Arts Intigration (the Finale)

What?

I feel as if I am getting a very good idea of how I’d like to integrate the arts into my future curriculum. As I’ve said before, I feel that the Arts are important for any classroom, and for a child’s growth in all subjects.

So What?

While I was able to integrate the arts minimally throughout my Field Experience, I feel that I was constricted to what the teacher felt was “appropriate” in her classroom. When I have my own classroom, I know that those restrictions won’t be there and I will feel a lot freer to integrate things like process drama and choral reading.

Now What?

I have already started thinking about how I could integrate the arts into the curriculum I am familiar with. I have several lesson plans in mind and have even rough-drafted a few ideas. Even though I am planning on moving out of state to teach, I do not feel as if that will affect my desire or drive to integrate art into my classroom.  

Arts Integration in Teaching

What?

This week we talked about our Field experiences. I wasn’t surprised that each and every student had a different experience…even the ones that were in the same partnerships. Some had teachers that integrated the arts extensively, others had ones that didn’t at all, and most had teachers that did, but only when they had a little free time.

So What?

I honestly feel that arts integration is important for students…especially in the Elementary levels of Education. I don’t feel it should be a time-filler or an afterthought—it should be integrated into every subject. How else are we supposed to keep our students’ attention?!

In my Field classroom, the students went into a separate classroom to sing, dance, etc. Our teacher didn’t allow us to go with them, wanting us to stay in the classroom with her. This disappointed me quite a bit, especially when she failed to ask the students what they had learned when they returned to her classroom. And even when they did do artwork, it was normally just as a time-filler. For example, the students drew and painted turkeys to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday. It didn’t really have anything to do with the curriculum or any lesson  she was teaching.

Now What?

I have said it before and I will say it again. In my future classroom(s), I fully intend to integrate art in every aspect of my students’ learning. Even if the school doesn’t support the arts, I intend to fight it and slip arts in wherever I can. Singing a section of required reading, dancing a scene from their History books, creating a collage to depict math ideas—arts can go anywhere. The teacher just has to be willing to integrate it.

Student Teaching: the Finale

WHAT?

This week was our final two days of student teaching. I have to admit that I will miss it—my experience was wonderful and the students were amazing. It will definitely be an experience that I remember for the rest of my life.

SO WHAT?

These last two days we taught two small lessons—reading group lessons with four-five students at a time. We were each assigned a group of the most advanced readers last week, and asked to instruct them in a guided reading book. I had my group do a Literature Circle, where they each took a “job” such as summarizing the section they read or finding words they didn’t understand and listing them. We would then discuss them during the circles. I also gave them a further assignment, which was visualizing and drawing a scene from something that they read. Whether the reading incited a memory or a day-dream, I wanted them to draw it and then share it during our last meeting. They responded eagerly to this lesson and asked to do it several times over.

NOW WHAT?

I decided to make the class a present from the photographs that I took of the students over our time there. I am making a type of digital story for them, consisting of the photographs and a special song that I thought embodied all of the students within the class. I wasn’t able to finish it before our last day there, so our Cooperating Teacher gave me permission to bring it to her after school sometime within the next few weeks, and she will then show it to her class.

Student Teaching (Week 3)

What?

During our second full week of student teaching, we taught our last three lessons, plus some. We also got to assist with the school’s fourth-grade “Mountain Man Festival”, and had a blast doing it!

So What?

Our three official lessons this week were a lesson on verbs, a lesson in Math, and two individual book groups that we’re working with. I taught the lesson on Verbs, reading the students a book on verbs called “To Root, to Toot, to Parachute”, and then we played a game that integrated social studies with verb-words. In our Math lesson we taught the students how to do 3x1 multiplication, and the different ways to solve it. We passed out a worksheet that half the class worked on while the other half played a multiplication game with dice. Half way through the lesson, we switched and had each group do the other activity. It worked really well and the students responded eagerly to both ways of learning.

Now What?

The “Mountain Man” festival was a lot of fun, and yet another chance to bond with the students and learn about their individual personalities. It lasted all day so there were no lessons taught Friday. Unfortunately, my partner and I realized that we only have two more days of student teaching before it’s over, and that has been a real downer. This experience was invaluable, our class has been amazing, and I wish that I had more time with them.

Student Teaching (Week 2)

What?

This week we had a full five days of student teaching. My partner and I were asked to teach two lessons, one on Visualization and one on a book Genre. Ashley (my partner) did Visualization, while I took Genre, and taught about Fantasy.

So What?

I chose to do three activities—a question-session, a game, and an activity where the six tables each took an element of Fantasy, and made a picture about what they visualized when they thought about that element. The question session was a lot of fun, with the students answering all of my questions enthusiastically. They also liked the game—which was a relay between two teams to see who could come up with more “Fantasy” words. The poster part could have gone a little better—they didn’t want to stop once they’d finished.

At the end of my half-hour teaching session, I showed my digital story on the “Elements of Fantasy”. It was a huge hit with the class, and they left for their rotations still talking about it.

Now What?

Ashley and I will be teaching at least three more lessons, although our cooperating teacher has requested that we help her with more than that, as well as remain the whole day on Friday to help man booths for the schools’ Mountain Man Festival. The lessons we’ll be teaching will be Math (teaching 3x1 multiplication), English (teaching about Verbs) and Reading Comprehension in book groups.

Music (pt.2)

What?

Writing music lyrics is fun. Fitting them to an already established tune is much harder. But it was a fun process, and I enjoyed learning about how to turn a book into a song, and then to put that song to music. In fact, I enjoyed the whole process until our presentation day, when I felt too sick to really participate.

So What?

We need to remember that while songs are fun (and should be sung during free time in the classroom), songs that fit into the core curriculum are scarce. So most teachers need to make their own or “borrow” from others’ ideas.  And that’s alright. Teachers need to be flexible so they can alter songs to their own needs.

Now What?

I’ve already been looking through Thanksgiving songs that we have received in some of our classes, along with looking at books I could potentially turn into a song for that Holiday. Since our student teaching will be ending right before Thanksgiving Break, I think it would be a fun last-day activity to have us teach the class these songs and sing them together (to give them something to remember us by).

Music (pt.1)

WHAT?

The elements of music are rhythm, melody, harmony, tempo, dynamics, timbre, and form. Music is a way to express yourself and your emotions through non-verbal or verbal means. You can sing a song, or you can create a piece of music that has no words, but expresses your emotions. It should be taught in the classroom because it is a way for children to learn something in a fun and non-threatening way.

SO WHAT?

Music is important to the classroom, not only because it adds a dimension of interest to your lessons, but it also gives students yet another way to express themselves and prove they understand what you are teaching them. For example, if you create a song to teach them a math concept, and then every student aces that part of their test, you know that your song worked (one of my teachers did this, and we always got those parts right on our tests, because we had a solid way to remember what he taught us). Music has been linked to memory, and if you give your students a piece of music, along with any subject or topic, you can be sure they will remember it.

NOW WHAT?

As I mentioned before, I have been in classrooms where the teachers took totally unrelated subjects and put music to them, making it impossible for their students to forget. In the same way, I plan on putting hard topics that I plan on testing about, to music. I also plan on using music as a fun way to get my students’ minds off school, if even for a few moments so they can work their energy out. I love music, so even if the school I teach at doesn’t have a set curriculum for it, you can be sure that I’ll find some way to wiggle it into my classroom every day.

Dance (pt.2)

WHAT?

There are so many ways to introduce children’s creative dance, whether it is teaching a science concept, or having them dance out parts of books you read aloud to them. There are also many different methods of delivery, which were shown during our presentations in class; I never realized how many there were until we all taught each other our lessons.

SO WHAT?

My group had one set activity that lasted the entire ten minutes after we read our book. Other groups broke up the reading or had the “students” read sections, then we preformed dances to those parts. It was fascinating seeing how differently every group interpreted the instructions. I know it will be just as fun seeing how my own students take my instructions and interpret them in their own ways. I also know that I can use this to draw the shyer students out of their shells, allowing them to express themselves when they would not normally do so.

NOW WHAT?

I plan to use creative dance in many aspects of my classroom. I’ve already played with ideas for introducing it in science and history, as well as math (although this will take a lot of tweaking). I plan on attending as many courses on this subject as I can, as well as getting my hands on lesson plans that incorporate creative dance so I can play around with them and try them in my own classroom.

Creative Dance (pt.1)

What?

When I think of children’s creative dance, I always thought about those choreographed dances that I was forced to do with my classmates, and then perform for our parents in a giant assembly. I was never introduced to anything like we did in class—dancing to a book. It makes much more sense, now, and I can see how dancing to a story, or even to a school subject, could help with memorization skills and student attention in class.

I have always needed movement in order to help me remember things, so it was nice to realize that maybe all students need movement (and dance) for the same thing. Dance would also help with students who have too much energy to pay attention in class, and could help the shyer students display their ideas and draw them out. It is a way for all students to connect and have fun, while still learning important lessons.

So What?

It is definitely something to consider when going into field—if our cooperating teacher will allow it. We have to teach lessons on Utah Mountain Men and Explorers, and it would be fun to find a story about one or more of them and have the students either dance or act out scenes in the book. Having our experiences from class would help us do this, and make it easier for us to know what to expect in the students we will be teaching.

Now What?

I think using the experiences we receive in class, as well as the ones we get in our Field work, will help in the future as we plan lessons like this for our own classes. I also think going to one of those courses Professor Escalante mentioned would be beneficial, if I ever get the opportunity. I would like to have further experience on how to teach creative dance in my classroom—and you can never have enough instruction yourself.

Processing process dramas....

What?

I learned a lot doing Process Drama from text—a lot of it was stuff I did already while reading, or having others read, and never even realized that I was going through a dramatic process! I especially liked learning about how many different types of role-play there were, and how to utilize them to fit the books we were reading.

Watching the other teams present was also fun, because I got to see a lot of techniques that my group never even thought of—like turning off the lights to create mood, or creating a poster of a person and having us write their thoughts vs. the thoughts of the people around them (we didn’t actually get to participate in this one, but it sounded like a really fun activity).

So What?

I think the better question is: “what drama ideas won’t I implement in my own teaching”. I look forward to testing as many of these techniques out in my own classroom, as I can. You can never have enough diversity, and there are so many activities that I would like to try…like decision alley, soundscape, and guided imagery. I also like the thought-paper (where you outline a person and then draw what they’re thinking, and what people think about them).

Now What?

I think the best way to prepare to teach Process Drama is to practice. When you read, first use the techniques yourself to test the waters. Then try it on your family, and finally move onto your classroom. In the beginning, everything is a little touch and go, but with practice and experience, both you and your students can easily slide into process drama activities without issue.

Very Creative Drama

What?

Today we learned about Theatre games, and how to develop a Process Drama from text. We also went over the Elements and Principles of Drama. I took Drama all through High School, so I knew right away what was being drawn when Professor Escalante put the exposition-picture up on the board (I enjoyed seeing it again, though). I had forgotten the principles of Drama, however, and was happy we reviewed them.

I actually did several of the Theatre Games in High school, although “Machines” was new to me and I enjoyed playing it (probably more than the other two games combined).  And I don’t ever remember doing Process Drama, so it was a new and interesting to learn. I liked how we incorporated our body-movements and voices into the story to help our understanding.

Theatre Games and Process Drama are definitely going to be activities I incorporate into my classroom. I am a firm believer in bodily activity helping the mind grow, so I’m always looking for new ways to get my students out of their seats and their bodies active—these will be a perfect way to do that.

Now What?        

                                        

I will definitely use Theatre Games, perhaps at the start of class or an important lesson. It will make things fun for the kids, but also get their minds working. I also plan on playing music a lot in class and allowing students to comment on it (I really like how Prof. Escalante plays music when we come in, and sometimes while we’re doing activities). Process Drama can be used for almost every subject (Science, Social Studies, History, English, etc.) and I intend to use it a lot. I already had several ideas on having the kids act out scenes in books—I just never realized that that sort of activity had a name!

So What?

I honestly feel that children need creative drama to give their minds opportunity to expand. Drama encourages children to think as they are doing fun activities—meaning it isn’t just a brain-booster to get them ready to learn. It requires a lot of mental input and personal ideas from the student. I also feel that Creative Drama allows the true personality of a student to shine through. Those that are shy are given the opportunity to be at their best and most open. Those that are more outgoing are given an outlet for their energy.

I feel that Drama should be integrated into the general curriculum for the same reasons. It is a sad fact, but humans tend to isolate the quieter, shyer members of society if something isn’t done to encourage them to work together and get to know each other. Drama helps shy students come out of their shells by allowing them to pretend to be someone else; and any child can do it well, if given the opportunity. Drama encourages friendships where friendships normally wouldn’t occur. If you use it in all aspects of your teaching, you are giving students all the more reason to interact with each other and understand each other. That and, as said before, you are giving them every opportunity to stretch and enhance their minds.

Principles of Visual Art

What?

I have learned that every principle of art has a use in any one picture. Each principle is important, and adds as much to a work of art as any of the others. For example, balance in a picture is imperative, but artists all have different ways of balancing their artworks (or photographs); they also use the other principles in different ways (e.g. some use “incorrect” proportions to help tell the picture’s story, or unite the picture in bizarre and interesting ways.)

Using children’s book illustrators as examples is probably one of the best ways to introduce the principles of visual art. This is because CB illustrators create several works of art that are then bound into a book to tell (or help tell) a story. Not only do students have several examples of all the principles at their fingertips, but because it is a children’s book, they can also see how pictures and stories go hand-in-hand; in fact, in some CB’s, the pictures are the only thing you have to tell you the story.

So What?

Well, I thought the activity we did in class to learn about CB illustrators was a perfect way to teach and learn about different artists and the Principles of Visual Art. Researching the artist, his/her artwork, some of the books they’ve illustrated, and the techniques they used, was a lot of fun and very informative. Teaching that information to the class was a way to cement the information into our minds, and to learn about the other groups’ illustrators. This would make an easy opening to any unit about historical artists (such as Da Vinci and Van Gogh).

Now What?

Personally, I think that discovering fun, informational activities like this in our teaching program can reflect on how I teach my students in the future. Lessons I enjoyed learning I can adapt to fit my students’ age-group, such as slightly altering the lesson/activity we had in class, and then giving my future students a similar one. In fact, almost any lesson I learn now, I can turn into a lesson I teach them!

Elements of Visual Arts

What:

This week we learned about the elements of visual art, and how to utilize them in different ways.

So What?

I have always believed that interactive learning is important to a students’ development; learning the elements of art and how to use them in different ways is an important lesson to teach at any grade level. The activity we went through today was eye-opening, especially when I realized that I use several elements of art (such as texture  and space) almost every time I doodle. It is something that I feel is instinctive in everyone, but the elements of art put what we do into terms we can understand as students and as teachers.

Now What?

Perspective-wise my opinions haven’t changed much…seeing as I already planned to utilize the Elements of visual art in my future classroom anyway. Learning about the terms and doing activities that help to cement the ideas into my mind help, though. I feel that by going through these lessons, I am getting ideas on lessons I can teach my own students, and learning to become a better teacher through it. I will definitely be sharing what I learn in this class with my students in the future.

What?In Elementary school, I can remember several instances when the Arts were integrated into the curriculum of our class. In fourth grade I moved to Utah, and my new teacher had us create a wooden portfolio of the work we had done throughout the year (or in my case, while I was there). We were asked to draw pictures (in pencil) on one of the boards, and then were shown how to wood-burn the pictures onto the board. It was a project that had to be carefully monitored, but it is the first memory I have of that new school, and I had a blast!

The aforementioned school also had a dance assembly—every class in the school would learn two songs throughout the year that they would dance to, and at the end of the year the parents came to see us all dance. Another instance of art integration was when I was in sixth grade; every sixth-grade class was required to put on one of Shakespeare’s plays, once for the student body and three times for the parents. Some students acted, others did backstage work; I was chosen to be Juliet, so I had a relatively large roll…….

Due to my childhood experiences, I already knew that I wanted to integrate arts into my classroom; I just didn’t know that there was an actual term for that I wanted to do. Reading the assigned text gave me lots more ideas about possible activities and ways to integrate art into my future classroom, such as using music to teach math equations and having my students act out scenes from books to give them a deeper comprehension for what is going on in the story.

So What?
The arts have had a large impact on my life, as you can see from the “What?” section. My favorite teachers always found ways to make at least some of their lessons interesting, integrating pictures, games, music, and fictional books into lessons that had the potential to be much more boring. My least favorite teachers seemed to think that having us sit silently at our desks, obediently writing lecture notes while listening to them drone monotonously, was the most effective way to teach—go figure, I don’t remember their names or even what grade they taught me in; I just remember the horror I hope to never return to.

As I said before, I have always known that if I ever taught, I would be a teacher that integrated the arts heavily into my curriculum. I feel that every subject has the potential to be interesting if you can find surprising and fun ways of introducing it. It follows that these are the lessons our students will remember, because they enjoyed learning in that capacity.

Now What?
First off, however, I need to learn more about how teachers today integrate arts into their classes. By that I mean, what is acceptable, and what isn’t—how much is too much and how much is just enough. I honestly feel that every GREAT teacher needs experience backing them—so new teachers should be allowed a touch-and-go period to get a feel of what techniques work for them and which don’t. The experience will come as they discover new ways to integrate the arts that work for their students, and work for them.