Dance

When I went into this portion of class I was thinking that it was going to be like dance routines. I have never danced and I have very little coordination and I was really worried. I stayed worried even throughout the activity because I didn't want to look stupid, I have a hard time with dance. But as we worked in class I realized it was so much more open for interpretation. It's more of an expression of emotion through movement than what I think of as dance. The practical application of dance became more real as I became aware of the emotion I experienced and how I could express that. I think learning that is invaluable in so many ways. 

 As we talked in class about why dance would be beneficial for children I realized that the kids in my cooperating class could really enjoy dance. The classroom I am going into has 6 children with ADHD and 3 with severe physical disabilities. I think using dance in one of my lessons could really help the kids with ADHD channel their energy in a good way. It could help them express themselves in a way they never thought before. The 3 with physical disabilities could also really benefit from being part of their class in a new way. I want them to experience a new body connection and it really makes me want to try dance during field.

  

I need to practice creative dance often enough that I become comfortable with it. I also need to practice side coaching and telling students what to do using the correct language. I feel that I need to look for other materials to aid me in how I could use dance even more than any other art because I am least comfortable with it. I feel like I could also do this activity with my family and make it more a part of my life.

The group experience was great again. I wrote half of the lesson plan and wrote the assessment and extension, I also chose the book. I feel that my group members did give a lot of input and encouragement to do this assignment because I was very anxious and nervous about it. I have learned that some people just don't want to step up which works for me because I like to be the boss. I have also learned that I like working with people that have various strengths that are different from my own because I can learn more from them than when I work with all people that are very similar to me.

Music

Music is an art form that has the potential to enhance learning in many other areas. Musical involvement is very  important for every child to engage in because of it's many benefits. I learned that singing can be used in many more ways that are meaningful than I anticipated. Through presenting I learned it's much harder to teach a song when multiple people need to teach it.

My goal for teaching music in my future classroom is to use it more often than not. I don't simply want to play music for my students to hear but get them involved. So many people think they can't be musical but it really doesn't take too much effort if you get music exposure throughout your life. I have been involved in music my whole life and I know it has benefited me academically so I hope to use it in the classroom quite a bit. I really like the idea of tying songs to the curriculum because I retain things so much better through music and I know a lot of my students will too.

As far as being ready to use music in the classroom goes, I need to keep practicing teaching songs. I was a primary chorister for a year and a half and I taught with the 4 rules already so I'm fairly familiar. It always takes a little practice to get back in the routine though. I also want to practice singing some of the folk songs an becoming familiar with the melodies again by singing with my baby daughter. She loves music and I think doing some activities with her and my musical husband will help me prepare to teach music in my future classroom. This was totally my unit where I was completely comfortable.

Working in this team was alright. Natalia did a lot of the work of writing the script which was awesome and then most of us contributed to it. I did the editing and revising of the document which wasn't much work at all. We all got along well, it just didn't feel like every single member pulled their weight. This same group member decided not to come to our group meeting to practice either which was disappointing but we got through just fine. I think when I have students work in groups I will have all students be assigned to part of the project that they must turn in so they stay accountable and contribute. I have done the entire project so many times in multiple classes my whole life and it gets old really fast. Natalia is taken advantage of like this too and I feel bad for her. I think that is what I would change but I do like group projects because we can glean so many good ideas from other people.