January 2017 – Page 10

Session 5 – 18/10/16

In todays lecture we were lucky enough to have guest speaker Isobel Laird from South Lanarkshire council who spoke about teaching the primary art & design curriculum. Isobel discussed her own experiences with teaching Art in primary schools and showed us various pieces of art from pupils. Our inputs today were Art and Drama. Art […]

Art

Our art input today was led by guest speaker Isobel Laird. She took us through various different stages of producing a piece of artwork. Firstly, we were given the task of drawing a washing line with pieces of clothing without lifting our pen from the paper. This activity is engaging from the outset as it straight away poses a challenge and as a student teacher I can clearly see how pupils would enjoy this.

We then used watercolour to give colour to the clothes we had drawn on the washing line before cutting it out.

On separate piece of paper we painted a brick wall and were given the freedom to create the bricks to look whatever way we wanted them too.

Lastly, we used watercolours again to paint a sunset for the background of our picture, once this had dried we ripped this piece of paper in strips in order to stick them back down in a different order to give a wave like effect and put our brick wall with our washing line on top. Each piece of work had originality which was great.

This was an extremely beneficial lesson as it filled me with ideas on how to make a lesson interesting. Instead of simply painting a picture straight onto one piece of paper there are various ways to make it more unique and enjoyable.

Drama

In todays drama input we were progressing from the prior session by looking more in depth at drama in the curriculum and the dramatic conventions.

We also covered improvisation coming up with our own drama skits continuing on from a story about a man who was returning to his hometown from jail. This showed how pupils can have the freedom to be imaginative and come up with their own ideas to continue a story.

Session 4 – 11/10/16

Today our lecture was focussing on using stimulus as inspiration for creation-child centred approach. We had Art and Dance inputs. Art In todays art input we were painting with primary colours using unconventional paintbrushes. At first, I thought that painting using paintbrushes that weren’t the type I was used to would not turn out well. […]

Today our lecture was focussing on using stimulus as inspiration for creation-child centred approach. We had Art and Dance inputs.

Art

In todays art input we were painting with primary colours using unconventional paintbrushes. At first, I thought that painting using paintbrushes that weren’t the type I was used to would not turn out well. However, i could clearly see the benefit of doing this with a class of children as everyones brush was different which meant that it was understandable when each piece of work looked a different way. This would result in children not feeling under as much pressure to produce a piece of work that they felt was as good as their peers. It teaches children that they can paint with anything, if they do not have a traditional paintbrush they can make one out of materials they do have. It also made the lesson more unique and interesting which promoted enjoyment.

Using only the primary colours yellow, blue and red was also beneficial as it meant that you were forced to create your own colours by mixing them together which encourages creativity.

Our lecturer read us a story detailing a scene with various different attributes. We then interpreted this story into our own painting. This was a very good method as each painting was different by each individual imagining the scene differently. It means that each piece of work is on the same topic yet has its own individual creative touch.

Dance

Today in our dance input we were progressing from our work last week. Each group presented the dance moves they came up with relating to the different halloween themed pictures and they were then all put together to form a part of the dance routine. We also put together our group routines that were formed from the 10 skills of dance and added on new moves. These new moves were made up as we were given a list of dance terms which we had to guess the meaning of. This was good as we weren’t confined to doing the proper dance moves and were allowed to be create and make up our own versions of what we thought they were. All of this was put together into a class routine to the song ‘Ghostbusters’. This highlighted how the pupils can be the ones to come up with the routine instead of the teacher which would make the experience more enjoyable for them as they would feel more control and creativity.

“One of the most powerful experiences dance educators can offer is the opportunity to create a dance that reflects their ideas.” (Cone, 2009).

Session 3 – 4/10/16

In todays lecture we were learning about Interdisciplinary learning – dance in the context of topics. This was beneficial as it showed how dance can be integrated. We thought about what creative dance is, what the role of the teacher is in regards to create dance and why we should embrace it and most importantly […]

Dance

This week we expanded on ideas from the previous session. We started by doing warm up games, each group came up with their own games and taught it to the rest of the class to play, this was good as it gave an insight into what it would be like to teach the games and provided an opportunity to reflect on what went well and how to improve in the future.

Continuing on from the 10 skills of dance each skill was given a number, we were then given sums using these numbers with the answers representing a different skill/dance move which could be put together to create a routine. This showed how you can incorporate numeracy into dance.

Due to the time of year with it being halloween, each group was given a different picture in relation to this e.g. spiders, witches, zombies etc. We had to come up with a dance move to represent the picture. This showed how you can link dance sessions to relevant topics and would really engage children.

Drama

This week was our first input of drama, to begin we discussed what drama is and looked at the experiences and outcomes for it.

“Through drama, learners have rich opportunities to be creative and to experience inspiration and enjoyment.” (LTS, 2009).

At this point I would not feel comfortable teaching drama as I would not know how to. We were shown that there are many different drama conventions such as hot seating, teacher in role, thought tunnels, still images etc. It is important that drama is not all about script reading & simply only being taught by school plays, nativity’s etc as this limits pupils imagination and creativity.

“Drama is the act of crossing into world of story… storying provides students with a natural human process for finding essential meanings in the experiences of themselves and others.” (Booth, 1995).

Our lecturer explained and demonstrated the convention of teacher in role through a story about a dragon which gave us the opportunity to brainstorm and narrate the story. It showed how various themes can be addressed through drama, in particular this story of the dragon highlighted loneliness and isolation.

This is important as it can put these themes in a different context and address them alternatively. As a student teacher it was very useful to experience this convention in action to see how it would work. Again, it was enjoyable and beneficial to be on the pupils side of the situation and I already feel slightly more confidence with teaching drama.

References:

LTS (2009) Expressive arts: Experiences and outcomes. Available at: http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/Images/expressive_arts_experiences_outcomes_tcm4-539863.pdf (Accessed: 4th October 2016).

Session 2 – 27/9/16

Today was our second session of Integrated arts on Education where we had inputs of Art and Dance. In our lecture we were introduced to the 10 skills required to enable a successful dance session which I will expand on later in the blog. Art In todays art class we were print making with black […]

Art

In todays art class we were print making with black ink using our hands. We covered our hands in the ink and pressed onto blank paper to then try and create something out of what we could see from the ink, this activity was extremely engaging as it allowed us to stretch our imagination and each piece of work was unique. We expanded on this by printing using objects such as lego bricks etc.

Then, we studied the story of ‘The Dot’ by Peter H. Reynolds. This emphasised the point that many people will doubt their ability to produce art, but it teaches that any mark you make is artwork which you can then improve on. I think this is an important lesson to teach as it encourages self belief and the confidence to produce art.

the-dot

Dance

Firstly, we were shown different ice breaker games to play to get to know the names of pupils in your class etc while incorporating dance, this was beneficial as a student teacher to learn ways on how to get to know your class. We were given lots of ideas of games to play linking to particular topics and giving the pupils the freedom to dance however they would like.

We also thought about different parts of the body and how to stretch properly as it is important to stretch before exercising, this showed how simple it is to encourage pupils to stretch fully.

We then looked further into what was introduced at our morning lecture – the 10 skills required to enable a successful dance session. These are kick, roll, jump, reach, hop, twist, balance, gesture, turn and slide. By putting these skills together it showed just how easy it can be to put a dance routine together. In groups we came up with our own moves for these skills and put them together to form a routine. By being in the pupils side of the situation this input was very insightful and enjoyable.
At the beginning of the input we were asked how we would feel teaching a dance session, I said I would be unsure of what to do and would not be confident with it, however after just this one input I already feel full of ideas and more at ease therefore I look forward to expanding on this over the next few weeks.

Session 1 – 20/9/16

Today was the first session of our new module ‘Integrated Arts in Education’. Firstly, our lecture was an introduction to this module where we were given an insight into what we can learn from the integrated arts. Throughout the twelve sessions we will be exploring art, music, drama and dance, focussing on two of these […]

Art

In our first Art input we were in the University’s Art studio where various pieces of artwork were spread across three separate tables, each table displayed a different stage of pupils work ranging from Primary 1 to Primary 7. We were encouraged to look around and consider each piece of art. Something that stood out to me was that there was a vast difference between the work produced by the lower primary classes in comparison to that by the upper primary classes, understandably the work produced by a primary 7 pupil showed greater skill and precision however I was saddened by the realisation that over the years the work began to lack freedom and the ability to create whatever the pupils wanted. It was obvious that at lower level the pupils were given freedom with their pencil / paintbrush to create whatever they felt like but the older pupils were perhaps told what to do or given something to copy.

We were given the opportunity to discuss what stage of work we liked the best, I chose the lower level work as I liked how there was greater freedom with colour, patterns, detail etc. This exercise showed me that as a student teacher it is important to allow pupils to be as creative as they like and allow them to be imaginative while also expanding their skills in art.

Music

The first thing we focussed on in todays music input was how music affects our moods. In order to explore this thought, various different pieces of music were played and we wrote down the feeling that they gave us. This allowed me to realise the impact that music has on our lives as it can completely change your mood depending on what you are listening to.
We then moved on to musical appreciation with literacy by listening to a piece of music and imagining a story to go with it, from this we then created a storyboard in groups. This showed me how cross curricular teaching music can be by bringing in a range of subjects, music, art and literacy. The idea our group thought of was a circus theme, with each part of the music representing a different circus act. Each group had came up with a different concept which showed how listening to music can provoke your imagination.

Overall, our first input was extremely engaging and has made me excited to continue the module.

Personal Response to ‘Room’

From a very young age I have always wanted to read for pleasure. However, I also have a tendency to get distracted very easily. I sit down to read a […]

From a very young age I have always wanted to read for pleasure. However, I also have a tendency to get distracted very easily. I sit down to read a chapter and before long my focus is elsewhere. My lack of reading for pleasure has, in my opinion, had a great impact on my confidence in my abilities as a reader as I now tremble at the thought of reading aloud. However, after being prescribed the compulsory text “Room” by Emma Donoghue I knew this was firstly, a book I would read for cover to cover as it was part of my coursework and secondly, a book I would enjoy as I do typically enjoy books based on real life events. I was aware before reading the novel that Donoghue had based the plot largely on the Josef Fritzl case and so was excited to read the novel. Although, much to my dismay, I did not enjoy the novel at first. Had this been a book I sought to read purely for pleasure I would have given up within the first hundred pages. This is due to the main character’s poor spoken English. I found myself becoming incredibly frustrated and attempting to correct the way in which the book was written.

After taking a break from the novel and realising the book was clearly written in such way to convey a particular message I picked the book up once more and persevered. I was so relieved I did as I soon came the point in the novel with the night of Jack’s escape. I found myself furiously flicking through the pages, I felt as if I was there watching everything unfold and from that moment on I was hooked. As the book continued I became less interested in Jack’s illiteracies and more interested in the characters.

I would recommend Room to someone who hasn’t read it before as, overall, I feel it was a worthwhile read. I would also advise them to keep reading as it is certainly worth it. The novel is unique in a number of ways: drawing upon a real life event, the language of Jack and the way in which Donoghue approaches sensitive subjects.

The novel certainly challenged me as a reader. Having the narrator of the novel be a five-year-old boy with an underdeveloped vocabulary presents challenges I think most readers will have difficulty understanding at some point in the novel. I also feel that this was the perfect time for me to read this novel as I enjoyed being able to relate Jack’s language to concepts discussed in both my ‘Literacy for Understanding’ and ‘Situated Communication’ modules.