Music Part Two

What?
I learned that when you are rewritting the words to a song from a book, that it is easier to write down the key elements from the book first and then create new lyrics from those.  The actual presentation experience was interesting to me because we all taught differently and two groups chose the same song.  It was interesting to learn about some of the things that they taught about.

So What?
It is important for me to remember that my students may not know the difference between rhythm and beat.  It is important to let the whole class explore each of these areas before splitting the class in half to do both.  It is also important that the words fit the song that is being sung.  If they do not fit, it will be harder to learn the song and frustrating for the students.

Now What?
My next steps are to practice what I have learned in the elementary school classroom and find ways to integrate the arts into other areas within the curriculum.  If I do not do that now then I won't do it within my own classroom.

Music Part One

What?
Music is the rhythm of everyday life.  It should be apart of the elementary classroom because students who are exposed to music are able to retain information better and more accurately.  Many students don't even realize that they are learning.

So What?
My goals for using in my classroom are simple.  I enjoy having some background music playing when at all possible.  As the students come in, when they have free time, and maybe even when they are doing group work.  I want my students to enjoy music and to learn from it. 

Now What?
Right now I plan to integrate music into my field experience and to start collecting music that children would enjoy and maybe never be exposed to.  I can practice any lessons with my younger cousins or a group of peers.

Dance Part One

What?
Children's creative dance is not a specific set of steps that children have to learn.  Children are able to explore different elements of dance and at the same time develop a critical thinking process.  Creative dance also helps students remember core materials better.

It became clear that children need the time to move and express themselves.  Creative dance can be taught anywhere studnets can move and have space to spread out.  I really like the idea of using props within the dance process.  It gives children something to add into their performance. 

So What?
This means that I need to be ready to use any space and have props ready for my students to use.  As part of my preperation, I can have a trial run through of my lesson with members of my family or group.

Now What?
Now that I have learned how to use creative dance within the classroom, I can create lesson plans that incorporates dance and other arts in to my classroom.