Reflection # 10 (6 on class website)

Field was a great learning experience. I was assigned to work in Mr. Van Orden's 5th grade class. Mr. Van Orden is not what you would call a typical teacher. He want students to enjoy his class, but most of all he wants to enjoy the teaching itself. He tries to keep things basic and light. Students are taught that if they manage themselves they will have more opportunities to do interesting things. Mr. Van Orden likes to turn the lessons over to the students. They explore and experiment to find solutions to problems on their own and in groups. The arts are not a particularly strong focus in his class, but he tries to incorporate music into the class. Students see an art specialist once a week, so the teachers do not have to worry about trying to find in the time to integrate it into their other subjects. I think this can be useful, but I think it would be better if students were able to relate art and music to the other subject areas. Laura and I tried to incorporate art by using pictures as primary sources and having students participate in an art project. Students were able to create a picture of one of the 3 founders we discussed in class. Students used geometric shapes and symmetry to create interesting pieces of art. We were impressed by how creative the students were and how easy it was to keep the students on task. We also had students create a graphic organizer that if we had time we would've had students decorate with pictures to go along with the information they had written in them. I think the students really enjoyed the lessons we planned for them and I learned a lot by putting what I've been learning into practice.

Reflection #9

This week was way too short! I wish we could've stayed just a little while longer. I ended up exceeding my hours by about 2 hours and I still wanted to stay longer. The students were warming up to us and I was feeling comfortable in the classroom. One of the students that I've been struggling to get engaged got a really bad bloody nose on Tuesday so I was able to help him out and connect with him a little bit more. The teacher is trying to keep this student on task, but he said he even has a hard time with him. We are all wondering if he has ADD, he just can't seem to sit still or follow instructions. Before we left the students thanked us for "making the lessons fun" some even told me they would miss me. I was able to take the students to one of their rotations and play a game with them while we waited for the other teacher to finish getting ready for us. The kids caught onto the game just as it was time to go in so it worked out perfectly. I said goodbye to them before class started and then headed off to work. I had a great experience and am going to miss being in a classroom every day. I'm really excited to be moving on and can't wait until I can start teaching a class of my own. So much Fun!!

Reflection #8

What a great week! we had a lot of fun with our lessons and the kids even seemed to actually get something out of it! We played a relay game with the students where they had to place examples of freedoms, laws, class rules, and responsibilities into buckets. The students did really well and only missed a few. We talked about how some of the laws or rights can also be responsibilities and vice versa. The students were great at deciding what was responsibility and what could also be placed in another category. We also started our final project on Friday and had students creating power points of the 4 lessons that we covered. The students worked well together and followed directions perfectly. There were a few tiny hiccups, but it still worked out just fine.

Reflection #7

This week has flown by! We taught on Tuesday and Wednesday and we will be teaching again on Friday. Our lessons have gone well and we are hoping they will continue to get better. The students have been very respectful and have been a lot of fun to be around. I am enjoying being in the 5th grade and could see myself teaching this grade in the future. The students pick up on a lot more than I thought they would, though they still have a hard time paying attention for very long and instructions have to be repeated numerous times. We are using the "give me 5" system as well as "freeze please, stop, and go". I have noticed that the students like to take their time on projects and so we've had to extend time and have to consider that with our future lesson plans. So far I think we've done a pretty good job of making the constitution fun for the kids. After teaching our lessons I have found areas where we can improve the way we presented as well as adding to and changing the lesson plan. I'm looking forward to teaching again next week and hope things continue to run smoothly for us.

Reflection #6

So far so good. I'm enjoying the experience and have learned a lot about how our teacher runs his classroom. Our teacher is really laid back and likes to joke around with the students. The students seem to really enjoy being in his class, and past students are often sticking their heads in to say hi as they pass. He hasn't sat down and talked to us about the students or about how he does things. We have been oberving and have a pretty good understanding of how the teacher student dynamic works.

I'm worried about all the work we have to be doing while in field. I'm confused on a couple of the assignments and hope I can get it all figured out and done. I plan on getting all of the field work assignments at least started by next week. I'm thinking next week will be a bit different. We start teaching on Tuesday and I'm more excited than nervous. It will be a fun experience!

Reflection #5

There is a lot more than just color and shading that goes into an art piece. The way an artist represents emotion can be through color, texture, movement, shape, value, space, and lines. By looking at children's picture books we can help students to appreciate and better understand art and the different mediums artists use. Students can learn what makes art powerful and how to express their emotions and stories by being exposed to different types of art and becoming familiar with the emotions and techniques that other artists use to convey their feelings.

Reflection #4

I think music will be the easiest for me to integrate into my classroom. Music is a powerful way to teach and to learn. I still remember songs from elementary, especially the ones that taught useful information and that we practiced over and over again. I sing every day and love to sing with the children I nanny. I think music helps us to think and feel positively about life, even when things aren't quite going our way. Music has helped me to become calm before tests so that I can concentrate on what I need to. I would like to use music for the same purpose in my classroom when preparing my students to take tests.

Reflection #3

Educational dance is used to help students understand a concept or maybe even to learn more about themselves. I think studio dance is more structured and is not centered around understanding our environment or a school subject. Creative dance helps kids to think outside of the box. Following instruction is not as important in education dance as it is in other types of dance. Students start to think about the subject as it relates to them and interpret it into their dance moves. As a teacher I will use creative dance to help my students understand cultures, animals, and their peers. I want my students to have another way to relate to their environment through movement. I think dance is a great way to get students thinking about how important movement is as well as our body language. When we can become confident with our body and our movements, we realize we are capable of great things. Our bodies are incredible and dance helps students realize how important they are when expressing themselves through movement.

Reflection 1!!
I've learned more about the way that I learn when I do an activity with arts. I am not the most confident or outgoing person and can feel uncomfortable "acting" things out in a classroom in front of others. I have also realized that it would help my students become more engaged in a lesson if I were able to let go a little more and have fun with it. I want to stretch myself and hopefully become more comfortable making a fool of myself so that I can get a concept or point accross to my students. I think that if I were able to teach through the arts that my students might feel safe to take chances and be creative. It's important for children to be able to be creative in expressing themselves and they should feel comfortable doing so in my classroom.

Reflection #2

I hadn't really considered that drama could be used in the classroom to teach anything except history. I also hadn't thought of drama being something as simple as having students playing a game that gets them interacting with one another. Now that I know how simple it can be to incorporate drama in the classroom I'm planning on using it as much as possible to help engage my students. One of the simplest ways that we've done this is by playing a greeting game. Students can learn about social aspects as well as cultures and history by playing this game. The activities I will use the most will probably be something as simple as having my students sing a song while doing actions. I think drama can be used in all curricular areas, we might just have to get a little creative when it comes to subjects like math and science. A simple idea could be to have students become a plant or animal and show stages or movements that they make as they interact with their environment. One of the best things about drama is that it brings the student into the subject and they become a part of it.

I have a few questions about required materials and about the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival. I wasn't able to access you on blackboard and I don't think your email is connected quite yet. I can't find the syllabus, is it on blackboard? Hopefully you read this soon.