Instrument Circle!

This was the day we had been waiting for. Finally, the students were able to use instruments... that is, after we finished learning the song and reminding ourselves of our rhythm.

To view the plan for this lesson, Click HERE

I decided to adjust the chant to be everyone clapping the same rhythm to make it simpler for everyone. Later on, it would be great practice to have separate groups work on their composing and performance skills by creating their own rhythm to perform in rondo form. But, I felt like this was a great stepping stone for the class.

The students were engaged and excited to perform the rhythm and song and sang with more confidence than I'd seen thus far! Next time, it would be good to define Rondo Form and sing more examples of this form.

Overall, the Final product was joyful and instructive. Most students followed the procedure of using instruments very well. I'm excited to see what next year will hold!

Click HERE to watch a video of these 5th graders' performance!

Adaptation and Christmas

I was really excited for this lesson because I arranged my own song based on the tune of "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" and lyrics about adaption borrowed from the website listed below.

Click HERE to view the lyrics to the song.

Almost all the students were attentive, engaged and determined during the rhythm clapping section of the lesson. I was impressed with how soon they got the rhythms right when I challenged them to get it right after two tries. 

Transitioning to the song was fun but needed to be a little more engaging. Next time, I'll put the lyrics up on the board or have clearer actions for them to follow.
It will be an adventure for them to put the music and rhythms together in Rondo Form next time but I think they are up for the challenge.

To view the plan for this lesson, click HERE.

Idioms are Here

This was the first lesson we had that was geared toward a performance. The students seemed to enjoy being recorded. They also were able to do an excellent job at recalling certain idioms they knew and enjoyed creating their own idioms.

Click HERE for a link to the lesson plan

When we split in between the song and chant, it was a little difficult for them to understand the pattern. I think this will be clarified next time as we talk about Rondo Form and introduce rhythm.
They are very good at keeping the beat and now need more complex concepts. Next time, we will go into box notation of their chants.

Overall, this lesson was a success, ending in a refined recording of them singing and chanting. I learned that it is alwasy good to overplan your lessons rather than underplan.

Charting Simple Gifts

Practice Makes a Difference
I am so thankful for this lesson! It marked improvement in my abilities and learning process!

The biggest things I learned was how important it is to practice the lesson beforehand. I had practiced it several times before the day of the lesson and it showed in how smoothly it ran. Also, I learned from the previous lesson and varied the way I assessed instead of just doing raising hands. This help the students be more engaged. 

Wrap-up Questions
The most fulfilling part was that at the end after I asked what they learned two girls raised their hands and stated the objective almost verbatim. I was so thankful that they EXPERIENCED the concept of active listening and thus were able to compare and contrast two melodies!! I felt much better about it than the past lessons.

Improvements
Some things that could improve are, they could be more active and use more modalities of learning like visual and kinesthetic. I learned an important thing that in today's world, students will always be bored at some point. Our job is to help them be as engaged as possible and learn to not need be stimulated every second of every day. I would like to reinvent the lesson to provide more full-body kinesthetic motion to help them stay active. They prefer when they move the tables and can work in the middle.

For a Lesson Plan link click HERE

First Lesson

A-Rig-a-Jig-Jig

This was a perfect singing game to allow the students to warm up to me and feel comfortable! By the end, they were smiling and dancing together so the segway to teaching fractions fromm the song flowed much more smoothly.
Click HERE to view the plan for this lesson.

Making Connections

A-Rig-a-Jig-Jig is in 6/8 meter and as soon as I wrote it up on the board, Mrs. Skankey noticed how this related to what they had just learned: the definition of dividend and divisor. This immediate connection sparked my excitement and anticipation for how other principles can connect. The students then integrated math by writing in numbers or pictures to represent the length of an eighth note, quarter note etc. so they could learn how a beat can be divided into equal parts. I demonstrated this first with a cookie example. The concept was a little difficult for them to understand right away so we will review next time. Overall, many children left smiling and seemed excited to learn more!

Welcome to 5th Grade!

This semester, I have the privilege of working with Melanie Skankey in her 5th grade classroom at Sage Hills Elementary. This blog will document my experiences as I actually apply the principles I'm learning as a Music Education undergrad at BYU. I'm excited to put all my studying into action!

First Visit

As I entered Mrs. Skankey's classroom, I was impressed with the ease of the environment. As I had learned in Dr. May's class, the environment was condusive for experiential and constructive learning especially because the children could clear the room in 45 seconds so there was an open space in the middle.

My purpose was to observe Mrs. Skankey's classroom management skills so I could apply them later. I was impressed with how well the children followed procedures she had set in place when it was only the first month of school. I enjoyed observing her use phrases like "Class, Class, Class" or a bell to grab attention. It didn't seem authoritative but since it was coupled with the teacher's nurturing demeanor. She had an excellent balance or firm rule-setting and kind acceptance. 

Second Visit

This time, I specifically observed a math lesson. Mrs. Skankey is incredible at integrating drama into math which was clearly displayed in her lesson. I was actively brainstorming ideas of how to incorporate music into math as well. After this second time of observing, I felt more comfortable applying Mrs. Skankey's classroom management procedures. Nos, all I had to do was plan my lesson and go!!