Tag: education

Integrated Arts – Blog Post 7

Blog Post 7: During the music seminar we looked over the mind-maps we had made in our groups using the reading ‘International Journal of Music Education’. I learned that 30 minutes a day of music can significantly help children to … Continue reading →

Blog Post 7:

During the music seminar we looked over the mind-maps we had made in our groups using the reading ‘International Journal of Music Education’. I learned that 30 minutes a day of music can significantly help children to develop their motor skills, visual and spatial awareness. Music can also become easily cross curricular for example using mathematics skills to subdivide beats. Lastly, children are unaware of the skills they are picking up due to their enjoyment.

Fingernotes is a technique used to teach music notation. Fingernotes was developed in Finland in the late 1990’s. The two inventors originally created the idea for people with Additional Support Needs but it is now used across all ages and levels. The biggest barrier to music can be learning the music itself as it is complex and the different symbols can be complicated to get head around. Fingernotes eradicates this problem. Fingernotes is simply another form of notation which can be used under The Curriculum for Excellence.

“I can sing and play music from a range of styles and cultures, showing skill and using performance directions, and/or musical notation. EXA 2-16a” (The Curriculum for Excellence Experiences and Outcomes).

It is not necessary to teach conventional music notation during Primary School and can be decided by the class teacher whether it is part of the music lessons. With fingernotes every pitch has a different colour, every octave has its own shape and children are encouraged to play what they see.

https://www.figurenotes.org/

Stage 1:

·         Melody in fingernotes

·         Colours/symbols

Stage 2:

·         Fingernotes on the stave

·         Introducing concept of pitch

Stage 3:

·         Coloured notes

·         Removing symbols but keeping colours

Stage 4:

·         Conventional notation

·         Take away colours

We were then given the opportunity to play well known songs on the glockenspiel such as Jingle Bells, Super Trouper and Twinkle Twinkle. This allowed us to play the melody and then play along with the piano which improved confidence and sounded great.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/8579853.stm

The last part of the lesson was to use beaters to keep in time with a rhythm. We used traditional Scottish songs. This was difficult for individuals who had no previous musical experience and were unaware the difference between notes. Julie explained in detail how each part should sound and encouraged everyone to take part.

During the drama lesson the overall learning intention is for all students to feel more confident in teaching drama. This is a great point to make at the very beginning of the seminar as one of the reasons many teachers may avoid teaching drama is due to their lack of confidence. The warm up involved us walking around in silence and using only movement and facial expressions to describe our feelings when we met a specific person for example a family member, a close friend, an enemy or an alien. We then got into the main task of the lesson which was to look at the drama; ‘The Lonely Dragon’. This is used by teachers in Primary 1 through to 3. The teacher introduced the dragon into the classroom giving a brief overview of the character and the story behind. The students then had to come up with a freeze frame from the perception of the villagers from the village where the dragon had started to live. It is also important to note at this point that the teacher does not have to invite every group to perform their drama every time and that it is enough to ask one or two groups and watch the other children at another point during lesson. However, it is also crucial not to dismiss children which will result in de-motivation. Teacher in role is great for adding more context to the drama. The teacher needs to find a method of allowing the class to determine when they are in role for example wearing a scarf. This activity allows the scene of the story to be developed further. For the purpose of the lonely dragon theme the teacher plays the role of a person with experience of dragons and leads a meeting on the action which is going to be taken with the dragon. The students aka villagers tell the teacher the problems they are faced with due to the dragon and possible solutions to deal with dragon. The next technique we used was a thought tunnel. This was to establish how everyone was feeling with the current situation still in the perception of a villager. The teacher walked along the tunnel and each student gave one word to describe how they were feeling. It is also important to emphasize that the teacher does not have to be the one walking down the tunnel any of the children could have did this role and it is better if they do so. Some teachers do not like the concept of the children having the control over their lessons however, the children will enjoy it more and possibly learn more if they do. Next, we went back into our smaller groups and acted out another scene of going to see the dragon and how we got there. Another two groups performed to the class. We then all gathered around the teacher again who was now playing the role of the dragon to do a task known as hot seating. We did this in order to determine the dragons traits. The villagers asked questions and the dragon answered. The villagers then decided the dragon could join the community and each group went back and practiced to perform a vox pop in front of the class describing our thoughts about the dragon joining the community. This was a very valuable lesson for myself as a training teacher as it was enjoyable therefore would be great to allow future classes to experience the fun side of it. Moreover, there was also a lot of skills and learning used which the children wont be consumed by as there is a task at hand. Lastly, there was many different techniques which can be used to convey the lesson from different characters points of views allowing children as much or as little input as they feel necessary.

Reference List:

Education Scotland (2018) The Curriculum for Excellence: Expressive Arts Experiences and Outcomes. [Online] Available at: https://education.gov.scot/Documents/expressive-arts-eo.pdf [Accessed 23/10/2018].

Hallam, S. (2010) International Journal of Music Education. The power of music: Its impact on the intellectual, social and personal development of children and young people. Sage Publications [Online] Available at: http://ijm.sagepub.com/content/28/3/269 [Accessed 23/10/2018].10

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