Assignment 5

Lesson Video:

https://youtu.be/5bhcHpqAcOk

I had the opportunity to teach a full 50 minute third grade general music lesson. I began by greeting the students at the door. The transition into the classroom was a little disorganized so next time I would give them instructions at the door to sit in their testing rows. It made me very happy that the students complimented me on my singing voice after singing my hello song.

I was pleased with the LSAs. My goal was to test a third of the class in teacher mode and evaluation mode. This is not the class that I normally work with so I do not know the names of the students, but my cooperating teacher was keeping track of the grades. I felt that I had a good balance between class and individual patterns, I remembered to do teacher mode and evaluation mode, and I chose the students randomly so that they could not predict which student would be tested next and thus remained engaged.

After sitting and testing during the LSAs I felt that it was a good choice to jump right into a movement activity. The students responded well to the train whistle and each train-related movement. I do not think that the students quite understood the idea of direct motion and many of them moved to their new spot before I even started singing. Next time I will need to be more clear in my directions to ensure that students are moving directly and that they take the entire song to move there. It might also be helpful to repeat the activity several weeks in a row until the students understand direct motion.

“Happiness” is in unusual unpaired meter and so I struggled to sing the preparatory sequence. In the future I will need to practice this preparatory sequence because the unusual meter does not roll off my tongue easily. Otherwise, I felt that my sequencing and directions were clear for this activity and the students were successfully able to sing the entire rote song on their own. One contributing factor to this success is that my cooperating teacher went through the rote song process last week. The students were not successful then but the repetition of the same activity a few weeks in a row helped them to achieve success this time.

In both the xylophone and the rhythm reading activities I was trying to be creative while choosing students to perform a task by asking students with a specific color of shoes or a name beginning with a certain letter to do something. At times, however, my choices were a little too complex. For example, I instructed the students wearing white shoes to echo me. They were unclear as to what counted as white shoes. If it has just a little bit of white does that count? In the future I will need to use very simple instructions to ensure that the class maintains a quick pace. For instance, I might ask students with the favorite color purple to do something because favorite color is a clear category that students can respond to instantly.

At times I struggle to maintain an enthusiastic voice while reading, however I feel that I am improving in this area. I think I can read “Green Eggs and Ham” with even more energy, however I am making progress. I also think that the process of singing the excerpt several times before having the students join in works, but I wonder if I might also achieve success by teaching the excerpt using the line-by-line process before starting the book. I also think that the process for my audience participation activity worked well. I started by asking the students about good audience participation and then we reflected together after they listened to me play the piano, which helped to keep the students accountable. It was so fun to teach for an entire class and I am looking forward to student teaching!

Now that I am finished with my placement, the following are questions I have about teaching general music in elementary school:

• What books and resources can I use to gain further familiarity with MLT?
• When is it appropriate to use the same activity for several grade levels and when should activities be grade specific?
• Should I plan back-up activities in case an activity does not go as planned or my pacing is faster than expected?
• How much repertoire do I need to plan and know for a week’s worth of elementary school lessons? How far in advance do I need to plan and learn these?
• How can I learn names more quickly when there are so many students to know and remember?

Assignment 4

My cooperating teacher uses the following grading scale:

4-Above grade level

3-At grade level

2-Almost at grade level

1-Below grade level

The majority of his grades come from LSAs. He alternates between tonal and rhythmic LSAs and takes about 2 to 3 weeks to get evaluate the entire class. For LSAs, one point is awarded for an inaccurate response to teacher and evaluation mode, two points are given for responding accurately in teacher mode, three points are given for responding accurately in teacher and evaluation mode, and four points are given for responding accurately in teacher mode and evaluation mode with good posture and tone of voice.

My cooperating teacher mostly uses informal assessment throughout his lessons but will usually take a formal assessment once during the class period. He makes sure that the students are familiar with the material he is assessing them on before giving them a grade to help the students feel comfortable and be successful. In addition to LSAs, my cooperating teacher also grades instrument playing and evaluates the students’s ability to play the correct notes or rhythms with good technique. The first and second graders often play xylophones, the third and fourth graders often play ukulele, and the fifth-graders often play recorder.

In another instance, my cooperating teacher was discussing what it looks like to be a good audience member with his second grade class. Following this discussion, the students listened to some music from Brazil and were graded on their ability to listen attentively and be a respectful audience. One point was awarded for three or more disruptions, two points were awarded for one or two disruptions, three points were awarded for no disruptions, and four points were awarded for no disruptions and accurately moving to the pulse of the music. Thus, my cooperating teacher uses the four-point scale in all of his grading, but adjusts the requirements based on the content that is being graded.

Assignment 3

My cooperating teacher generally interacts with students only during their scheduled class time. If students want to visit outside of their normal class time they must ask permission. He generally uses the break between classes, prep periods, and lunch to plan and re-charge so that he is mentally rested and prepared to teach to the best of his ability. If students come to class early he instructs them to wait in the hall until their scheduled time. He reserves that personal time for himself so that he can be emotionally, mentally, and intellectually available while he is teaching.

My cooperating teacher maintains a respectful and professional relationship with his students. He knows each of the students by name and calls them by name whenever he asks them to respond or participate in class. In the past he has tried various relationships with his students. Sometimes he has tried to be the easy-going teacher and other times he has been the extremely strict teacher. Currently, he is striving for a balance so that he and his students can have fun but also take their learning and interactions very seriously. This frequent change in approaches is often hard on the students and can make their interactions strained or difficult at times.

Generally, the students are consistent in interest, interactions, and behavior from week to week. The fifth grade class I observe generally responds somewhat reluctantly to the activities and to the instructor. The second grade class I observed generally has some distractions but they participate very willingly. The first grade class I observed generally responds very willingly to the musical tasks they are asked to do and they behave very well with the exception of one student.

This student consistently disrupts class by talking, disregarding instructions, and rolling around on the floor. The cooperating teacher does his best re-focus this student and promote motivation and learning, however the student often causes so many distractions that he must be removed from the classroom by administrators to allow the rest of the students to learn. This student’s behavior has become increasingly worse over time. A month ago he was disruptive but would still participate, but within the last few weeks his behavior has been so bad that he has not been able to stay in the classroom for the full 55 minutes. Although parents have been contacted multiple times regarding behavior they have not supported the school. That particular class also has a student teacher now which may be contributing to classroom management issues because of a change in routine or a lack of respect.

Within the duration of each class period I have found that students remain the most interested if the activity level is varied varied from task to task. In classes where the students alternate between high movement and low movement activities they have remained the most interested. If the students have to sit for too long they lose interest, do not respond very willingly to the instructions of the teacher, and their behavior becomes worse.

This particular school has a schoolwide acronym of POWER to promote good behavior which stands for polite, organized, wise, engaged, and responsible. Each classroom has a Promethean board and uses Classroom Dojo to promote a good behavior. Within this program, each student has a little monster icon and they earn points through good behavior or lose points for bad behavior. Parents can view their child’s personal point record and receive notifications when their children are gaining or losing points. The cooperating teacher uses this system because it has been promoted by the school.

My cooperating teacher has only one rule for the classroom: use your POWERs for good (referencing the school acronym). The teacher chose this rule to maintain simplicity and because he uses the school’s acronym the students are very familiar with the expectations and because they apply to every class. This rule is posted above the door in his classroom and another poster with the acronym is also posted near the same door so that it is a visible and frequent reminder.

My cooperating teacher tries to maintain a balance between positive reinforcement and and negative reinforcement. He mainly uses classroom dojo to provide this positive and negative reinforcement. Another strategy he uses is to assign one student to take note of the focus and behavior of the entire class. He typically uses this method for third, fourth, and fifth grade to promote peer accountability. The students are given the following scale and then report their numbers to my cooperating teacher, their usual teacher, and the rest of the class.

10. Everyone is on task, using their powers for good, and participating fully in the activity.

9. Only a couple of people are off task or not participating. The rest of the class is participating.

8. Multiple people are not participating, but everyone is following the safety rules and no one is acting out.

7. There are minor behavior issues with one or more students. The rest of the classes on task.

6. Multiple people are not participating and there are behavior issues.

5. Half of the class is not participating and/or there are major behavior issues.

4. Only a handful of people are on task.

3, 2, or 1 The class is out of control and the teacher has to get to the principal or vice principal into the classroom.

One strategy he used more recently was for the students to earn a fun activity at the end of class. He used this strategy for first and second grade and so he used a different scale than the one above.

No disruptions or reminders to stay on task 😊

1-2 disruptions or reminders to stay on task 😐

3 or more disruptions or reminders to stay on task ☹️

At the end of each activity the teacher or a selected student reported which kind of face the class earned. If they received any frowns they could not do the fun activity at the end of class. If the students received smiles for every activity or one neutral face they could do the fun activity at the end of class. This exercise helped the students to remain aware of their behavior and focus and to remain accountable.

Assignment 2

I found one first grade general music class to be particularly effective. The activities of the 55 minute lesson are as follows:

Sitting in a circle and getting settled in the classroom (1 minute)

Discussing the objectives for the day (2 minutes)

Dancing: “Spinning Song” by Edwin Gordon (8 minutes)

Movement activity: “Pop Up” JRI Book 1 p. 7 (7 minutes)

Tonal Assessment: labeling to patterns sung by the teacher as same or different (8 minutes)

Singing harmonic minor resting tone: “The Sled” by Edwin Gordon (10 minutes)

Rhythm sticks: echoing the teacher’s patterns (5 minutes)

Listening to Mozart Symphony 41 while dancing and moving to the macro beat (11 minutes)

Drumming: drumming the macro beat, micro beat, and echoing the teacher’s patterns while listening to “Uptown Funk” arranged by Kidz Bop (3 minutes)

Lineup and leave the classroom

My cooperating teacher is a percussionist in so he tends to devote more class time to rhythm aspects than tonal aspects because it is more comfortable to teach. However, in this class he made a special effort to include multiple tonal activities in a variety of tonalities to help students further their knowledge and skills in the tonal aspects of music. In fact, the inclusion of variety in many aspects of the lesson helped it to be particularly affective. The students began with movement with choreographed dance moves in the “Spinning Song.” The pop-up activity also involved movement because the students were instructed to pop up like toast from a toaster in response to the song. After two movement activities there was a change of pace as the students sat down and had a tonal assessment. The instructor sang two tonal patterns which the students then labeled as same or different. In the next activity the students listened to “The Sled.” The instructor randomly paused to toss a beanbag to a student indicating for them to sing the resting tone. After several still activities the instructor had the students do more active activities by echoing tonal patterns with the rhythm sticks and dancing in response to what they heard in Mozart Symphony 41. The class ended on a high note as students drummed in connection to the pop tune “Uptown Funk.”

The quick pacing of the lesson was also beneficial. Often times, the instructor plans about six or seven activities but spends more time on each activity that he planned so the class is not able to do every activity. However, during this class he kept each individual activity short which kept the students engaged as they went through the contrasting tonal and rhythm activities, active and still activities, classical and contemporary music, and so forth.

Additionally, the cooperating teacher was a good model of what he expected the students to do. He instructs through both verbal and nonverbal cues and makes these cues consistent so that students can clearly understand his expectations. One expectation he consistently points out is the importance of a breath before singing to allow for audiation. If the students do not wait for his cue he has them try again, taking the breath before responding. He also gives students choices and responsibilities. He often asks students to help pass out to manipulatives and has a random picker set up on his SmartBoard so that every student can have a chance to participate. He knows the names of every student and uses their names frequently when they answer questions or when he is delegating responsibilities. This helps him to have a good rapport with the students and it keeps them active and involved in their learning.

Following my initial hours of observation, these are five questions that I would like to have answered by the time I finish my clinical experience:

1. Where do you find appropriate contemporary music to play for the students?

2. What tips would you have for creating a lesson which showcases a variety of meters and tonalities?

3. How do you keep yourself from becoming complacent as a teacher?

4. How do you determine which order you will do the individual activities in to ensure good pacing, flow, and variety?

5. What skills and behaviors do you assess and how often do you assess them?

Assignment 1

I have been working with an elementary school in the southwest portion of Albuquerque. This school is fairly new and so there are a good amount of resources such as a class set of ukuleles, a Promethean board, and a class set of drums. My CT has only been teaching for a few years and uses MLT. He teaches first through fifth grade but I have only been able to observe his first, second, and fifth grade classes. My role in the classroom thus far has been to observe or to participate in the activities with the children. In the future I will teach one activity per class.

My CT comes from a percussion background and so rhythmic activities are easier for him to plan and execute than tonal activities. His students are all very good at echoing rhythm patterns, however they struggle with tonal activities, even singing resting tone. Even the fifth-graders have difficulty singing resting tone. To help his students, the CT sometimes sings in his falsetto but more often finds a student who is successfully singing to model the correct pitch for the rest of the class.

My CT’s typical schedule is as follows:

• 3rd grade 9:00-9:55

• 4th grade 10:05-11:00

• 5th grade 11:10-12:05

• Lunch and prep period 12:05-1:30

• 2nd grade 1:30-2:25

• 1st grade 2:35-3:30

He is also the specials team leader so he runs the meetings for these teachers. Outside of this full-time teaching job he also participates in the community. He is the drum tech for a nearby high school’s marching band, teaches percussion lessons before school, holds a percussion club once a week after school, and runs percussion sectionals for the Albuquerque Youth Symphony several times a week.

While this extremely busy schedule would be difficult for most, this teacher finds that staying busy keeps him from becoming complacent as a teacher and musician. By Friday he feels a little worn down, however he has found some tips to keep himself going. Firstly, he started out this job with only a six minute passing period. Over the last few years he has advocated for and received a 10 minute break between classes so that he has adequate time to re-center and prepare for the next class. Another thing he finds helpful is having a commute to his job. He is able to use time in the car to decompress so that he does not take the stress of work home.

Having such a tight schedule can also make it difficult to plan lessons. He usually plans activities in advance, but there are times when he is plans the last few activities 10 minutes before his students come into class. To remain prepared he has developed some strategies. Firstly, he uses much of the same repertoire and activities throughout all grade levels, changing the difficulty of the activity to fit the needs and abilities of each grade and individual class. Secondly, he starts his teaching week on Tuesdays, meaning that he starts teaching new material on Tuesdays and Mondays are a continuation of the material from the previous week. This allows him to ease into each work week rather than starting the new lesson plans on Monday, right after a weekend. Using the tools mentioned above, he is able to remain energetic and create an authentic connection with his students.