Elementary School General MusicI began my student teaching in elementary school general music. I taught students in fifth grade and all the way down to pre-k. I learned a lot about time management, how to handle some sticky situations (literally and figuratively), and strengthened my ability to communicate with students. From the silly things they would say to the goofy pictures they drew me, I enjoyed every minute of teaching music to the wonderful students. I was amazed at some of their musical abilities from singing, to playing drums, to composing. I especially enjoyed teaching my unit on instrument families and bringing in skilled musicians to play for the students. Here are some of my teaching units this past semester.
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Instrument familiesThe unit of lessons was created for third grade general music. At the beginning of the unit, I gave students a pre-test to see what they already knew about the instrument families. Each lesson had a powerpoint that showed pictures of each instrument in their family as well as had listening examples for each. For each family lesson, students heard examples on the powerpoint, made connections with interactive activities, listened to guest musicians play an instrument in the family, and even play some of the instruments themselves. At the end of the unit, I gave the students the same test to match instruments with their families. I was pleased to see their scores improve dramatically from the first test.
Beginning guitarThe unit of lessons was created for third, forth, and fifth grade teaching beginning guitar.
We were very fortunate to have a full class set of guitars in my cooperating teacher's classroom. I took full advantage of the guitars with the third grade class! The students learned the pitches on the first string in the first position and even learned a few simple chords. At the end of the unit we learned some of Ode to Joy. Most students didn't have any prior experience on the guitar, but they all left knowing the basics... and are their way to becoming rock stars! |
Major vs. MinorThe unit of lessons was created for forth grade. I had students sing, play, write, and even improvise using major and minor scales. By the end of the unit, I was impressed in not only the student's ability to identify major/minor in classical music, but also in some of their favorite pop songs. Simple rhythmsThe unit of lessons was created for first and second grade.
Since my cooperating teacher incorporated rhythm exercises into the daily routine, I decided to create a full unit on this. Students clapped rhythms, played rhythms on Orff instruments using folk tunes, and wrote the rhythms on the board. Students also used their bodies and rhythm sticks to compose their own rhythms. At the end of the unit, I quizzed the students by having them write the rhythm that I played on a drum. *show powepoint slides!!! basketball rhythms |
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