Reflection #9

 I learned that I have a lot to work on when it comes to singing but until I become that novice musician, I can still be using music and singing in my classroom. It was harder than I thought to come up with a book that both matched a curriculum standard and was easy to put a tune/lyrics with, but I think my group still did a good job. I think that the Industrial Revolution group really got the idea of this lesson and did a very nice job of making the information memorable. During our groups presentation I had to get brave and sing louder than I normally do in a group, but with my team members it made it a lot easier. I help my mini group learned the pitch of the song and tried to teach them how to follow the pitch by raising and lowering their hands with the pitch levels, but for someone like myself who struggles with pitch (tone deaf), this was a little difficult but I gave it a try anyway. I believe that if I show my students that it's okay to not be an amazing singer in order to sing with the class then they will be able to gain knowledge and confidence while in my class, and that is something I want my students go get while I am their teacher! :)

Reflection #8

Although my personal musical skills are far from the expert level, I have always had a love for music. Despite my abilities to create pleasant sounding music I can still enjoy musics beat, rhythm, lyrics and emotional meaning it gives to life. In previous field observations I took note of the kindergarten teacher who was constantly using music and songs to start the daily routine and to transition topics. Her students loved it and I loved the thoughts of doing that in my future classroom. Not only will I use music as an attention getter or transition help, but I want to incorporate music into daily lessons so my students can benefit from the positive effects of music. In order to do that I need to brush up on my skills and knowledge of music so I can adequately teach them. Learning and participating in making music in the classroom will help students to feel more comfortable and confident and be able to have fun while they are learning. I really feel that of all creative arts, music can be the easiest to incorporate and can have the greatest effect in creating well-rounded individuals.

Reflection #5

What did you learn from developing a Process Drama from text? I feel like I got a lot more out of the book as the reader but then again as the presenter when I thought about and incorporated the process dramas into the book. I love the way the story comes off the pages and becomes alive when you get to act out and do activities that go along with the story WHILE you are reading it. I like to think that the authors and illustrators hope that all of their storybooks are respected so much that teachers use them as a teaching tool and expand the story from the book into a lesson or part of a lesson plan.  
What did you learn from the other team presentations? Listening to the other groups presentations, I got a lot of fun ideas that I want to remember for my future classroom.   
So What drama ideas will you try to implement in your teaching? My favorite activity was when we all got in a circle and held hand and had to navigate as a group, i could see this Process Drama working for so many subjects in school.  
Now What - How will you prepare to teach and integrate creative drama in your teaching? I think always remembering to have an open mind when learning how to teach new subjects and thinking of ways to make learning more meaningful and fun by using drama activities I will be prepared when I make my lesson plans in the future.