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

Journal Week #6

During class this week, I presented my first lesson plan. I ended up teaching the class how to sing "Hey, Betty Martin" and used the piano as my accompaniment. I enjoyed participating in my classmates lesson plans and found them all to be very creative.
Criteria Sheet:
Name: Stephanie LaMantia
Lesson: Teaching the song "Hey, Betty Martin"

Musicianship (5 pts): 5 Delivery of Instruction (20 pts): 17
In tune, accurate pitch: Also used the piano Motivation, capturing attention
Accurate rhythm Sequencing of steps
Appropriate tempo Verbal instructions
Phrasing Questioning: Provide more questions
Expression Pace of lesson, flow, transition
Flexibility
Leadership (10 pts): 10 Feedback to learners
Body language Continuity/focus of lesson
Facial expression Closure
Voice tone and volume
Eye contact
Intensity

Preparation (15 pts): 13
Knowledge of music
Knowledge of plan: Really relied on lesson plan
Written plan: Completed on time
Instruments/equipment ready: Used rhythmic sticks and tambourines
Recordings/charts/materials ready: Made drawing charts

Total Points: 45

A. What I found to be the most difficult thing about presenting a song to the class was trying to make the material simple enough for children to follow. I kept wanting to use sentences and words that young children would have a hard time following. I also found it difficult to keep track of which students were getting the words to the song and which were not. When your teaching it's hard to watch every student individually to make sure that they are understanding the material being taught.
B. I thought that I relied way too much on my lesson plan. Throughout my presentation, I could see myself constantly flipping through it. I had practiced my presentation numerous times and knew my music by heart, so I should have been more confident in myself and not relied so much on my written lesson plan. Although I had everyone in the class involved at all times, I could have asked them more questions to have made sure that they understood the material. I just kept going with my lesson and not double checking to see if my students understood what they were learning.
C. I thought that my presentation was creative and had the children doing something at all times. I felt that I had a good knowledge of the music and the musical concepts that I was teaching. I also used a good voice tone and volume, used accurate pitch while singing, and captured every one's attention.
D. For my next presentation, I am going to try and not use my lesson plan sheet at all. I want to interact more with the students and question their knowledge throughout the lesson. I would of also not used the piano as much because I had a hard time hearing my voice. The children would have had a much easier time following my voice than the piano.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9lHidGtCu0&eurl=http://musicingdream.blogspot.com/2009/02/stephanie.html&feature=player_embedded

Reflection Week #5

This week our class received the evaluation form in-class teaching assignment and went over the four parts that we will be graded on: musicianship, leadership, preparation, and delivery of instruction. On Wednesday, we got back our lesson plans and got into groups of three to get ideas from our fellow classmates. We went over tonic solfa ( do ri mi fa so la ti do) and the song phrase method, which is when you hear a song and learn it one phrase at a time. We received a handout on Zolton Kodaly who was a Hungarian musician that believed music should be the core curriculum, used as a basis for education. He also believed that singing is the best foundation for musicianship. We learned that each note on the C major scale has its own hand sign. The teacher would make hand signs and we would have to sing what note corresponded with each hand sign. Hand signs are a good way for children to practice singing the tonic solfa. We learned about rhythmic duration syllables and practiced using syllables to a rhythm that the teacher wrote down on the chalkboard. We also learned the note D on the recorder and played Barcarolle and the Polka. Sharp notes are higher by a half-step and are apart of the G major scale. Children need to be able to understand and learn all the notes on the scale.
I am really nervous about presenting my lesson plan next week. I really don't like to sing in front of people and I'm scared of messing up. This is the first lesson plan that I've ever had to teach so it will defiantly be a new experience. I am going to prepare for my presentation by practicing my song numerous times and going over the steps of my lesson plan. I will probably make my roommates watch my presentation a couple of times to get feedback. I'll just make sure that I am totally prepared so I feel confident while presenting. I know that creating and presenting a lesson plan is important because this is what I will be doing everyday at work. If I can't write and present a lesson plan, then I won't be a very good teacher.

Reflection

This week we learned all about creating a lesson plan. Our first task is to learn a new song and teach it to the class. Throughout the week, we went over the lesson plan format sheet. You're only supposed to teach one musical concept per lesson for children. We went over what activities are appropriate for each age group and how we should visualize every step of our procedure. On February 2nd, we learned the song "Tideo" and went over time signature, how many beats there were per measure (4), and the treble clef. On February 4th, we formed groups of five and discussed the procedure of the song "Tideo." On February 6th, we warmed up to the song "Bow Wow Wow" and clapped the rhythm and played a dance movement game. We learned all about note value and how many counts a whole rest, half rest, quarter rest, eighth rest, and sixteenth rest receive. On the recorder, we learned the note C and as a class played a duet in "Hot Cross Buns." We also played the songs "Cobbler, Cobbler"and "Barcarolle." We learned that tie notes are when two notes are put together. We learned everything this week from our teacher and by actually doing the activities asked of us.
I feel that it's important to learn these concepts and skills because as teachers we are going to have to write a lesson plan every single day. By practicing how to write a lesson plan, we are preparing for our future careers and coming up with ideas that we could use later on. Children need to be taught lesson plans created by their teacher and musical concepts, such as note value. Children need to understand the basic concepts of music and how they can apply these concepts later on in life.

Reflection #3

This week I learned that a skill is something that you do and a concept is what you learned. A particular note played on the recorder is an example of a concept. We can learn concepts through cognitive learning. We learned note value and how many beats are is a whole note, half note, quarter note, eighth note, and sixteenth note. I learned that young children sing at a higher pitch. A musical concept is melody and keeping a steady beat. Melody is the combination of various pitches. These pitches can be either high, low, or the same. We learned the notes to the C major scale (C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C) and about the history of the treble clef (G clef).
We learned all of these concepts through observation and actually performing the task asked of us. On January 26, 2009, we had to get with a partner and clap to the song Double Double Ice Cream. We recognized that there are four beats per line and we used steady beat. On January 28, 2009, we warmed-up to the song Bee Bee Bumble Bee and then transferred the note notation into pictures. We practiced recognizing notes on the scale and drawing the treble clef sign with the Treble Clef Sign Worksheet. We also played the recorder and created our own song using the notes A, B, and G to the song Think of a Fly.
I think that it's important to learn these concepts because these are basic musical concepts that every teacher should know to help their students. For example, by singing Bee Bee Bumble Bee children can understand the length of each note sung. I know that in the future I could use the songs learned this week to help my students with learning musical concepts and become acquainted with each other. We are forced to be creative in this class, which I think is crucial for becoming a good teacher. For example, we had to be creative when making up a song to play on our recorders.
Children should learn the basic concepts of music to become a more well-rounded person. By teaching children music at a young age, they will benefit academically and socially. Everything learned this week gives children the opportunity to work with others and be creative.