Reflection #14

I am definitely headed in the right direction for Arts Integration for my future classroom. it all comes down to me for my future students to experience the arts. I hope when I teach, my students will enjoy being involved with the arts as much as I have in this class. I have enjoyed presenting each art and getting other ideas from my classmates. I hope that I can go to Art Conferences to get more ideas of how to incorporate them. Also I can get ideas from colleagues and see what they like to use. There are many tools that can help me integrate the arts into my future classroom. One tool being our textbook, it is filled with several ideas and even better its all in one book. I hope that I can start preparing by gathering ideas, books, websites and more to start an Art folder that I can refer to when I teach.

With each art I plan on teaching it effectively to my students and hope that they will have a great experience. With visual art, I will prepare to effectively teach my students that there are multiple ways to show your creativity in visual art. I want to let my students know that there is not one specific way to do visual art. There are endless possibilities when integrating drama with the curricular areas. Children will enjoy what they experience and never forget how you used drama into the classroom! Children need creative drama for several reasons one it can let children out of their comfort zone and be theirselves. Creative drama can build their self-esteem. Drama can attract all types of students and their learning styles from pretend interviews to pantomimes children will find what they like best.

In dance, I plan on actively interpreting books into dance movements and practicing new ideas for creative dance and using them in my classroom. I hope to be aware of the different steps I could use and also finding the right music to go with my dance numbers. In music, I want to be more comfortable with singing and learn more about the elements of music and demonstrate them effectively. My next steps are working on my own voice and practicing to become better for my future students. Also I think to start putting together a folder of songs that I can use and ideas of how to teach the song, what instruments to use, etc.

The arts truly add a variety to the core subjects and have proven higher test scores, building self-esteem, includes all students from different backgrounds, children take more risks and more. The arts mean a great deal to me and I cannot wait for the day when I have my very own classroom and share with my students the great benefits the arts has to offer.

Reflection #13

So What- As I look back on my experience with the creative arts class I am indeed grateful for having the opportunity to have this class. I have learned a lot about my self in many ways. One being that I do not have to be completely experienced with using the arts into my classroom. I do not have a background in music, but I think as time goes by I will get better and have more confidence in myself to read notes and more. Also I have been exposed to process drama and I am absolutely found of it. I loved learning about the 21 Hot Process Drama tools. There is a variety that I can use and it will be fun to experience them all in the future.

Now what- I hope when I teach my students will enjoy being involved with the arts as much as I have in this class. I have enjoyed presenting each art and getting other ideas from my classmates. I have also benefitted from using our textbook. It is filled with great ideas and they all are accessible. The arts mean a great deal to me and I cannot wait for the day when I have my very own classroom and share with my students the great benefits the arts has to offer.

Reflection #12

What It is hard to believe that field ended this week! It went by so fast! As I look back at our integrated art lesson plans I am glad we did them! Way worth it!

So What Overall, I am disappointed that our cooperating teacher does not integrate art whatsoever into her classroom. She has been teaching for 17 years now and from observing I don’t think she has ever integrated the arts. As weeks have gone by and we have learned about art, drama, music, and dance I was so excited for field to begin. As we have learned about the forms of art I have enjoyed every minute of it. I can see how beneficial it is to incorporate them into your classroom. I was hoping I would have a cooperating teacher who would integrate the arts in some way, but that didn’t happen. My partner and I had to take charge regardless of the situation. If my partner and I didn’t teach any lesson plans we wouldn’t have seen how integrating the arts works. I am grateful that we were able to have the students experience and interact with the arts. It was a great experience and I look forward to the future with my own classroom.

Now What From having this class and teaching the arts in field it all comes down to me for my future students to experience the arts. I hope that I can go to Art Conferences to get more ideas of how to incorporate them. Also I can get ideas from colleagues and see what they like to use. There are many tools that can help me integrate the arts into my future classroom. One tool being our textbook, it is filled with several ideas and even better its all in one book. I hope that I can start preparing by gathering ideas, books, websites and more to start a Art folder that I can refer to when I teach.

Reflection #11

What? Field is about to finish up and it has been a great experience working with the 5^th graders. This week my partner and I integrated the arts with one of our lesson plans.

So What? As we continue teaching about Colonial America this week we taught about life in the colonies which are: life in towns and cities, life on plantations, and life on the frontier. To integrate one of the arts into this lesson plan we decided to integrate process drama as an intro to life in the colonies. We took parts from their textbook and used one of the 21 Red Hot Process Drama Tools called “Speaking Objects”. For each life we picked an object and spoke in its point of view of its surroundings. For example, for life in towns and cities we told the students that they were the church steeple in the town. We talked about how we could see the children running to school, farmers at the market selling their goods, men and women going to the tailor, and more. With life on the frontier we were a candle flickering in the windowsill. We told the students that we could see papa chopping the wood, mama mending the clothes, deer grazing by, etc. The children really enjoyed participating with process drama it let them make a visual of what life was like for the colonists. I am excited to use more of the 21 Red Hot Process Tools in the future.

Now What? I plan on integrating arts as much as I can into my future classroom. All students enjoy the arts and can benefit from them. I would love to be able to be more familiar with the 21 Red Hot Process Tools and practice them. They are easy for everyone to participate in and are so worthwhile! I am excited to teach my future students and to share with them the impact arts can have on their lives!

Reflection #10

What? We have been in field for over a week now and I am enjoying every minute of it! When it comes to integrating the arts into the classroom my cooperating teacher does not incorporate the arts. This week my partner and I were able to teach our second lesson plan and integrate the arts into it. We incorporated music into our lesson plan.

So What? We are teaching 5^th graders about Colonial America. We were teaching the students about the 13 Colonies. We made up a song about the 13 Colonies and put it to the tune of Yankee Doodle. The students loved singing the song! What we did was sang the song first then the students sang the words that were in bold. We then taught half of room the beat and the other half the rhythm. They practiced the rhythm and then switched sides to practice the beat. We finished up the song with singing it in rounds. Our song was catchy and easy to follow along with. One little boy said, “This is way fun.” It made me appreciate the arts even more and how important it is to have them in your classroom.

Now What? I hope that I can encourage my cooperating teacher to integrate the arts into her classroom. Whether you sing a song or use processed drama there are so many options that you can use. In our text, it shows how beneficial it is for students to be apart of the arts. Also with my future classroom and students I want to try my best and incorporate arts as much as possible. The arts do great things and have such a strong impact on children. They make learning fun and engaging for everyone!

Reflection #9

What-I learned that it was somewhat difficult to find a tune that worked with the lyrics we made up. It took us a few tries to find a tune that fit. I thought “This Old Man” was perfect for our song. Also it is not as easy as it looks to come up with lyrics for a song. We had to think about what to include in our song to connect with the book and also the core. I learned from presenting that it is important to know the beat and rhythm to teach students a song. Having a warm-up is beneficial for everyone as well. There are several ways to do warm-ups such as singing Bumblebee… bumblebee… Prior to teaching your lesson you should find out if you can use your song in a round. We didn’t know that you usually don’t sing “This Old Man” in a round, but when we did sang it in a round it didn’t turn out so bad. Incorporating instruments into your music lesson is also great.

So What It is important to know if your song will work in a round. I think it is important to know if you will be using instruments or not. In addition to using instruments, find ways that you can teach the song for example, use the Brain Compatible Rules or the Seven Habits of Highly Effective Singing. Get everyone engaged and involved to have a fun experience. If you cannot create your own lyrics, use other sources that will work for your lesson. The Internet has endless possibilities for lyrics and tunes of songs that you can use.

Now What -My next steps are working on my own voice and practicing to become better for my future students. Also I think to start putting together a folder of songs that I can use and ideas of how to teach the song, what instruments to use, etc. I hope that I can incorporate music as much as possible into my classroom. Music is great for all ages of children!

Reflection #8

What- Music is- a sound must be organized in time and space to make music. Music can be listened to, composed, viewed and so much more. In music you have 5 elements which are: pitch, duration, dynamics, form, and timbre. It is important to include all the elements if possible. Also as teachers you can follow the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teaching and include the habits in your classroom. Music should be included into the classroom for a number of reasons such as it makes us happy, provides a learning foundation, promotes physical and mental health, expresses cultural and personal identity and so much more. In our text I liked what it said about the cultural and personal identity. You can find out what people value and fear when studying the music of a culture. I think this key to include it will allow children to get to know each other if they are of a different culture, race, etc. By playing this music your students will be able to makes bonds and connect with one another.

So what- My goals are to find fun instruments and music that I can incorporate into my classroom and also learn more in depth about the elements in music. I am not very talented with this art form and struggle a bit. I hope that I can practice and feel confident about myself to sing and teach songs to my students in the future. I would love to use music as much as possible into my classroom. I think it that it is important to teach children that music is not just for fun it is something that you can benefit from in many different areas. For example, promoting physical and mental health. There are endless possibilities with teaching music to children you can sing about holidays, historical figures, historical events, water cycle, nouns, verbs, rocks and so much more. By teaching music your students will enjoy the experience and learn at the same time!

Now what- To prepare for my future classroom this goes along with my goals that I said above. I hope to find fun instruments and music. I want to be more comfortable with singing and learn more about the elements of music and demonstrate them effectively.

Relection #7

What- My understanding has changed with learning that there is no right or wrong way to dance. Also that you can truly tie creative dance into all subjects whether it may be science or social studies. I know that if I implement dance into my classroom my students will benefit from it. I want to use creative dance in my classroom because it is a great way for children to express themselves and also a great self-esteem builder. I can use creative dance in numerous ways such as splitting up a book into 4 sections and place children into 4 groups and have them do different movements.

So what- There are several ways to teach, and participate in creative dance. I plan on referring to our text and pull great ideas from there. The text has awesome ideas on how to implement creative dance into the classroom. Also I can use the other group dance lessons and have them as examples to refer to.

Now what- I plan to teach my future students the importance creative dance can have on them. All of my students would somehow benefit from creative dance in some way whether it is developing self-control, concentration, exercise or more. I plan on preparing by knowing the different types of movement out there and also being familiar with the several ways to implement creative dance into my classroom.

Reflection #6

What -One new insight that I have is that creative dance is fun for everyone! You do not have to be a fabulous dancer to participate in creative dance. There are endless possibilities with creative dance. There are many reasons why creative dance is important to incorporate into the classroom. One reason is that dance can develop confidence and self-control. It lets shy children get out and express themselves. Also, dance is good exercise. It gets children up and moving. It is especially great for those who cannot sit still for a long period of time. It is important for children to know that in creative dance there is no right or wrong way.

Well at first I felt awkward and uncomfortable as I worked in class. Later after moving for a while I started to loosen up and not really care what moves I was making or care if others were looking at me. As we read Where The Wild Things Are the dance moves we were creating applied directly to the book. For example, when we were pretending to be the Wild Things the book seemed like it came to life. I saw that I could use forms of dance to extend a books message and to make it stand out more.

So What- To help me prepare for next week, I received a better understanding of creative dance. I am more aware of what creative dance is and how I can implement it into field. I can also get ideas from our book to use in the classroom, whether it is a book or introducing a new unit. Participating in creative dance made me realize how practical it is and I was surprised at how comfortable I felt in the end of the dance number for example, being a tree and moving its branches. At first being a tree was awkward, later I saw how the book came to life.

Now What- I plan on actively interpreting books into dance movements and practicing new ideas for creative dance and using them in my classroom. I hope to be aware of the different steps I could use and also finding the right music to go with my dance numbers.

Reflection #5

What- I learned that there are a variety of options to choose from when developing a process drama. There were ideas given in the book that correlated with specific curriculum and also there were the 21 Red Hot Process Tools that we could use. I also learned that you can perform the process drama in a number of ways you could section off the book or you could do a process drama for each page if you wanted to. Depending how much time you have you can pick short or long process drama tools to use. I learned great ideas from the other teams that I wouldn’t have thought of to use with a certain book. It also gave me a visual of what the process drama tools will look like. Some that were used didn’t appeal to me when I read their description, but when I saw them performed in class I loved them.

So What- I hope to implement several ideas into my teaching. I love the 21 Red Hot Process Tools they are awesome! I especially like the ideas given in the book which correlate with specific curriculum. The book is easy access to great ideas. For example, say my subject is Social Studies I go straight to the book which has several ideas that I can use. My students will truly have a fun experience when I incorporate drama into my classroom. I want to make my classroom a place that is fun and entertaining for everyone!

Now What- I hope that I can become more familiar with all the process tools out there. Also it would be great if I could demonstrate more of the tools. I think it would be beneficial for me if I put together a book that has all the tools that I like and what I would use those tools specifically for. Again this would be easy access!

Reflection #4

What- I have learned how to use theater games in the classroom and the 21 red hot process drama tools. One new perspective about using drama that I have is that drama is not all about acting, which a lot of people believe it is. Also, that there are multiple ways to integrate drama into your classroom. I really enjoyed performing some of the process tools. They were great! All ages of children will love participating in the theater games as well as the process drama tools.

So What- I think I will use a variety of activities as I begin teaching. The activities that I personally like include: hot seating, decision alley, interview, role-on-the-wall and pantomime. I especially like the interview activity we did in class. I thought this activity was a great way for students to be creative and have fun being the character or newscaster in the interview.

Now What- Children need creative drama for several reasons one it can let children out of their comfort zone and be theirselves. Creative drama can build their self-esteem. Drama can attract all types of students and their learning styles from pretend interviews to pantomimes children will find what they like best.

Drama can make hard curricular areas more interesting and fun. You are still able to teach the curriculum, but you can use many effective drama tools to deliver it more effectively. For example, when learning about the Revolutionary War you could use the performance carousel when groups prepare scenes representing parts of the drama story, then arrange them in chronological order and perform them in sequence without interruption. There are endless possbibilites when integrating drama with the curriculuar areas. Children will enjoy what they experience and never forget how you used drama into the classroom!

Reflection #3

What-

When using the principles of art it can add a lot of impact and depth to a piece. For example, when you use proportion and rhythm. There are many ways you can interpret a piece of art. You may look at a piece of art one way and someone else may look at it another way. The value of using children’s picture book illustrators makes it easier for children to understand the elements and principles of visual art. Children are able to connect at a more personal level when using picture books.

So What-

To prepare I think it would benefit my students and I by being educated in numerous artists out there that have different techniques/styles. As a result, I will know about a variety of artists that I can teach to my students. For example, I could show an artist who focuses on the use emphasis or someone who focuses more on texture.

Now What-

This will be important to me because I am able to use a variety of artists and their art and bring it into my classroom. With using many artists I can create several different art activities for my class. For example, shredding construction paper and making a scene from The Giver or practice shading the pine trees on a specific page in The Polar Express etc. My students will enjoy learning about the different artists out there and participating in numerous activities that focus on the different styles/techniques of that specific artist.

Reflection #2

What-

In the book I liked how it said that artistic teachers are those who set up an aesthetic classroom, ask provocative questions, model how to listen and more. The book also said that there are two ways to integrate art looking at art to understand it and creating it. I have learned that visual art can be used in many ways. Also teachers should integrate art because it promotes attention to detail, gives confidence to be unique, promotes respect for diversity, etc.

In class we covered the elements of art. I did not know what some of the elements were so I was glad we discussed them. I loved participating in our visual art activity. It was fun to go to each table and do the certain elements of visual art. My favorite element was probably the texture activity. I liked creating the different areas by using thick lead or thin lead. I especially enjoyed using charcoal in one of my areas as well.

So What-

This means to me that I should try my very best to be an artistic teacher. Also to try and teach my students how to understand art and create it. I hope that I can come up with fun activities that relate to the elements of art. I know that my students would enjoy these activities greatly.

I hope that in my personal life I can experiment with creating visual art and have fun with it. There is never one way to create something.

Now What-

I hope that I will prepare to effectively teach my students that there are multiple ways to show your creativity in visual art. You do not always have to focus on all the elements of visual art. My perspective has changed dramatically. The door has been opened to endless possibilities. I am excited to incorporate all visual art activities into my classroom. I hope that this will teach my students to know that there is not one specific way to do art. Believe in yourself that you can do it!

Reflection #1

What-I have experienced many things with the arts. Not only in my schooling over the years, but also I have participated in dance, piano and school plays.

Throughout my years in school I have had several teachers who have integrated the arts into the classroom. I vividly remember an experience I had in my elementary social studies class. I had to create a poster on key events or leaders that were apart of World War II. I chose to do my poster on D-day. I had to find information and pictures to put on the poster. I was able to learn about World War II from not only my poster, but also my classmates. In addition, I was truly impacted by using the arts when I read Anne Franks diary in 8^th grade. We were assigned to create a poem about Anne, the Holocaust, or concentration camps. I chose to express how I felt about the Holocaust. When writing the poem I experienced many emotions.

The few new ideas that I have gained are: I never really thought about that the reasons why the arts help students achieve and grow, teaching the arts can help with creative problem solving process and the power of linking art to emotion.

So What-The arts have had a major impact in my life. I love that I can express myself in numerous ways whether it is a song, dance, visual art etc.

One of my favorite teachers was my 8^th grade English teacher. She truly portrayed great characteristics. Any project, assignments, or lessons she would integrate the arts somehow. My teacher would put up our finished projects for display in the classroom. It made me feel good to know that my work was important and meant something to my teacher. Also, there were always a variety of projects we would do. For example, I would write poems, make a collage; pick a song that represented a book we read, watch a dance performance and so much more. My teacher made the class fun and exciting by integrating the arts. It made me enjoy class on a whole other level.

My least teacher that did not represent any characteristics would be my junior high science teacher. There were no arts integrated whatsoever. I did not like learning about science and had no desire to. The class was boring and we always read out of the book.

After sharing both examples from teachers that I have had in the past, I would hope that in the future, I would be the teacher that integrates the arts as much as possible. Children need to express themselves to enjoy learning.

Now What- I want to not get discouraged if my school does not have the funding for the arts or has cutback dramatically. There are always ways to incorporate the arts if the funding is lacking etc.

I believe for me to prepare now I need to beyond doubt try my best to integrate the arts in all subjects. The arts add a variety to the core subjects and have proven higher test scores, building self-esteem, includes all students from different backgrounds, children take more risks and more.