Journal Week # 12

I think my group and I worked very well together. It was hard at first to find a meeting time where we could meet outside of class to wok on the project together, and unfortunately we had to decide on a meeting time where the most people could go and not everybody in the group because that seemed impossible. So I was not able to attend my groups meeting due to work, but I did contribute ideas as well as the book we worked with. Overall I think my group got along very well and came up with a good solid plan in teaching this book. We accomplished working together to come up with a lesson plan that integrated a story book, music, and a lesson about science. I think the goal of this activity was to work together to show that it is possible to come up with a lesson relating to music and a school subject, and that by doing this it makes learning a lot more fun and interesting for the students. The most exciting part of the process I think was teaching the lesson itself because we all worked together and for the most part it went pretty smoothly despite the large amount of group members that had to teach this lesson. Overall i think many children will benefit from this sort of lesson, because they have fun in learning and this way will be more likely to remember the lesson if they enjoyed it.

Week #11 Journal

This week we mostly learned more about integrating musical activities into children's literature and the many different and creative ways it can be done. We learned how you can integrate different subject areas as well as music and non-music concepts into a children's book so you can teach the children something while they are having fun with the story. A teacher has to think of creative ways that music can be integrated into a children's story. For instance, on Wednesday we each played a different instrument together during the Chicken Little story, and each instrument represented a character in the story. Then on Friday we brought recyclable items to class and used them to create sounds of rain and thunder during the story Thunder Cake. It also allowed us, the students, to be creative in coming up with our own sounds that represented thunder. Creativity is important to young children, and teachers must do all they can do to enhance the creativity in children and not stifle it. ALso, by doing these fun things while telling a story, the children are more likely to pay attention to the story and learn something from it rather than let their minds drift off.
On Friday this week we also learned two new notes on the recorder, E and F. I thought these new notes were harder than ones we learned before because we had to use almost all of our fingers and my fingers got tired quickly.
This week we also learned what binary form is. Binary form is when a song is broken up into two different parts. One part, the A part, is the chorus of the song and the other part, the B part, is the bridge of the song. For example, when we did the hand jive in class to the Ray Charles song Hit the Road Jack, the song had a binary form. During part A, we did the hand jive and during part B we danced around with our partner.

Journal Week 10

This week in class, we learned how to tell a story to children through music and sounds. By doing this, it can get the children engaged in listening to a story by taking part in its telling rather than just sitting there listening to it. This also ensures that the students are paying attention because they have a role to play in the storytelling. This also allows them to have fun through music and storytelling. By using student-centered learning, it allows them to be creative while still sticking to learning and having fun. It lets the children become active in the learning. In reading the sounds story and everyone participating in making different sounds that go along in the story, each student was actively engaged in the story and it allows the students to think creatively to come up with their own sound. It also teaches the students more aware of the sounds around them in their everyday lives. Also with the Boo Hoo baby story and song it also allowed the students to become involved and learn a variety of animal sounds with their peers.
On Friday this week we learned how to play a new note, the E on the recorder. This note was fun but more challenging than it has been to remember all the subsequent notes we learned. But its still fun to be able to play more recognizable songs on the recorder as the weeks progress.

Journal Week 8

I believe that creativity is one of the most important things for children to have. One reason is because it allows them to use their mind, think for themselves and to come up with their own ways to solve problems. Creativity shows individuality in a person, and it is important to teach this to children at a young age so we can encourage them to be creative and use their own creativity in everything that they do. Creativity encourages children to think out of the box and come up with their own individual ideas on a topic.
Music is an area that helps children use their creativity. By teaching children at an early age about all the different instruments and notes and sounds that is involved in music allows them to be skilled in the area and when they get older, experiment with the notes and music to come up with something that is their own. Also, by listening to a song, a child can be creative in coming up with a story that goes along with the song or by feeling the different individual emotions that music brings.
For my multicultural project I am choosing Ireland as my country. I am over half Irish on both sides of my family so I think this culture represents me the best and it is something I will be interested to learn more about.

Journal Week 7

This week in class we spend reviewing or going over our lesson plans next week and studying for our test. I don't think that the test itself was that hard because I spent a lot of time studying. I made flash cards for all the topics discussed on the study guide and I reviewed them many times before the test. The most difficult thing I felt to remember was the solfege and remembering what sounds went with the different music notes. Another thing I thought was difficult was the different musical characteristics and abilities for children at different age and grade levels, because most of them were so similar between ages. The rest of the test I felt was pretty easy and I felt I did well. (I hope!)The easiest things I felt we learned this semester was what steady beat, rhythm, melody, articulation and dynamics were. I also enjoyed learning the different notes on the recorder, A, B, C, G, and D. Other things I felt were easy were the scales (C major and G major) and whole and half steps, and the notes and the according rest signs.

Peer Evaluations

http://www.youtube.com/swf/l
Nakia

Musicianship: 4 points- Nakia seemed to be well in tune with an accurate pitch. Her rhythm and tempo seemed pretty good too. Her phrasing was ok but maybe her expression could have been better because she couldve been a bit more excited.

Leadership: 9 points. Her leadership skills in presenting this lesson were very good. She seemed very confident about presenting this lesson to her class. I think that her body language, facial expression, voice tone and volume, and eye contact were all pretty good for getting the students excited about the song. Her intensity/energy was the only thing I noticed that could've been higher.

Preparation: 15 points. Her lesson seemed very well prepared. She knew exactly what she was going to teach at which moment and didnt seem to be nervous about it at all. She had all her equipment ready before the lesson and her knowledge of the music and her plan seemed to be perfect for this song.

Delivery of Instruction: 20 points. Nakia's delivery seemed excellent for this instuction. It's very difficult to do this assignment in front of your own classmates and not feel nervous but she pulled it off, she seemed very confident, which is a quality that teachers must have. She definately motivated and captured the attention of her students by the outside equipment she used as well as talking about Thanksgiving because she was relating the song to her students lives and getting them more personally involved. Her plan seemed well organized and carried out and her closure seemed appropriate for the lesson as well.

Total points: 48
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http://www.youtube.com/v/kWlriE9Yt7E&hl=en&fs=1

Whitley

Musicianship: 3 points. Her rhythm and tempo seemed quite accurate as well as her phrasing and expression, however I think her pitch in her voice was a little low and when she played the recorder she had some pitch and wind issues.

Leadership: 9 points. Her leadership in presenting this lesson was very good. She seemed confident in front of the class and her body language, eye contact and facial expressions were all good and appropriate for this song. She also had good intensity and energy in front of the students to get them excited from this song.

Preparation: 14 points. Her preparation was pretty good. She seemed like she practiced her lesson a few times. The only thing I thought she could have practiced more on was playing the song on the recorder because it was a bit shaky on it. But her knowledge of the music and her plan seemed pretty good and she had all equipment ready on hand.

Delivery of Instruction: 20 points.
She did well in relating the song to her students because she asked at the beginning if any of the students knew a Betty or a Martin. Her questioning was also very good because she asked questions to the students throughout the lesson to get them more active and involved. She also did well in motivating the students because she got excited with them in singing the song and did well in involving the students in the song too. Her lesson also flowed pretty well with good pace and feedback.

Total Points: 46

Self-evaluation:

Musicianship: 4 points, I think my pitch and rhythm of the song were pretty accurate, and I think I had an appropriate tempo, however, perhaps my phrasing and expression could have been better.

Leadership: 6 points. Leadership was perhaps my weakest point. Because I was nervous I feel that my body language, facial expression and intensity could have been much better. I think I did ok on eye contact and volume.

Preparation: 13 points. I feel I did alright in preparing my lesson plan. I had all my materials ready as well as a written plan in hand and I had practiced the music and plan. I do however feel I could have better explained things better during my lesson because I know a lot of people were confused.

Delivery of Instruction: 16 points. I think my most difficult part in carrying out the instruction was my verbal instructioning because I think my words confused a lot of people. I think I was able to motivate and capture the attention of my students because they seemed to think the song was fun once they got the hang of it. Also, I think my feedback, focus, and closure of the lesson were alright. However, after watching all my classmates carry out their lesson plans I now think I can improve in most of these areas still.

Total points: 39

I think I did alright overall for my first time carrying out a lesson plan in front of a class, but I know there are many areas I can improve in. The hardest part about carrying out a lesson plan is actually being in front of a bunch of people who are counting on you to teach them something fun, exciting and new. I was very nervous in front of the class and that made me botch up a lot of my words. However I think I picked a good song because the class seemed to have fun with it.

Week 5 Journal

This week in class we learned many important things about teaching music to young children. We were taught to sing and dance to a song by a strict lesson plan and then were asked to write a lesson plan to a song of our choosing.
We also learned about Kodaly and his theory stating that all people who are linguistically literate can also be musically literate, meaning that anyone who can learn to read is also capable learning to read music.
Also during class this week we learned the scale of notes in the form do re mi fa so la ti do and we learned the hand movements or sign language that represents these notes.
It is very important for us, as teachers, to get our ideas and thoughts about our lesson prepared out in detail in advance of teaching the lesson. Usually teachers can be nervous already to speak in front of a big group of children and not being prepared in advance can increase the probability that you won't know what to do or talk about. You need to know what to do and how long it will take each lesson in order for the children to properly understand what you are teaching. You need to use your senses (sight, hearing, etc.) to make sure the children are doing and understanding what you are supposed to.
Personally I feel quite nervous about teaching my lesson plan this upcoming week. Although I have practiced a few times I still feel like I may mess up or stutter a few times. But in the end I think it will be ok because all my classmates will be doing the same thing and probably feeling just as nervous. If anything, I know it is my first time presenting a lesson plan in front of other people so I know that if I mess anything up, I can work on it for next time.

Blog week 4

This week in music we learned how to make a lesson plan in teaching children a song. We learned all about the musical and nonmusical concepts that are involved in a song as well as what a time signature and staff are and what they mean and how to teach them to children. We also learned a new note on the recorder, C.
The first song we learned in accordance to lesson plans was Tideo. We at first learned to sing the song along with keeping the steady beat, rhythm, and melody. Then we were taught a dance to the song. We also filled out a practice lesson plan to the song Tideo so we would know how to make a lesson plan and all the different parts to it.
Then we learned the song Bow wow wow and learned the concept of a rest through the song and dance. On Friday we learned a couple new songs on the recorder that incorporated the note C into it along with the notes we already know: A, B, and G.
It is very important for us all to know how to make a lesson plan because we will be doing that everyday in our lives as future teachers. Its important to know how to make a lesson plan in all different areas too, even ones we may not be teaching because it gives us experience.

Our third week in music 373 we learned about many different musical concepts. We furthered our discussion on melodies, steady beats, and rhythms, and started learning about music scales and musical notation. We practiced these skills by playing the recorder and coming up with our own melodies on the recorder.

We were shown the different kinds of scales on the board in class. We learned about treble clef, what it looks like and what it means in music. We were also taught different kinds of notes such as whole notes, half notes, quarter notes, and so on and we were taught how to keep time in using those notes. These are all basic skills necessary to know in order to read music and in turn, to play music as well.

We also learned specific notes on the recorder, such as A, B, and G that are played by covering the various top wholes with your left hand on the top of the recorder. In addition to learning Hot Cross Buns, we learned to play another song in class by coming up with the note combinations ourselves.

Learning these important concepts and then learning to play music for young children is very important because learning these types of skills are easier the younger an individual is. The information children learn at a young age has a higher probability of sticking with them if practiced, and it will allow children to further their music education and become more advanced in the art if started early. It also is an important way for children to have fun in learning new things. If children know the basics of music, such as the concept of melodies or rhythm, then they are more apt to learn about different and more difficult concepts.

Journal Week #2 Reflection

This week in class I learned many important concepts. First, I learned what steady beat and rhythm are, and how to tell the differences between them. I also learned how to play a song on the recorder called Hot Cross Buns.

We learned about steady beat and rhythm by the use of our poems that we wrote about ourselves. We wrote a four line poem about ourselves and them clapped or used instruments using a steady beam while singing the poem and then by clapping the poem to its rhythm. Before we learned the song on the recorder we were shown where to place our hands on the recorder and how much pressure to put on the instrument using our mouths. We were then shown how to play the notes A, B, and G and we then imitated those notes and using those three notes, we were taught the melody of Hot Cross Buns (or Three Blind Mice)! We then played the song again and again so we could remember it better.

I think it is very important to learn these concepts. Steady beat and rhythm are used in our everyday lives, and not just in music either. There is a rhythm to everything we do in life, (like walking or talking) whether we think about it or not. Most importantly however, I think learning these concepts help us to better understand music and ways of teaching using music, which is kind of the whole point of the class. To further help us remember these concepts, we were taught to use these concepts by playing musical instruments, whether they be a drum, musical sticks, or a recorder. Using the recorder especially was important to us because it shows that we ourselves can make a steady beat and rhythm in music.

This is important for children to learn at an early age because it allows them to be creative and shows them that learning can be fun if you make it fun. It is also easier for children to learn musical concepts when they are younger as opposed to when they are older... they are more apt to remember it the younger they are. It also helps to develop cognitive, affective, and psychomotor skills.

10 children's songs that I am most familiar with include Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, You Are My Sunshine, BINGO, Farmer in the Dell, Itsy Bitsy Spider, I'm a Little Teapot, If You're Happy and You Know It, Rock-a-bye-baby, Row Row Row Your Boat, and Old McDonald.

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Emily Goins Name Rhyme

My name is Emily
I can be quite silly
I laugh when things are funny
My humor is very sunny.

Music 373 Journal #1

Hi! My name is Emily Goins, I am a sophomore Elementary Education major, and here is my music history:
I participated in elementary chorus in 5th and 6th grade, and then continued with it and took chorus in middle school in 7th and 8th grade. I started playing the violin in 4th grade and continued playing until after middle school. I also participated in many dance classes throughout my childhood, including ballet, tap dance, jazz, and hip hop dance classes. My father has been part of rock bands ever since I was little so I have had the experience of going to see him play. I like listening to many types of music including pop, rock, alternative, oldies, jazz, and country. I have attended many concerts performed by the Rockford Symphony Orchestra, and I love hearing them play.
The activities we have done in class the first two days I at first found awkward and a little out of my element but as we continued them, I started to enjoy the silly songs and games and it made my feel more comfortable around people I don't know. That's one important reason why I believe these songs are important for children, because it gives them a fun way to get to know people who are strangers to them, and it is an easy and fun way for children to feel comfortable around each other, as I began to feel. I also liked the way we learned these activities, because we were shown what to do, and then pretty much just jumped right in and joined along in the singing and silly games. Because everyone had to do the same thing, it made us feel less awkward, and after a while most of us were like "Hey, why not, let's just join in and be silly!"