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.