Reflection #15 12/9/10

WHAT:
Now that the semester is over, I have a new question to face, "Where am I heading with the Arts and Arts Integration?" This is a question that I spent a lot of time pondering about.

SO WHAT:
So what did I decide? Well now that I have a good understanding of the importance of arts in education I want to continue to learn more about ways to integrate it into the curriculum. I want to gain more experience in being able to naturally use different art forms in my lesson plans. I also want to try to educate other people in the world of its significance, and try to make it a bigger movement in the schools.

NOW WHAT:
Now the question is how am I going to complete all of these goals. There are many ways of going about this. It needs to not only be an individual task but a group and community movement. By working with other teachers both out in the field and in training, we can help each other with ideas and bounce off what does and doesn't work. Once I get into a working position, I really would like this to become something I work on with my collaboration team. With all of us working for a common goal we can make an impact together. There are a lot of other things that I have in mind, but these are some that I am already aiming for.

Reflection #14 12/2/10

WHAT:
What is the importance of Arts Integration in Teaching? This is the question that I was facing at the beginning of this semester. It is also something that I have deemed to be very important in the educational experience.

SO WHAT:
The reasons for its importance are many; my favorite being a students ability to think, comprehend, and remember. I have noticed in class as well as in field that when students enjoy what they are doing, they often have an easier time remembering it. The arts are also wonderful forms of mnemonics (i.e.-songs) that help the students remember material. I was so amazed throughout my experience in field just how much the students enjoyed doing the art activities. We used songs, comic strips, and drama of role taking to enhance our lessons and it truly improved the students' ability so summarize main points, recall events, etc.

NOW WHAT:
Now that I can vouch for the importance of the integration of the arts, I want to become better at using it. I want to watch other teachers and pay close attention to what they do. I want to practice using it in my own daily life, of studying and such. If I start preparing now, I know I will be better at using it later. This is to be my next step.

Reflection #13 11/25/10

WHAT:
This was our last week in field in which we only spent two days with the class.

SO WHAT:
So while we were there the kids only used te arts a little. As a thanksgiving celebration, they learned a bunch of peotry that they were to act out for their parents and the other 4th grade classes. They practiced on monday, memorizing their lines and putting actions into their "Readers Theater", then on Tuesday they performed them. The class thought it was a blast both doing their own and watching the other groups.

NOW WHAT:
Now that I have seen this integration for the holidays I would love to do things like this in my future teaching. The kids really get into it, and they really did a good job. I also learned they do something similar with the whole school for Christmas. I think that if I integrate the arts in fun ways like this, the class will be more accustomed to these types of things when they're older. I felt that it was very successful, and definately will remember in my future teaching.

Reflection #12 11/18/10

WHAT:

This week we taught 5 Social Studies lessons, specifically about the mountain men, and incorporated 2 arts lessons into them.

SO WHAT:

These arts integrated lessons were our Jim Bridger lesson in which we integrated a trapper song, and our Kit Carson lesson in which we had the class make cartoon strips representing the information they learned in class. Both activities were loved by the students. The trapper song was given to us by our corresponding teacher and it went to the tune of "She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain". It really got the kids excited for the lesson and had a lot of fun. The cartoon strip was used as a summarizing activity after they had completed a 5 part jigsaw on Kit Carson. Based upon the 5 parts they had learned about (Kit Carson's life) they had 5 boxes on w worksheet that they were to fill in telling the story. There was also a space provided to put the topic in for each drawing. The class really enjoyed drawing.

NOW WHAT:

Now that I have used art in my own teaching, I think that the reason for art integration is more clear to me. It is beneficial in so many ways. It is engaging, fun, aid in memory and management etc. I was surprised just how much the class liked it. I want to use this more in my future teaching because it was so effective. I think that schools should use whatever means possible to ensure that their students are succeeding and I truly believe that if used correctly, this can really make a difference. I enjoyed teaching this week and learned so much from the experience.

Reflection #11 11/11/10

WHAT:
This was our second week in field and we didn't notice near as much arts integration this week. There were just a couple things, chimes were used for getting attention and the kids sing the mnemonic songs for their multiplication practice.

SO WHAT:
These are good ideas for me right now with being in field, as well as for my colleges. Seeing the mnemonics used was cool cause it is such a good trick in learning things like math. These little tricks can help you memorize things so much better. The chime technique was pretty cool too because she would just go up to the front and ding each little chime while the kids were working and they immediately would look at her. These things are good to see because they can give us ideas of things to use in our future classrooms.

NOW WHAT:

Now that I have seen these tricks and techniques, I plan on sharing them with my colleges and I also plan on trying to start a collection of my own. I want to hear what things were used in my colleges classes in order to get attention. I think that music/instruments are very effective and definitely should be incorporated.

Reflection #10 11/4/10

WHAT:
This week we spent in field in our 4th grade class at central elementary. We have worked with the students on their work when they are struggling and helping out our corresponding teacher with anything she's needed. We also have tried to pay close attention to anyway our teacher has used the arts in the classroom.

SO WHAT:
When we were observing her arts integration for the week, we noticed that she used a maraca in her class. She used it during spelling as a cue for them to respond all together. I thought this was a great idea, rather than having to count or now go, or something like that. Something else cool that she uses is a singing fish for transitions in the classroom. In our management class we learned about having the kids sing songs to get their attention and help with subject transitions. I thought this was an ingenious way to accomplish that. This toy fish plays tons of different songs and they will be given the time of one song to be in their seats, face forward, and ready for the next lesson. The kids would sing along as they returned to their seats.

NOW WHAT:
Now that I have seen different ideas to use the arts in order to aid in classroom management I want to try and find tools like this that I can later use. I found the singing fish to be very fun and effective. I also want to collect instruments such as maracas, triangles, and a drum to use in my classroom. I was amazed just how well the class responded to these techniques and I want to prepare myself by having these supplies ready before I have my own classroom.

Reflection #9 10/28/10

WHAT:
When we wrote this lesson we used the different beats and rhythms to make it more interesting and to keep the children all together. We also wanted to use the same song for the warm up and the song because it made an easier transition. We learned though to be very careful when putting words in order (like she, it) and grouping words.

SO WHAT:
It is important for me to remember to incorporate music into learning. In elementary school, and even junior high, I learned different songs to remember what the preamble was, adjectives, and adverbs, and math skipping. I still remember them now in college, that is the power of music. I also think it is important to remember to be careful when writing songs, to keep it simple and watch word placement etc.

NOW WHAT:
My next steps are to build a collection and to practice using it. Already I am planning on using a mountain men song in my student teaching that tells about what they did. I want to continue to do things like this in my student teaching to get practice at integrating it into the curriculum. I also want to start getting a collection of these songs that both I have done and others. I can get them from my colleges and find them from teachers out in the field already. I think music is lots of fun and really helps the people learn.