Journal 7

This has been quite a difficult week for me for various reasons such as studying for more than 1 mid-term.  I got ready for the music exam by first coming to class so I didn't risk missing any valuable information for the test.  I also, printed out the study guide for this test so I would know what to study for this test.  Third, I just reviewed my notes over and over so I would hopefully remember more information.  This is how I got ready for the test. 

The difficult part about the test was studying for it.  I had way to many things going on this week so I was extremely busy.  Second, I am not great at studying so being able to retain the information I go over is very difficult for me as well.  I don't seem to know how to study the right way because all I do is go over my notes over and over, I don't test myself to see if I remembered it without having to look at my notes.  This is what made the test difficult for me.

There are things I don't have a problem with though.  Such as procrastinating; that is never a problem for me because I never wait till the last minute to do things such as studying.  Next, I made sure I studied the right notes so I wouldn't be wasting my time.  Third, even though studying was difficult, I made sure I made time to prepare for this test as much as I could.  This is what I didn't have a problem with for the test.

My strategy to prepare for the test is quite simple.  I first find a quite place I know I can study in that won't distract me too much, such as my room or my floor lounge.  Then, I make myself comfortable because I know I am gonna have to focus for a certain period of time.  Then I just study as best as I can for a certain amount of time each day and hope to retain a little information each day from studying so much.  This is how I prepare for the test.

 I learned quite a lot this semester.  For example, I learned how to make a lesson plan which is extremely important for teaching a lesson in a classroom.  Another important piece of information I learned so far from taking this class is how to put my mindset in a child's perspective so that I know what he/she would think when I teach him/her.  The third important information I learned a lot of musical skills and concepts from taking this course as well.  These are the 3 major things I learned from taking this course so far.

Journal 6

This past week, we all did our lesson plan presentations and were split into 2 groups to make it slightly easier on us.  I found transitioning to be 1 of the most difficult parts of my presentation.  I noticed I had a lot of yes or no based questions which is not something we were told to do.  Although, I think I did very good on the whole singing the song and teaching it to the students part.  If I were given a second chance, I would have figured out how to get my students to answer without it being a yes or no question and be able to flow very well from 1 part of my lesson to another.

Transitioning was what I had the most trouble with since I first started practicing my lesson plan.  First, I didn't know how teach two different things such as rhythmic pattern and rhythm together so I had to get help on that.  Second, adding questions in between the songs was difficult as well, I didn't know where or when to say them so I needed to get help on that as well.  Finally, the hardest part was going from the end of the lesson to the closure, I could not figure out how to involve everyone after teaching them how to do the song.  Thanks to Ms. Wang though, even though I wasn't perfect, I was able to improve so much due to her help and advice.

I noticed after my lesson plan was over, that I had too many yes or no questions.  Even though I was teaching 1st graders, I should not have assumed they'd be able to know everything by themselves and would have gotten no where fast.  For example, when I asked the question, "How does a dog shake his master's hand with both paws," they most likely either would not know how to do that, or the children would do it all in different ways than the one I wanted to demonstrate so that would have turned out bad as well.  Next, when I asked who knew how to spell or say BINGO's name, 1st grader's attention spans aren't as good as when they get older, even though some kids may know, some kids might not, so if I called on one of the kids that did not know, being put on the spot might embarrass them so much and get them upset which I would not want to do either.  This is basically what I felt was the thing I did the worst on in my lesson plan.

I feel I did do well on the whole teaching BINGO song to my students and felt they may of had fun doing that.  When I was singing BINGO then teaching them the rhythmic pattern by swaying left and right with "our paws," they had fun and were able to not get bored from singing this song.  Also, I kept them active by having them clap when they spelled out B-I-N-G-O.  In the very end when I included my students in the song, I feel was also a good way to keep them interested and have fun with this song.  This is what I felt I did good on in this lesson plan.

If I were given a second chance, I would have made sure I asked my questions in a different way than a yes or no type of answer and fix my transitions as well.  Instead of saying, who knows how a dogs sounds, I'd say 3 or 4 different animal noises and the students should be able to answer the question more easily. Second. for the way the dog shakes their masters hands, I would demonstrate a few different possibilities and the kids should be able to pick out which 1 makes the most sense.  Finally, for transitioning, if I was given more time to think about it, I may be able to think of a clever way to go from 1 point to the next, I was very nervous for doing this for my first time so my thoughts went all over the place, but next time should be a little easier.  This is what I would have done differently in my lesson plan.

Journal 5

This week in class we became very busy preparing for next week as well as getting ready for the test.  We worked on our Lesson Plans and gradually fixed them over time.  Then we prepared for the test by reviewing in the "Kodaly Approach" packet.  Then we basically reviewed a little in class on Friday and practiced playing our recorder again which was fun.  This sums up what we basically learned this week.

When i first wrote my Lesson Plan, I wasn't entirely sure how I was gonna play this out; I had different ideas such as teaching them high and low pitch and rhyming.  Then I talked to Ms. Wang and told me it was too difficult to do, at least for now and the fact that teaching those things to first graders will not work out either, so I changed it around a little.  I made it more focus on dogs and spelling and also implanted a way to keep them interested without getting them distracted by the instruments I originally had planned for them.  Then I practiced and practiced, but it still is kinda hard to transition the part from after teaching them the beat to B-I-N-G-O to getting their own names involved, but I will keep trying.  This is basically what I have been working on the past week for my Lesson Plan.

I feel both excited and nervous about the presentation next week.  It's nerve racking for me cause this will be my first time giving a prepared lesson plan in front of people.  Also, I am not the best public speaker, but I guess the more I practice something like this, the more fun it will become, especially when I imagine doing this in front of children.  I am excited though because like i just said, imagining doing this as if I was a real teacher to my actual students, I would gain a lot more confidence in myself in teaching a lesson in front of a class.  These are my general feelings of what's going on in my mind for the preparation next week.

We also learned more about "Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do."  We learned hand signs for those along with how to relate it rhythmic duration symbols.  We were also given a "How to Teach a Song" packet in order to help us learn how to teach a song better.  Then we had our weekly recorder session, learned the "D" note, and were starting to actually be able to play good music, as a class, we were really improving and sounding very good, it was pretty cool.  This is in general what we learned in class this week and was a lot of fun.

Journal 4

We learned yet more valuable information in this weeks class as well.  On Monday we learned the "Tideo" song.  On Wednesday, we started learning about lesson plans.  On Friday, we finished learning about lesson plans and learned a new note on our recorders.  This is what we learned in class this week.

This information was imparted pretty well.  when we learned the "Tideo" song, we learned a dance, musical concepts, and musical skills from what Ms. Wang taught us.  Then she told us about how we can incorporate that song into a lesson plan and how to teach it to the class.  After she finished explaining that to us, she had us play more recorder, everyone in class got much better from the sound I heard, but the songs did get a little more tricky.  This is what has been imparted to us.

It is very important for us to learn these skills.  Learning the "Tideo" song itself wasn't important, but what we learned to do in how to teach them the song was very, very helpful when thinking about teaching in an actual class.  Then, learning all the information for a lesson plan such as: national standards, concepts, skills, objectives, materials, procedures, closures, and assessments, was good to know so now I have a little more of an idea as to how to do one.  Finally, I had a little difficulty at first practicing with a new note along with 2-3 other notes at the same time while playing a really fast song, but I got better over time.  These are all very important skills I learned.

It is important for children to learn songs like "Tideo" at an early age.  With this song, they can start practicing playing working together with their peers for the 1st time so they learn teamwork.  Also, in this song in particular anyways, they'd learn more about rhythmic patterns.  Lastly, they'd learn how to sing in tune with the teacher and everyone else in the class and slowly get better at singing by themselves more confidently.  This is why it'd be important for children to learn songs such as "Tideo" at an early age.