Week 15

We only have one week of classes left. We have been really really busy trying to finish up our final projects. They were originally due on Monday; however, our teacher changed the date to Wednesday. I am so glad she did because I am completely swamped with work from all my other classes also. This past week we working more on incorporating movement into music. We learned a few simple dances we could share with our future students. I was practicing my recorder this week because I met with out teacher on Friday to play a few songs for her. This allowed me to receive quite a few extra credit points. I learned the recorder back in my grade school days so it was fun to jog my memory this semester on how to play it. It was probably much easier for me than other in my class because of my music history. I already knew how to read music, unlike some in my class. I have enjoyed this semester very much, and I am sad to see it come to an end so soon.

This past week we only had two class periods. I was unable to attend Monday because of registration for my classes for the fall semester. It was very important for me to register as soon as possible because I needed to get the correct classes. I commute over an hour every day and needed to make sure I my schedule was correct and well planned. On Wednesday in class, we learned a little more about adding movement to songs. The class split into two groups and we had to make up movements to a certain section of the song. We also learned more about teaching children to actively listen to music. It is important to help our students learn how to hear the different components of a song. We do not have class on Fridays anmore because we are supposed to use the extra time to work on our final projects. There is a lot of work involved in this project so I really appreciate this extra time out of class. There are a few students, however, that are still attending class to learn how to play music in the teachers band. It is hard to believe that we only have a couple of weeks left of class for the semester!

Week #13

This week we concentrated on presenting the rest of our lesson plans. Our group presented on Monday, and I believe it went very well. It was was nice to show the rest of the class what we had been working on. There was the last group that presented their lesson on Wednesday. They also did a very nice job. We had our individual lesson plan due for our project. This project was similar to our group project except we are not teaching it to the rest of the class. I enjoy incorportating music in to lessons because I think the children would really enjoy it. It would help them to become more interested in the subject being taught. Our main concentration from now on is going to be our final project. This is a lot of work so I am very glad we have Fridays to work on the content of it. There isn't much left of this semester, and I'm sure it is going to fly by.

Week 12

All of our concentration this week was put towards our group literature projects. We spent a little time on Wednesday reading a story and incorporating music into it. I think my group (social skills) worked well together, and I feel we are very prepared to present on Monday. We were able to accomplish everything expected of us. We completed a lesson plan, incorporated music into the story, and were also able to incorporate an extra lesson into it. Our extra lesson has to deal with telling time. The most exciting part of this process was trying to figure out which instrument could create a sound similar to the animals in our story. The major challenge was the time constraint on us. It is hard with a group with this many people to try to meet together. The class time helped some with this, but I wish we would have had a little more. Overall, I think this activity is a lot of fun and can help us to incorporate it into our classroom when we become teachers. Children can benefit in many ways from this type of lesson. First of all, they will be more excited to learn because of the music. The students will also appreciate our creativity and enjoy using insruments while telling the story. As college students, we enjoy playing the instruments with the stories, so elementary students will absolutely love it.

Week 11

This week we learned more about involving creativity into story telling. Some of the students in our class were able to play new instruments while the story "Chicken Little" was read. We also learned about improvising when we cannot afford instruments. We each brought in some items we though could be used as instruments; for example, some of us brought water bottles and boxes to make sounds to go with the story. This allows children to learn more about music while practicing many other skills. For example, students can learn more about math, science, language, and social skills during story telling. We also practiced a little more on the recorder at the end of the week, and we learned our last note. We will now be able to play many different songs with our recorder. We had a very small amount of time to work on our group project which will incorporate what we have been learning into a lesson. It is very hard for all of us to find time to meet outside of class so this class time is vital. This project will allow us to show all that we have learned lately to the rest of the class.

Week 9

This week we talked about a few new terms and reviewed some past ones. A new term we learned was timbre. Timbre is the tone color of the instrument or voice. This can vary because of the size and type of the instrument. For example, a flute has a very different timbre than a tuba. We also learned about binary form which is when a song has to contrasting sections. We also continued to review different dynamics. This is the volume of the sounds (example: piano & forte).
Early in the week, Adam read a book that allowed us to use our imagination to produce sounds. We each had a certain sound to produce in parts of the story. We also changed the lyrics in the song "what would you do with a drunken sailor" to "what would you do with a boo hoo baby." This further demonstrated the different sound we can produce. It is important for us to learn this because it allows us to be more creative in our classroom as well as allowing our students to use their creativity. Stories similar to these help children to learn to listen. Many students can have a difficult time focusing their attention to listen for certain things and this can help them with that. It will also help them associate words and meanings if they are not familiar with them.

Week 8

Unfortunately, I was really sick this week with the flu. It was a horrible week and now I feel a little behind and lost in class. I'm sure I will be able to catch up with what we are talking about. I read some other students' blogs so that I could have an idea of what was discussed this week. I know creativity was discussed, and why it is important for children to be creative. We are also supposed to do our cuture assignment. I believe I am going to research Costa Rica's culture for my project. I have many friends that have visited there, and it seems like a very interesting place.

Week 7

Our main focus for this week was our first test. We received a review sheet that helped us prepare, and we reviewed as a class on Wednesday. To prepare for this test, I looked over all of my notes and worksheets. Most of the material I knew because of my musical background. However, some of the other information was knew and took some studying to remember. The worksheets helped a lot because similar content was going to be on the test. The difficult part for me was the amount of time to take the test. I finished in fifty minutes, but it was pretty close. I know some other students were still finishing up also at the end. I am good at memorizing information; therefore, I can usually remember more material for a test which helps a lot. We have learned so much information so far this semester. I don't even know where to begin. We have learned five notes on the recorder and how to read those notes on the staff. Also, we learned different notes and rests and the counts they get. We have learned two major scales. In addition, we know about childrens voices at different ages. I am sure I am forgettng a lot that we have covered, and I know we will continue to cover a lot of knew information for the remainder of the semester.

Assignment 6 Self Evaluation

We finished up our first lesson plan presentation last week. It was great practice for all of us to get up in front of the class and become more comfortbale. I think we all learned what we do well and what we need to improve.
For an evaluation of myself, I would give me a 4.5 in musicianship. I have a musical background; therefore, it was not difficult to do an accurate rhythm and tempo. However, my singing abilities are not as strong as other areas. I tried to sing in a higher (head) voice, and I believe I did pretty well.
For leadership, I would give myself an 8. I believe my body language could have been a little better. I tended to stay behind the piano or stand right next to it. I believe my facial expressions were fairly good. I didn't have one constant look on my face through the entire lesson. In addition, I think my voice tone and volume were pretty good also. My eye contact with the students could have improved. I don't believe I made a strong enough effort to look at everyone. Also, my energy could have been a little higher to show a little more enthusiasm.
I would give myself a 15 for preparation. I believe my knowledge of the music was good, in addition to my knowledge of the plan. Although I had a copy of my lesson plan with me, I didn't look at it very often. I think my written plan was clearly designed. If substitute would have had to teach the lesson, they would have been able to follow it. All the materials I needed we ready; therefore, time wasn't wasted while teaching the lesson.
For the delivery of the instruction, I would give myself a 19. I thought I did well with the sequence of steps in the lesson. However, I think my motivation and capturing attention could have been a little better. Most of the others I think went pretty well also. Overall I believe my lesson went very well. I realize there are improvements needed, and it is good to be able to critique yourself to become a better teacher.
Overall my score for myself would be 46.5 :)

The part that I found to be the most difficult was singing in front of the class. I am not comfortable singing in front of others so it was difficult to overcome that. I believe I am musically talented minus the singing aspect. I feel completely comfortable with instruments; however, singing is a different story. It was also difficult to try to sing in my head voice. I understand it is important to the children can match the tone. However, I am not used to singing in a higher pitch like that. A few things that didn't go well were that I used the piano too much. The students would have had a difficult time hearing my voice over the piano; therefore, they would have had more difficulty matching pitch. Also, I had them use drums and rhythm sticks. This was a bad idea because it was a kindergarten lesson. I believe I controlled my nerves pretty well, and I was well prepared. If I could redo my lesson, I would try to talk a little slower. After watching myself, I think I was talking a little too quickly. I would also eliminate the drums and rhythm sticks and only use the piano a little (if at all).

Assignment 6

The forth week has finished, we covered a lot in the past three days. Most of our focus has been on the lesson plan. We learned a few new songs, including Tideo. This song helped to further learn about melody, rhythm, and steady beat. Another song we learned was called Bow Wow Wow. This song helped us to learn the importance of a rest. Both of these songs helped us to know what was expected of our lesson plans. On Friday, we practiced more on the recorder and learned a new note (C).
Our teacher helped us learn how to do a lesson plan through the song Tideo. This allowed her to show us how to incorporate musical and non-musical concepts and skills. She provided us with a lesson plan template to help with the organization of the lesson information. The song Bow Wow Wow helped with the lesson plan a little more, but the main focus was to learn about rests. She had us use a specific motion while clapping the rhythm to show a rest. To learn more on the recorder she had us practice more songs. She taught a new note by showing it on the board and showing us the fingering. We then practiced songs with that note in them.
The lesson plan was important for us to learn this week because we will be using this everyday in our career. It is important to have the practice. The concept of rests in music is important because they are a key aspect of a song. It is important for us to continue our musical knowledge. We learned a new note on the recorder which is important because it allows us to play more songs.
Although a lesson plan is not important for children to learn, it is important for us to know how to do this to be able to teach them properly. This will benefit their education greatly. Also, learning more about the rests and the recorder is important because it continues to broaden their musical abilities. This can open up very special talents.

During the third week of class, we continued to learn about steady beat and rhythm. Not only did we review these terms, but also learned about melordy which is a combination of high, low, or same pitches. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend class on Wednesday because I was sick; therefore, I missed part of this week's lesson. Although I missed the class, I know how to read music so I am glad I didn't miss any new information. We learned how long a quarter note lasts and an eighth note. We learned this through the song Ice Cream. We also assigned large x's and small x's to the different beats in our name rhyme. The large x was assigned to the quarter notes and the small ones to the eighth notes. On Friday, we practiced the recorder a little more. We now know the notes GAB. We also composed our own version of the Flea song. We assigned those three notes to the different beats
Melody is important for us to learn because it is a major component of a song. Melody is a beginning step to learning to more complex parts of a song. Also, different notes are important to learn because it determines the pitch of the voice or instrument pitch. It is important for us to learn this information and be able to pass it on to our students.
It is important for children to learn this information because they probably listen to music and may even sing. They should know the components of songs. Also, if children learn this information while they are young, they are more likely to succeed with music later on in life.

Week #2

This week we learning about steady beat and rhythm. We did a name activity that involved both new terms. We learned that rhythm is a combination of long, short, and silent sounds. Also, steady beat is a constant repitition of sound.
This information is a review for me. I have been involved with music for a long time and learned these terms very long ago.
This information is important to know because children enjoy music, and it is important to incorporate music into lessons while teaching. When I was in elementary school, I enjoyed the activities that involved music.
It is important for children to learn this at their young age because it provides another way of learning. Some may not learn through just visuals, and some may learn well with audio (especially when the audio is musical).
Some children songs I know are: Row Row Row Your Boat, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Farmer in the Dell, If You're Happy And You Know It, Head Shoulders Knees and Toes, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Ring Around the Rosey, London Bridges, ABCs....umm I think thats all I can remember for now. Hope everyone has a great week!

Kara is my name
Rhyming is not my game
It make my head strain
And really hurts my brain

About Me

Hello, my name is Kara. I am a junior here at NIU; however, I will not be graduating until 2010. I changed my major from accounting to elementary education; therefore, I am a little behind. Nevertheless, I am very excited about my future career.
I have enjoyed music my whole life. I played the flute from sixth grade until my senior year of high school. I really enjoyed playing a musical instrument. I have taken music classes since first grade. Although I cannot sing well, I enjoy singing along while listening to songs. The type of music I enjoy varies depending on my mood. It can range from country to classical. I really like to play video games that are related to music, such as guitar hero and rock band. I have attempted to learn to play different types of instruments like the piano and guitar. I learned a little; however, I was not persistent enough in practicing. I think this class is going to be very unique but fun and interesting. I am looking forward to learning about teaching children through music. So far in this class, I think the activities are different, but they are allowing us to become more comfortable with each other.