Journal

On Monday and Wednesday of this week, we did group presentations for the children's literature project. My group went on Wednesday and presented the book Who's Making That Noise. I feel that the children's literature project was important because when we become teachers, we'll be reading to our students. It's a good idea to add music into children's books because it gets students more involved in the story. Music also makes learning more enjoyable and fun for the students. I also finished up my three lesson plans that are due for extra credit on Monday. I feel that they went well and that practicing how to write lesson plans is really beneficial for my future career. It was also nice to hear that we don't have class on Fridays anymore to give us a chance to just work on our projects.

Journal #12

For the children's literature project, my group and I worked together by discussing and coming up with ideas. We all had a say in what went into the project and helped each other with any problems. My group completed the lesson plan together and a few members of the group offered to type the lesson plan and do the flash cards. I felt that my group was efficient and we accomplished our work in the time given to us in class. We created a whole lesson plan on language and spelling in an hour. I found that coming up with a song and the way to present the spelling words with music was the most challenging part of this project. The most exciting part of the project was getting to use the classroom instruments to go along with the book. Children can benefit from this project because they are learning and using music at the same time. They are using creativity to match the different instruments with the words in the story. Music is essential in a child's education in general because it enhance self-esteem, cognitive skills, language development, and improves a child's reading, math, and science scores. Music makes learning more interesting for students and helps them to engage in the lesson.

Journal #11

Like we did in class this week, children can bring in recycled garbage from home to make musical instruments. They can work in groups to create sounds based on the story. Children can also use different objects around them to make sounds. They can act out the story and include sound effects using their voice. We could also write out different sounds that occur in a particular book and have the class as a whole sound them out. Children can benefit from these different activities because they enhance creativity, learning, and group work. Learning is enhanced because children have to get more involved in the story. These kinds of activities make learning more fun for children and create more of a desire to learn.

Binary form is when a piece of music is structured into two sections, both of which are usually repeated. The two sections in binary form are A and B. Section A will move away from the tonic and section B will move back and end in the tonic. Two examples of songs in binary form are I Got Rhythm and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

Reflection #10

Music can be used to help children engage in creative activity through storytelling. Children have to use their brains to think of different sounds to add into stories. They have to really engage in the story and think about what sounds go to certain words. I know that I even had a hard time coming up with sounds for the story that we read this week. I had to come up with a sound for a new shiny car and I had to use my creative side to come up with that sound. In this kind of activity, "student-centered" learning is taking place because the children have to engage themselves in the activity. They have to think and use their creativity to help create the story.

Journal #8

It's important for children to be creative early on in life. Creativity is a different way of thinking and combines imagination and thought. It helps us to come up with a new way of thinking and making new connections. It helps us to imagine and come up with our own ideas. Creativity can help us to solve life's problems in a way that's our own. Creativity is important to teach young children because it gives them the chance to think outside of the box. It helps them to come up with their own ideas and ways of thinking. It gives children the chance to be themselves and go into their own worlds. In music, we can give children the chance to make up their own songs using their singing voices or even bu using classroom instruments. Like we did in class this week, we can have children make up their own stories using their voices. Children can make up different sounds to the stories that their teachers read to them in class. We can even ask children to make-up their own movements to songs that the teacher plays during class.
For my culture project, I would like to do either Greece or Italy. I'm both Greek and Italian so I'll do whatever culture I can find more information on. If I do my project on Greece, I would like to incorporate some Greek dancing.

Journal

To begin, I thought that the test went well. I felt that the test was fair and if you knew the study guide, it should have gone ok. To get ready for the test, I went to class and wrote down everything the teacher said on Wednesday. Professor Wang answered all of our questions and went over the entire study guide, which I found to be very helpful. I also went through all of our notes and worksheets that we have done throughout the semester. What I found difficult was memorizing all of the definitions by heart. I knew that the test was all fill in the blank, so I knew that I needed to really know the definitions. The hardest part on the test for me was explaining the different time signatures. I knew how to explain 3/4, but for some reason I didn't know how to explain 6/8 and 3/2. It also took me some time to memorize the rhythmic duration syllables and the hand signs. I didn't have a problem with writing down the names of the notes or using solfegee. I already know how to read music and have worked with do re mi fa so la ti do before. Knowing the notes to the recorder was also easy for me because I have played the recorder before taking this class. Note value was also an easy topic for me because I can read music. To prepare for this test, I went to class everyday and completed the whole study guide. I wrote down everything Professor Wang said and studied the material until I knew it by heart. I made note cards to quiz myself and gave myself a "pretend" test.
We have already learned so much this semester. We learned how to present and write out our first lesson plans. We have learned a number of different musical terms and definitions, various learning styles, note value, time signature, rhythmic durations, solfegee, the C major and G major scales, and hand signs. Professor Wang taught us the notes G, A, B, C, and D on the recorder and we can even play a variety of songs using it. We learned all about transferring rhymes into rhythmic notation and drawing out melodic icons for any given children's song. We also learned about Kodaly who was a Hungarian composer that believed that music is essential in the core curriculum. I am really enjoying this class and I hope the semester continues to go well.

Assignment #7

Evaluation Form For Emily Mann
Lesson: Teaching the song "Frarashaka" in both French and English
Musicianship (5 pts): 5
I thought that Emily was always in tune and kept an accurate rhythm and tempo throughout her lesson. She could keep a steady beat and had the students singing on pitch. Her voice was very easy to follow and the students could always hear what Emily was singing.

Leadership (10 pts): 10
I thought that throughout Emily's lesson she was constantly interacting with her students. She kept eye contact with everyone and you could always hear what she had to say.

Preparation (15 pts): 15
I felt that Emily was prepared to present her lesson to the class. She knew her music and didn't seem to rely on her written lesson plan. She knew how to teach her lesson without using classroom instruments or the piano.

Delivery of Instruction (20 pts): 18
I felt that Emily did an excellent job with delivering her lesson plan to the class. The only thing that I noticed was that she just assumed that the class knew the English version of the song. Maybe she could of taught the class the English version like she taught the French version. I thought that Emily's lesson was very creative and I enjoyed the dance that she made up. I thought that it was good that the students had to interact with each other. This presentation kept my attention and I felt that the verbal instructions were good. Maybe for Emily's next presentation she could question the students more and talk in a voice more suitable for young children.

Total Point: 48

Evaluation Form for Nick
Lesson Plan: Teaching the song "Row Row Row Your Boat"
Sing in a round
Musicianship (5 pts): 5
I thought that Nick did an excellent job singing in a voice appropriate for young children, especially since he is a guy. He was very in tune and easy to follow. He knew how to keep a steady beat and tempo that children could follow.

Leadership (10 pts): 10
Nick always had constant eye contact with the students and talked in a voice appropriate for children. He knew what he was doing and was confident when teaching his lesson.

Preparation (15 pts): 15
Nick seemed very prepared for his presentation. He knew his music and how he wanted to teach "Row Row Row Your Boat" in a round. He even had his presentation memorized and didn't need his written lesson plan.

Delivery of Instruction (20 pts): 19
Nick did an excellent job with continually asking the students questions throughout his presentation. He really had the students interacting with the teacher and each other. He always showed his students what he wanted them to do and made his lesson creative. I thought that it was creative that we all had to get into "boats" and row to a specific destination. I liked how Nick asked the students where they would like to travel and how they needed to get there.

Total: 49