many times you go over them, so I'm unsure about how I did on that part. Also, a few things on the study guide, like parts of the lesson plan, I thought was supposed to be taken from the W.S. we did in class with the 8 steps, not what was written out. That was another thing I unfortunately missed in class on Wednesday. I feel that I was prepared for it as I could have been. I read the book, attended most classes, took notes, and did the study guide. For me these are the best strategies.
Mid-Semester Review- So far I have learned much more than I had anticipated. Although I knew what music was and some of the specifics about it such as the notes, I did not know the proper definition of rhythm, steady beat, melody, or any of those things we had gone over. Also, the Kodlay was all new information to me as well. I really like the overall structure in class, I think that it is very inviting and friendly. I am also enjoying learning to play the recorder. I think I may be one of the only people in the class that have never had any experience with it at all. It is a very fun instrument and now that I know how much music can impact other parts of the curriculum I would like to use it in a future classroom. My only complaint or thing I would want to change would probablly be the structure of the test. While I do think that most things on the test were fair, I just felt extremely pressed for time on it. Because it was short answer it took more time than I think many of us expected, so if it is possible, for the next test I think it would be better to either have a few less questions of tell everyone ahead of time it is okay to stay a little bit later. Especially because we had so many interruptions during it, I am easily distracted and whenever anyone is talking I can't really focus. This isn't a huge complaint or anything, I just think the test would be a better representative of what we are learning if we are just given a little more time. I really like the class this far, especially learning the recorder, and hope we continue on at the same pace!

Teaching Assignment #1/ Journal #6

This week everyone in the class had an opportunity to present a lesson. Although I have given lessons before, this was my first experience doing a music lesson. As you can tell from the video posted above, there were many things that I struggled with and definitely need to improve, but also some things that I feel went very well. I don't think I would be able to pinpoint one thing that I found "most difficult," because there were several areas I was extremely nervous about. For starters, in case you haven't already noticed, I do not have much of a singing voice. I had trouble getting my voice in tune and trying to use my head voice. It was a little bit easier for me because I eventually ended up picking a song that had only 2 different notes, but I still had a difficult time figuring out how to hit those notes. Another big issue for me was the nerves and being scared to present. Although I know we are all going to be teachers and should be used to standing in front of everyone and putting ourselves out there, I know I do not stand along when I say the difference between doing this for our peers and friends as oppose to young children is huge! It amazed me how much more nervous I was to get up in front of everyone and present than I am when I go in and work with first and second graders. Although I am nervous in both situations, when you present in front of older people you feel like you are being judged much more harshly and it makes it uncomfortable. Yet another thing I struggled with was creativity in the lesson. I wanted to do something unique that I though everyone would enjoy, so coming up with original ideas proved to be a bit more challenging than I had anticipated.
While watching my lesson it is clear to me the things that I did not do well, and would definitely want to improve on for the future. First of all, I asked way to many rhetorical questions. Some times after I would ask them I would realize what I was doing but there are times in the presentation that I asked rhetorical questions and did not even realize. I was very fortunate that no one in the class acted as a disruptive child and responded no when I asked them if they wanted to sing again or sit in a circle, but this is something I need to make myself more aware of because in the future it could definitely happen. Another thing I do not think I did very well was make myself clear and certain points. I found myself stumbling over sentence and words, and while every teacher gets mixed up in what they are saying sometimes, I noticed I would start to mumble when I did this which is never a good thing. For the group that I had I may have been going a little too fast also, but because the lesson was prepared for K-1st grade I was acting as if everyone was that age, which explains the reasoning for that. I also mixed up a little minor things, like I forgot Whitley needed a partner and went back to the piano which was obviously a mistake, but I think little things like that are easier to correct, I need to focus more on things like asking rhetorical questions and speaking more clearly.
Although I made my fair share of mistakes there were some strong points in my lesson. To begin with, I think I really had good enthusiasm and overall leadership. Watching the video it did make me cringe quite a bit because it looked so cheesy seeing as though my audience was a group of college students, but when working with younger children the tone , facial expression, and overall enthusiasm is extremely important. I seemed really excited about the lesson and hopefully they would to as a result. I was also able to incorporate some dancing and moving around, as well as allowing the students to come up with their own ideas, so I feel that was a strong point. I was able to improvise because there weren’t enough partners which I wasn’t planning to do so that showed flexibility. The plan was well prepared, so that was a positive. There were several things that I was proud of while I watched the lesson, so I do think it went really well.
There are quite a few things I would improve if I had the opportunity to do the lesson again. I would slow things down a bit more and make sure I was more confident in what I was doing, which would help me be more clear and make fewer mistakes. Practice makes perfect, but I know that no matter how many times I rehearse something there are always going to be errors, it is just important to work with them at that point and improve as a result of them. One thing I did that drove me nuts later on was say funner something like that, which was just a total incorrect use of the English language. It is little mistakes like that I really have to watch out for because it makes me look really bad as a teacher, it was as if it took away some of my credibility or something. I’d also have a bit more dancing and movement and just try to be more confident!
If I were to have to grade myself it would be something like this…
Musicianship… 5 points
I may not have had the very best voice, but it was generally in key and used in the head voice, and that is what is important for this class. I sang with them as well as played the piano at parts so they got a better understanding of the melody, and everything was done with appropriate tempo and rhythm.
Leadership… 9 points
Out of all the different categories I would say this is the one I excelled in, however, I showed my nerves a bit too much which shouldn’t have been done. There are still certain things I need to improve on to gain confidence, but intensity, eye contact, voice tone and volume all seemed to be there.
Preparation… 14
The written plan and knowledge of music and plan were also things I was very prepared in. However, I could have used more instruments like the hand drums or rhythmic sticks which would have been more fun and just planned things out a bit better to make things go more smoothly.
Delivery of Instruction… 18
This would be an 18 because of all the reasons I had talked about before. I asked far too many rhetorical questions and was not clear enough about what I wanted at several different times. The transitions could have gone better as well. I do think that flexibility went well, as well as the pace, so those are some of the things I should continue to do.

Week 5

This week we learned many new and interesting things. Starting on Monday we began going over the teaching criteria for our lesson plans and what we needed to specifically do for them. Some of the things we learned that were important in teaching each lesson was Musicianship, which includes being in tune and having accurate rhythm, Leadership, which involves our body language, eye contact, and intensity, Preparation, which is basically having our lesson plans figured out and knowing exactly what we are going to do, which we worked on last week, and the Delivery of Instruction. We learned great deal of things under the delivery of instruction category, such as important aspects of closure, continuity, feedback, and verbal instructions. Going over each aspect was extremely helpful because it showed us how to get our ideas and lessons prepared and organized, because we now know exactly what is expected of us and how we should do it. On Wednesday we discussed Zoltan Kodaly, his importance, and many of the musical concepts he brought into play. We went over “do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, do” and different hand motions and levels that you can use to show that note. It was interesting, but probably one of the harder things we have learned so far because everything to me was new.
We learned these concepts and skills several different ways. For lesson preparation, knowing what is expected of us, and getting things more organized and ready for this week’s lesson we were given a worksheet outlining these things and we went over them. As we did this if anyone had any questions about anything in specific or in general they were given an opportunity to ask about them. This was nice because a lot of questions other people asked I was wondering myself but was too embarrassed to ask. We all were able to help each other out and give one another tips. For the Kodlay martial we started off by listening to the Sound of Music so we could hear and know what he concentrated on. We were shown the different hand motions and repeated them. We also went through the packet, having the teaching read and point out the important parts of it and taking note on it.
Lesson planning is probably the most important thing for us to go over because the large majority of us are not going to be music teachers, but will use these same concepts. It is nice to know what we need to do and how to get organized for it. The Kodlay material was important because he had the philosophy that music should be the core of education for all children, so it puts the idea in our heads of incorporating more music into the general education setting. Ideas like hand signing and solfa can be very helpful to children and we should know them.
While children will not know the importance or difficulty that goes into lesson planning, the Kodlay material is very important for them to know. It will help them grasp a greater understanding of music, so the younger they begin to learn it at the better. The hand motions may be hard to pick up at first, but will be very beneficial.