Week 15

What? After field I've really started to better understand how important the Arts are in the schools. The lessons that my field partner and I included Arts related activities in were the lessons that the kids really seemed to enjoy the most and they also seemed to be the ones the kids learned the most from. They really understood the things that we were teaching them. They participated, for the most part, and worked really well with their groups. They really seemed to be learning the things we were teaching them.

So What? I think that including the arts is so important. It helps the kids learn to think outside of the box. By using things like visual art, drama, and dance, the kids are able to see that there isn't just one "right" answer. They learn to think for themselves and solve problems themselves. They also learn how to work with groups and solve problems that may arise in a group. Arts also seems to build confidence in students. They are able to express themselves in a safe environment where they are not made fun of and they are more likely to explore and develop their talents further.

Now What? I will definitely include the arts in my future classroom as much as possible. The kids will learn better that way and not just forget the information that I am teaching them. They will learn to share their creativity without being forced to follow strict rules of what is right and what is wrong when learning. It helps the kids that learn through different learning styles such as visual and kinesthetic. I think it's important to teach in a variety of different ways and not expect kids to all learn in the same way. I will use a variety of teaching methods so that each one of my students has a better opportunity to learn and understand the information I need to teach them in a way that they will actually remember it and be able to apply it in their own lives.

Week 14

Spring Break

What? This week was our last week of field working with the 6th graders. Erica and I were able to teach more lessons on Ancient Greece and help the students more with math and other subjects. For one lesson this week we taught the students about Aesop's Fables and then divided them into groups and had them act out a fable. We took them outside to do this and they got a little bit wild some of the time but for the most part they all did really well and their skits turned out very cute. They all seemed to enjoy it and the groups worked together well. For another lesson we had taught the kids about myths and then had them work in groups to create their own myth. This was the day that our supervisor came and observed. The class had a substitute that day and they were really crazy for the substitute but then when we taught they were super good for us. Our supervisor told us we did really well considering the substitute.

So What? I learned that you can set expectations for the students and change their behavior, regardless of how they are behaving for others. I think it was very helpful to have a partner while teaching because while I was talking, Erica would help keep the class under control and while she was talking, I could help keep the class under control. It's a really good way to learn to work well with my fellow students and to learn to take advise from them. What I might think is the best way does not always work the best, and I've learned, working with Erica, that it's important to listen to the advise of others as well.

Now What? Learning to work with others will be really helpful as a teacher because I will be able to work with and take advise from other teachers and from the principal instead of just assuming my way is the best. Some things that I don't think will work actually turn out better than I expected. Others have ideas that I wouldn't have thought of considered doing on my own so working with a partner and with the cooperating teacher has really helped me to listen to the opinions of others.

Working with 6th graders was very helpful to me. I have only worked with younger students and working with older kids is very different. This experience will help me in the future to decide whether I want to work with younger kids still or if I want to try working with older students some more. It has helped me to see that it is fun working with older students and that I am capable of doing it, but I still think I would do better working with the younger grades. This field experience has helped me to actually start considering more what age group I really want to work with in the future.

Week 12-Field

What? This week was the second week of field experience. We had the opportunity to teach and help out more and also to teach 2 social studies lessons. For the first social studies lesson we taught we created a power point but we weren't able to hook up the computer at the school so were weren't able to use it. Erica and I have learned a lot about accommodating when things don't work out exactly the way we planned. The second time we taught created the power point in Google Presentations so we were able to use the teachers computer to do the power point. Google Presentations is very helpful because so long as you have the internet you have access to your presentation.

So What? I have actually enjoyed working with and teaching the 6th graders more than I thought I would. I was so scared to teach them because I want to teach 2nd or 3rd grade. I never thought I would do well working with the older kids but I have actually enjoyed it. This field experience has helped me to realize that I can do things that I originally thought I could not do. It is good to be able to try new things and gain different experiences and a new perspective on my abilities.

We were able to incorporate art into one of the lessons we taught this week. we taught the students about different city states in Ancient Greece and then we divided the students into groups and assigned each group to be a different city state: Athens, Sparta, Thebes, etc. and had them create a flag representing their city state. We gave them an info card about their city state and told them to use that information to create their flag. The kids had a lot of fun with it and I think it will really help them remember the information about the city state they did their flag on.

Now What? I have learned a lot from watching my cooperating teacher teach the students. There are a lot of things that I would do similar to what she does and other things that I would do completely different. It is fun to get ideas from her and see different approaches to teaching so I can find out better what way I would like to teach and to see first hand how these things apply in the real classroom and how students respond to these teaching methods. I know that in my future classroom I will teach math different than she does. The kids do not seem to understand the math very well at all. There are a lot of things I would try differently.

Week #11: Field

What? This week we started our 3 week field experience. Erica and I are in a 6th grade class at Edgemont Elementary in Provo. We haven't had the opportunity to teach yet, but we've observed a lot and we've been helping the kids out, especially with math. I've realized I've forgotten all the 6th grade math I know and I've been relearning it as I help the students with their questions. This has been helpful to me because I realize that just because I've learned something in school, doesn't mean I will remember it when it comes time to actually teach it.

So What? We have not seen the students do very many art projects. They are, however, making a movie about the Trojan War and we were able to see them film some of it. I think this is really helpful to the students. They learn Greek history while at the same time they are developing their language, memorizing lines, learning how to speak clearly and confidently, and having fun. I think this is a great way to help the kids learn Greek history in a fun way that will help them actually remember it.

Now What? I think that observing the teacher and helping the students with their questions will be really helpful to me as a future teacher. I've learned so much about how the classroom works and what things work for the students and what doesn't. A lot of the kids in the class really don't understand the math. It is helpful to see what the teacher does to try to help them understand. When I have my own classroom, I will have to use different techniques to help my students understand topics when the way I thought would work, doesn't work. I could teach a whole lesson and they might not get it and I'll have to find a new way to teach it.

Reflection #10

What? This week, Erica and I worked on figuring out what lessons we will teach during field and how we will integrate creative arts into those lessons. We are going to teach a unit on Ancient Greece so we were able to add the arts in easily.

So What? For one lesson, we are going to have them make a flag in groups representing their city-state (Olympia, Athens, Sparta, etc.). We will give them an info card about their groups city-state and have them design a flag using markers, colored pencils, etc. incorporating the information on the info card into their flag in a visual way. For the second creative arts integration we are still deciding between 2 different activities, both in the drama category. For one, we thought we could have them do a mock trial. We would assign students to be different Greek gods and goddesses and they must answer the questions as if they are that person. Our second idea is an idea that Erica found online. Zeus, the head god, is retiring and he is taking applications for a new head god. We would assign the students each to be a different god or goddess and ask them interview questions and they would have to tell us, as their character, why they should be the new head god/goddess.

Now What? Now we will have to develop the ideas further and after we meet the students on Monday we will decide between the two drama activities which we think would work better for that particular class and which activity they would like better. Also, we have not came up with an idea for the trial, so we can't think of anything, we will end up doing the drama activity. We also need to decide what kind of paper we would like to have the students make their flags on and if the teacher has it or if we need to provide it for them.

Reflection #9

What? I learned a lot during the music presentation. I don't know a lot about music and I'm a really bad singer. Singing with the group helped me to realize maybe I can sing with my students. I just have to practice a lot so I can actually sing in tune and stick to really simple song.I realized that songs are a really good way to help kids remember confusing things such as parts of speech and dates in history. It's easier to remember things when they are put into a song.

So What? I think it will be good to remember how much easier it was to learn when the groups sang the songs over and over again. When I'm teaching I think I'll be tempted to put up a poster with the words on it if my students are able to read it. I need to remember that's not the most effective way to teach a song.

Now What? I will work on singing so that I can sing in tune and not teach my students wrong. I need to find lots of good CD's with music on them to teach with since I might not be able to sing well enough to teach no matter how much I practice. I really liked the idea of using music to teach the parts of speech. I think I will get some more Ruth Heller books and use them to make up some more songs to teach about nouns, verbs, etc. I really think that music helps the kids remember it longer.

Reflection #8

What? I think that it's very important that music is used in the classroom to help teach. I know that many of the things I've remembered over the years, including things I learned in class, were things that we're put to a song and easy to remember. Putting something difficult to learn into a song helps your brain to be able to memorize and remember something better and for a longer time period. I think it's important to help children and coach them in singing and make it so it's not a competition. If they feel like they have to sing the best then those who can't sing well won't sing.

So What? I'm worried about incorporating music into the classroom and teaching my students to sing because, even though I know it's important, I cannot sing well at all. But, I will do my best to incorporate music because I know how important it is and how much it can help kids learn and remember a concept.

Now What? I plan to get a lot of CD's with songs on them so I can practice singing myself and also to play in the background while I'm teaching a song so I don't teach them wrong if I can't sing in tune. I also think that using some of the games we learned in class are something that I can use to help me practice and become more confident in my own singing and to help me be able to sing better. I really like the idea of singing the whole song for the students and not just putting up a poster with the words or singing one line over and over then the next and so on. It was very easy to learn the song when it was sung all the way through many times and then we started singing parts of it.

Reflection #7

What? As I was working with my group to come up with ideas for creative dance and as I was watching the other groups perform I really started to understand better what would and would not work. I really started to look at books differently and realize where there is potential movement when I didn't see it before. As other groups were performing, sometimes they would give directions and it wouldn't be very clear or seem to go along with the book very well. Other things worked really well. I am starting to realize what kinds of things actually work and what doesn't work with creative dance.

So What? I think creative dance will be very important to use in the schools and I think students will enjoy doing it. I think it is a good way to get the students thinking creatively and at the same time get them out of their comfort zones, doing new things in an environment where they don't feel self conscious about it. I really like the idea of giving them direction but letting them interpret it on their own and not just always teaching exact steps for them to memorize and follow. I liked the video we watched in class that showed real students participating in creative dance and how much they enjoyed it and participated and gave it their best shot.

Now What? When I am teaching I will definitely use the brain dance to help get my students warmed up and to help them with their thinking skills. I will use some of the ideas that groups presented in class, but others I will change some to be more effective for my students. I will find books that apply to what I will be teaching and use ideas from class and the text book to create creative dance lessons. I will also teach my students dances that have some set steps to help them with rhythm, timing, and memorization.

Reflection #6

What? I really liked the creative dance we did in class and I think that kids would really enjoy it. I always thought of dance as just memorizing specific steps and performing them with the right timing, in the right order, etc. But I really liked the idea of giving them some direction so they start moving and then letting them interpret how to do it in their own way. It gets kids moving without worrying so much if they are messing up or doing it wrong.

So What? The stuff we learned in class on Friday will be really helpful for next week and for field. I liked that she let us help come up with movements from another book so that we got ideas from just more than one book of how we can integrate dance and movement into it. I think the class management tips were also helpful. It's important to make sure the kids understand the rules and that they can't just go crazy when they get into the gym.

Now What? When I'm a teacher, I'd definitely like to use creative dance with my students. I think they will enjoy it and it gets them moving as well. It might give a student who doesn't necessarily like PE and sports the opportunity to be active and find something that they like to do that doesn't involve competition and skill. I will use the ideas that my classmates present in class as well as websites and the text book to get ideas of creative ways to get my students involved and to have fun with creative dance. I think it's definitely something that would be important to let students have the opportunity to try.

Reflection #5

What? I learned a lot while coming up with drama activities for the book we used. There are so many activities that I never would have thought of on my own to incorporate drama into other areas of learning. I really enjoyed hearing about the ideas from the other groups. One thing that I really liked about the group that did the book Barefoot was how they turned off the lights and read by flashlight with music playing and their idea of giving everyone a glow stick. I also liked when one of the groups that did the story of Ruby Bridges had someone be Ruby Bridges and walk through the "mob" to feel like it would actually be like to be her.

So What? Some of the techniques that I'll use in my teaching, in addition to the ones I mentioned above, are some of the ones that my group came up with. I will use the scavenger hunt idea that came from the text book and I will also use the interview activity where one person acts as the interviewer, and the other as a character in the story. I will definitely use activities we learned in class to incorporate them into literature to make learning about things like history more fun, hands on, and real for the students.

Now What? I will prepare to integrate drama into my teaching by researching more drama activities that could work well with books and other areas of teaching. I think the drama activities are important because it gives each child a chance to participate in a safe environment. If you have them do a play right at first, some of the more shy kids will be too scared to actually let go and participate and perform as well as they might be able to if you started them off with some of the drama activities like interviewing. By using the drama activities with literature, it helps them learn the topic of the book better and helps prepare them for drama.

Reflection #4

What? In class we learned about the elements and principles of drama. We also learned why drama is important for kids and we learned some theater games and activities that we can use in the classroom to get kids comfortable with drama.

So What? I think the activities we learned would be really helpful and I will use them in the classroom. I will use the interview method where the students pretend they are a character that you are learning about and then another student pretends to be the interviewer and asks them questions about what happened. I will also use the Character-as-One and Mantle of the Expert activities to get my students active and involved in learning.

Now What? I think creative drama is really good for kids because it gets them out of their comfort zone in a safe environment. It helps them learn to work with other students and talk to students they might not get to talk to normally. I found that when we did these activities in class, even as a college student, they helped me feel more comfortable with my classmates and get out of my comfort zone more that I normally would. I think that using drama is a good way to get students motivated and engaged in learning. For example, you could use creative drama in social studies. You could have the students pick a person that you are learning about and answer questions as if they are that person. It gets the students thinking more deeply, not just about facts and dates, but about how the character would really think and the things they believe in. It would help the students feel more involved in learning and understand about the person you are learning about so much more and in a fun way.

Reflection #3:

What? Teaching about childrens illustrators is a good way to get kids interested in art. They are already interested in the book and if you start talking about the books in a way that will teach the children about line, shape, value, color, etc. they will be ready and interested to learn it. If you pick artists and pictures they aren't familiar with, they might not be as interested to learn. Children's book illustrators apply directly to them.

So What? I can use the virtual handouts that other students did in class to have a starting point for teaching about illustrators to my students. I can also find other popular children's books that my students will recognize and learn about those illustrators. I can teach my students about the different art elements and principles that these illustrators have used in their artwork and help them to use them in their own artwork as well.

Now What? I think if I teach art by starting with familiar illustrators that it will access my students background knowledge since they are familiar with it and they will be able to understand more quickly the art principles and elements that I am trying to help them learn. Once I have accessed their background knowledge and got them interested we can move on to other popular artists that the students may not know anything about and they won't be so intimidated to learn about those art pieces because they have a firm background knowledge to go by.

Reflection #2

What? In class and from the text book we learned about the different elements and principals of art (line, shape, color, value, texture, space. Balance, rhythm, dominance, proportion, emphasis, and unity). We also learned about the color wheel as well as the difference between a shade, tint, and tone.

So What? It's important to know what the different elements and principles of art are and how to apply them because it will help while making an art piece but it would also help me on other things that I would create for an assignment or a classroom. For example, knowing how color schemes work together would help me to design an aesthetically pleasing bulletin board, or welcome letter.

Now What? It's important to know the correct terminology for words related to art so that when I teach my future students I'll be able to teach them correctly. If I don't understand the words myself I won't be able to effectively teach my students and to help them realize how it applies to them. It's important to help students understand art so that they can progress in their own artistic abilities. Also, when you teach students art it helps them in other academic areas as well. It helps them to think outside of the box and use their creativity different ways.

Reflection #1

What: I don't remember learning how to do a whole lot with art in Elementary School. We did some art projects and the teachers integrated them a little bit but I never remember doing much. I've always thought I was terrible at art as far as drawing goes. My teachers didn't teach me very much about drawing techniques to help me get better at it.

So What: I still feel like I'm really bad at drawing and painting and art in general. I think if my teachers would've spent more time teaching techniques and showing me how to do things I would feel more confident about it. I did have one teacher in 6th grade who taught us how to draw detailed eyes. I felt really proud of myself for being able to actually draw eyes that looked realistic. I think if more of my teachers would've been like that I would've been more confident and tried more things with art.

Now What: I think I need to spend some time practicing art and learning the techniques so that I can better teach my students and help them find confidence in their artistic abilities. I think it will be important to learn effective ways to integrate art into other aspects of teaching. I know that a lot of students learn better when they can be creative and visualize what they are learning. If they can create something about the topic we are learning about in class I think they will remember it better and it will also help them gain confidence in their artistic abilities.