Drama

This week’s drama session was very enjoyable. As previously stated myself and the group I was working with were able to create a lesson and micro teach this to our peers. This week we were participating in the opposite. We got to experience being in the learners seat and be taught by our peers.

Each group were very imaginative when planning their lessons. I acted out many different scenes while using many different conventions such as voice in the head, freeze frame, thought tracking and mime. Everyone In the class were beginning to take drama a lot more seriously. As a student teacher I think it is important that we take drama seriously as the children in our class will begin to take it seriously too. Drama can be very effective in letting children see different view points for example being in the shoes of a bully and this is why it must not be just a laugh.

I have really enjoyed the drama sessions in this module and I think it will really benefit me in my future career as a teacher.

Dance

It has been a while since we took part in dance in the university and this became a bit of a challenge! We were asked to think back and remember the moves that we had created in the previous class which was a bit of a struggle. As I feel confidence when it comes to choreography I managed to think of moves we could learn quickly and teach the rest of my group. We then came together as a class and again put all of our moves together

When dancing I really enjoy the shapes I can make with my body. I can express myself through movement and be imaginative with myself. I think dance is a type of creativity that is very important. As a student teacher, I am eager to teach dance in this years placement during my serial days. I think it is important that all children experience all of the creative arts for a chance to experience creativity.

Cross-Curricular

Both of these sessions linked today as in both sessions we were able to be imaginative and make up our own creativity such as our own dances and our own drama scenes.  During drama, we could have created up a completely random scene and then used this a stimulus for literacy and write a imaginative short story. This could also be applied to dance. We can complete a dance related to a theme such as remembrance day, and then link this to literacy by writing a story! These are all fun and creative way that the arts can be linked into the curriculum.

When I think back to primary school, I can slightly remember learning about the energy. When revisiting the topic, it brought many memetoies such as creating a circuit. I found this topic very enjoyable and as a student teacher I would feel fairly confident teaching this in the classroom.

Through out the lectures, study tasks and workshops I developed many new skills such as team working skills and communication skills. For many of the tasks we had to take part in, we had to work as a team and work in partnership. I sometimes find it challenging working in a team but as we have worked in teams a lot over this trimester I feel like my skill have developed well. I am now able to sit back and listen to everyone taking their thoughts into consideration, and I am also able to show my leadership skills in the team. I feel confident enough to report back to the class after having a class discussion. Another skill I think I have developed during this topic is my research skills. For one of the seminars we had to look through a number of academic sources that had information about wind turbines. We then had to sort this information using a table and work in teams to bring that information together. This was a really useful lesson to bring both team working and research together.

Mad a student teacher I would love to teach this topic in the classroom. There are lots of great activities to do with energy that the children would enjoy. As energy surrounds us in every day life, it is a relevant subject that must be taught.

It is evident that the school are encouraging sustainable development education throughout the year groups from primary 1 to 7. The have two eco councils that run on a Thursday afternoon which are named the eco hero’s and the garden council. It is also evident that the children are engaging with the eco education as there are many displays up on the walls.

The Garden Area :

This school has put a lot of time and effort into their garden area and there are also a council which maintain the area. There is also a timetable of when the area gets used and when there are free slots allowing each class to rotate and have turns of outdoor learning. There are many resources that are in the garden area allowing the children to explore and get messy! Resources include plant beds, recycling bins, compost, water area, bug garden, huts, bird boxes, fruit and veg patches and a mud kitchen. These are all great resources which can all be linked with areas of the curriculum such as science and health and wellbeing.

Litter picking :

For one of the council sessions, the eco hero’s got to take part in a whole school litter pick. Sandy, the community safety officer, came into the school and equipped the children with litter pickers, hi-vis jackets, gloves and bin bags. The children had the opportunity to go around the school and pick up litter and discuss why this is an issue. A follow up task involved the children of creating posters informing children of the school and members of the public why not to drop litter in the school grounds. These posters got displayed around the school and on the school gates.

Recycling:

In each classroom, the children in the classroom and the teacher all have the chance to recyncle. There are recycle bins in each classroom and there are also recycle bins In the school canteen. When asked, most children were able to tell the difference between bins and also were able to answer the question “why do we recycle?”. Most children seemed fairly confident about the subject.

Play Area :

In this school, the space for play is very basic. They have a large concrete ground play area and one child mentioned that “there is not much to do but run around”. However, when I had the chance to look at the playground during lunch time, I found many children playing around the trees on the grass area. The children were breaking branches with the trees and also exploring for bugs. There was lots of opportunities for outdoor learning during free flow play. Here is a mapping of the school grounds :

Through out the school there is many posters of the eco code. This has been created by the children and when asked about it they were able to explain the poster and where confident enough to speak about how their school was an eco school.

Music

In today’s workshop, we had a great opportunity to learn how to play a string instrument. A group of children from a local primary school in Ayrshire came into the university and taught us a string instrument, something that they get the opportunity to do in school from primary 4 to primary 7. The project that the children take part in is named the String Project. The children get the opportunity to take part in a 45 minute session in school and are only primary school in Scotland that take part in the project. The children have the chance to enter competitions and work as a team. They learn to play together as a class, and this builds many different skills such as team building skills, confidence skils, oral awareness skills and many more. This allows the children to become confident indviduals, successful learner, responsible citizen and an effective contributor( Curriculum for Excellence, 2004).

Through out the session, we had the oppetrunity to learn many different music skills such as learning notes, how to hold a string instrument, how to hold a bow, and many different musical games. It was an enjoyable experience and I think the string project should be a national innovative. Here is a video of me playing the violin pizzicato.

Drama 

In this week’s drama workshop, we had the chance to have a microteaching session. This involved teaching our peers for around 15 minutes, and also taking part in our peers lessons. We had the chance to create our own lesson plan and implement this to the class. I found this task challenging as we had to work as a team to create the lesson plan, however in the end we worked as a team very well. Other skills I used throughout this task were team management skills, good organisation skills, time management skills, and creative skills.

When teaching the class I found this very daunting. I often find it easy to stand up in a primary school class, but not a university class. As we were teaching in a team we all split up things to say and we all took control. In the end our lesson was very effective and we got some great feedback.

When taking part in other people’s drama’s I am starting to become more confident. Having an audience can be off putting but I have learned to “just go for it” and have fun. I think I will use this technique when teaching drama in the class room.

Overall, I think it is important that we allow microteaching to happen in the classroom. In both workshops today, we had other people teach us and not a lecturer. In the classroom, the children can learn a lot from one another during music and drama. Other pupils who are more musically talented can always buddy up with someone who needs extra help, and during drama, we can put people in groups who will balance out one another and help one another. For example, a kid who is more confident with a kid who is more shy.

Education Scotland (2017) What is Curriculum for Excellence. [Online] Available : https://education.gov.scot/scottish-education-system/policy-for-scottish-education/policy-drivers/cfe-(building-from-the-statement-appendix-incl-btc1-5)/What%20is%20Curriculum%20for%20Excellence? [ Accessed : 13th November 2017]

“The voice of the teacher is of paramount importance in carrying out professional roles and responsibilities. It is essential that this asset is protected” (GTC, 2017).

In todays seminar we focused on the importance of the voice. We started off by looking at the GTC and their explanation of why the voice was important. They have a whole document explaining why the voice is important and what we should do if our voice is effected. This was a useful tool as it allowed me to follow instructions on how to use my voice effectively and what to do if it gets damaged.

We then went on to look at the use of voice in music and how we can use singing in the primary school classroom. We were shown a number of resources that were very useful such as Choon Baboon. Choon Baboon is a brand new, modern way to get the children singing songs they will love in the classroom. Each song is on YouTube which is quick and easy to access, and you do not need to have an account to access the resource. I would definitely use this resource as i lack confidence in music, and can allow the video to take over. Choon Baboon also fits in with the Curriculum for Excellence Level 2 music.

We then went on to sing a few songs of our own such as ” Penguin come for tea” and the “number 9” song. These were fun and engaging and suitable for the primary classroom. We were also shown Graphic Scores which was a way that children can draw their own music and follow it :

Each children will have an instrument which pairs up with one of the symbols. When ever they see the symbol they have to play their instrument. This is a fun way to get the children to compose their own music without using notes and scales. We practiced this in our own groups, following the theme of fireworks :

Overall, this was a very exciting lesson. I was engaged throughout and took some useful tips from the lesson!

Drama

In this week drama’s lesson we focused on the different conventions we have learned over the past few sessions. During the lesson, I felt as if my confidence has grown and I am starting to relax and enjoy being part of the drama. As a student teacher, I also feel like I would feel confident enough to teach drama in the classroom.

Overall, I think the arts should be integrated into all areas of the curriculum. As educators, we should encourage arts and give it an importance in the classroom.

Choon Baboon (2017) About us. [Online] Available : http://choonbaboon.com/about-us/. [Accessed : 3rd November 2017].

The General Teaching Council for Scotland (2017). Voice Management. [Online] Available : http://www.gtcs.org.uk/web/FILES/FormUploads/voice-and-the-teaching-profession1652_214.pdf. [Accessed : 3rd November 2017].

Today’s seminar was focused on presenting a PowerPoint based on natural disasters. Our group focused on earthquakes :

Skills I developed during this task where communications skills, digital literacy skills, presentation skills and time management skills. As we only had 1 week to prepare this presentation, my group found it challenging to all find a time that suits best to create the PowerPoint. Between uni, placement and work we all have a busy schedule, so not having an allocated time slot given by lectures was difficult. We came up with a solution which was to all create our own slides and put them together to create a final draft. Communication skills were vital as we all had to keep in contact to make sure we had created our slides. We used email to send back and forth the slides which was a great form of communication. We also contacted one another through the use of social media which we found beneficial.

As a student teacher, I think it is crucial that we manage our time effectively and also have great communication skills. As I am I placement just now, I think it is important I can manage my time effectively as I need to know how to balance a part time job, university, and placement. I have experience doing this due to college. I make sure I keep on top of all uni work and also that I plan for placement in advance so that I don’t become stressed.

I also think it is important that we teach children the importance of time management. Using a visual timetable in the classroom can let the children see how we will plan our time throughout the day and it is crucial that we stick to the timetable to stay on track. However, I also think it is useful to explain to the children that sometimes everything does not go to plan due to certain circumstances and this is just a matter of life.