We began the day with our final input. Although I hadn’t been looking forward to this part of the module, I have really enjoyed it. We were to create a dance based on Christmas following a warm up. As we created the dance ourselves we were able to perform confidently the routine. Cone (2009) determined that it is vital that dance is a fun, safe, meaningful and a child led activity. This is a good activity as you can link the dance to something that has value to the children and that they will enjoy.

In the second workshop we were presenting our drama micro-teaching presentation. As before, the remaining groups presented to the rest of their section – ours was based on the Gruffalo. This was a very engaging and fun activity and allowed us to practice presenting a drama lesson in a classroom situation. Although Cone (2009) statement above is related to dance, I feel the same principle can be related to drama as if the pupils enjoy drama, find it valuable and are able to lead their own learning at some point by coming up with ideas and performing, the whole class will be more confident and engaged with the subject.

The Gruffalo – Drama PP

References

Cone, T.P., 2009. Following their lead: Supporting children’s ideas for creating dances. Journal of Dance Education, 9(3), pp.81-89.

Last week, we discussed the art we had witnessed on placement. In truth most people had not seen any arts practiced within class and those who had noted that it was extremely limited. Perhaps this is due to the fact that we are only on placement on a Thursday but I find it no coincidence that everyone had a similar experience. The arts are virtually fading.

With regards to my own experience on placement I have witnessed three different art lessons. However, these art lessons were related to the class topic or remembrance day. I also noted that the children were given resources which could’ve possibly limited their creativity. It is our job as future teachers to bring back the arts and allow children to reach their full potential.

With regards to music, Bloomfield and Childs (2002) explain that tuned percussion instruments can be useful in the classroom to demonstrate the connections between the music and the action. It should also be noted that their can be some barriers in implementing the arts within the classroom. In my placement school, they had no physical resources for music such as instruments or even a specific room (as the school is open plan) and therefore this makes teaching music difficult.

In the music input we were learning to play and read music. To make it easy we used shapes to represent notes (e.g. a square being a crochet and a circle being a quaver) and used drumsticks to play beats on the floor. Following a few practices to backing tracks, we then were then given either a glockenspiel or a xylophone to practice with. I found this workshop difficult as I have no prior experience in reading music. However, I think this is a great way to introduce reading music to children in a fun and engaging way. This is a good lesson in introducing music at first level and can be progressed in the upper school. “I can use my voice, musical instruments and music technology to discover and enjoy playing with sound, rhythm, pitch and dynamics.” EXA 1-17a

References

Bloomfield, A & Childs. J. (2002) Teaching Integrated Arts in the Primary School. London: David Fulton Publishers.

Scottish Government. (2004) Curriculum for Excellence. [Online] Available: https://www.education.gov.scot/Documents/expressive-arts-eo.pdf [Accessed: 14 December 2017

Two weeks ago in integrated arts, we were visited by primary 6 pupils for Greenmill Primary School to teach us how to play a string instrument. We were all paired or grouped with a pupil and my group were learning to play the viola. First we were taught how to hold the instrument and the bow. After a few practices, we were taught the notes and the chords and played a few tunes independently then as a class. I think this was an interesting input and the pupils seemed to enjoy being the teachers for a change. Page (1995) stated that “all children should have ample opportunity to express themselves through music” and it is clear that through this programme all pupils have had the chance to learn, participate, work as a group and perform.

Following this we had a drama input in the afternoon. In groups, we were to prepare a micro-teaching presentation and present back to the class. Each group had a different approach and used varying conventions. Two groups based their lesson on a book and one group chose to create their own story. I enjoyed this input as we were learning for each other and all the activities were engaging. My group will present in the next input.

The Gruffalo – Drama PP

References

Page, N. (1995) Music as a Way of Knowing. Portland Maine: Stenhouse Publishers

Yesterday in integrated arts we were focusing on music and drama. We attended our morning music workshop where we were concentrating on voice. The voice is important in any profession as we use it to communicate but it as a teacher it is our most important teaching tool as we also use it to direct, focus and encourage pupils and to explain, discipline, and manage the classroom (General Teaching Council, 2007). Therefore, it is important we warm up our voice to avoid strain or losing our voice altogether. The first part of the workshop involved this; warming up our voices using small exercises. After this we were looking at Choonbaboon and Charanga which both have vast resources to assist teachers who don’t feel confident teaching music. For the second part of the workshop we were using instruments. In groups we created a grid with 25 squares to create our own tune and we used instruments to demonstrate sounds associated with the theme Haunted House, for example: using a tambourine as chains. I feel much more confident with teaching music which is a subject I have never been good at. I definitely use the resources on Choonbaboon and Charanga.

The second workshop was drama. Continuing on from the last drama input, we were introduced to four more drama conventions: flash forward, flashback, narration and slow motion. Using Teacher in Role, Andrew set us the scene of an old house which no one would buy due to an ‘incident’ sometime prior which fit in well with the them ‘Halloween’. In groups we acted out a scene where we were entering the house and planning to stay the night. The scene had to include a portion which was slow motion. We also acted out a flashback and a flash forward scene which included a narration. This was interesting as although we had all been given the same scenario and information; each group did something different. this would be a good lesson to use with children as it allows them to enhance their creative skills, use their imagination to explore new possibilities and make the lesson more meaningful (Education Scotland, 2013).

References

Education Scotland (2013) Creativity Across learning 3-18 [Online] Available: https://education.gov.scot/improvement/Documents/Creativity/CRE1_WhatAreCreativitySkills/Creativity3to18.pdf [Accessed: 4 November 2017]

General Teaching Council (2007)  [Online] Available: https://www.gtcs.org.uk/ [Accessed: 1 November 2017]

On Tuesday morning, we had our second dance input. After we had warmed up and stretched, as a group we came up with a dance move for each number from 0-9 and in our dance groups came up with a dance routine to someone in the groups phone number. This is something that could be adapted for the classroom and linked to other curricular such as maths, for example – the pupils are provided with a list of sums and using the dance moves from the numbers 0-9 create a dance routine. This is a great way to encourage children to participate in maths through another subject. We then added this routine to the one we had created the week before. For the second part of the input, we had to create an intro for our dance – as a whole class – related to Halloween. We split into four larger groups and were given a card with a picture related to Halloween. Each group created a move that represented that picture and by adding each move together we constructed a routine. This is a lesson that could be taught in school that children could enjoy and is suitable for all abilities.

Although dance is not one of my strong suits, I am enjoying these inputs and continue to feel more at ease teaching the subject. In my opinion dance should be taught in primary schools. Upon further research I discovered that according to an evaluation by the Dance in Schools Initiative in 2006 that 14% of the pupils surveyed said that they had never tried dancing (3% of girls and 24% of boys).  This suggests either limited opportunities for boys or a lack of motivation to try forms of dancing in comparison with girls. Dance is an important part of the curriculum and these inputs can relate well to a few of the experiences and outcomes such as:

I enjoy creating short dance sequences, using travel, turn, jump, gesture, pause and fall, within safe practice. EXA 1-08a 

I can explore and choose movements to create and present dance, developing my skills and techniques. EXA 2-08a  

Inspired by a range of stimuli, I can express my ideas, thoughts and feelings through creative work in dance. EXA 0-09a / EXA 1-09a / EXA 2-09a

For the second input we were focusing on drama. We were looking at the book “The Tunnel” by Anthony Browne. The story revolves around a brother and sister who do not get on and are asked to play together by their mother. While out they come across a tunnel which the brother enters but the sister, being too scared, decides to wait for him outside the tunnel. After he does not return she decides to follow him into the tunnel and winds up in a dark forest. The sister finally finds her brother who has mysteriously turned to stone. She hugs him and as she does he slowly returns back to normal.

Throughout the telling of the story, we looked at drama conventions firstly ‘Role on the Wall’. We drew an outline of both the brother and the sister and on the outside wrote what we thought of each character but after finishing the story we wrote how we now felt about the characters and discussed how and what had made our opinions change. This is a good way to get children involved with drama without having to act or perform. This can also be demonstrated with different characters such as a bully and their victim.

We then, in groups acted out a scene where the brother and his friends try to convince the sister to come out to play. Using ‘Thought Tracking’ both characters stood outside the frozen scene and said how they felt about the other. In our groups, we were to mime the trees and sounds the forest would make, another drama convention. These conventions can be used in the class with children as it does not require all children to act or perform but they can still be involved as much as they want.

References

Blanche, R. (2007) Delivering Dance in the Curriculum for Excellence. [Online] Available: http://www.vitodancetheatre.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Delivering-Dance-in-the-Curriculum-For-Excellence.pdf [Accessed: 11 December 2017]

Education Scotland (2009) Curriculum for Excellence: experiences and outcomes. [Online] Available: https://www.education.gov.scot/Documents/expressive-arts-eo.pdf [Accessed: 11 December 2017]

Today in integrated arts we had our first dance input. At first, I was apprehensive of this part of the module but I fairly enjoyed todays input. Cone (2009) determined that dance should be a fun, safe, meaningful and child led activity.

In the first part of the input we played some warm-up games which could be used within the classroom in relation to dance. I feel that this would be a good way to introduce children to dance and show them that it can be fun and that they do not have to be a great dancer to participate.

During the second part we were looking at warm up techniques. In groups, we labelled bones, organs and muscles in the body from a list on the wall to deepen our understanding of the parts of the body and why it is important to stretch and warm up these parts of the body.

Finally, we discussed the 10 skills we, as teachers, require to teach dance. These 10 skills are: turn, kick, jump, hop, gesture, twist, reach, balance, roll and slide. Using each of these words, we came up with an action/dance move within our group which we will use for the next dance inputs.

Although, some teachers may choose not to teach dance, it is a beneficial subject. The Curriculum for Excellence states that dance allows learners to have “have rich opportunities to be creative and to experience inspiration and enjoyment”. It also suggests that dance allows children to participate in physical education and develop their “technical skills and the quality of their movement, and use their imagination and skills to create and choreograph dance sequences”. Therefore, dance can be constructive for many children as well as expressive and enjoyable.

Finally, we discussed the 10 skills we, as teachers, require to teach dance. These 10 skills are: turn, kick, jump, hop, gesture, twist, reach, balance, roll and slide. Using each of these words, we came up with an action/dance move within our group which we will use for the next dance inputs.

Although, some teachers may choose not to teach dance, it is a beneficial subject. The Curriculum for Excellence states that dace allows learners to have “have rich opportunities to be creative and to experience inspiration and enjoyment”. It also suggests that dance allows children to participate in physical education and develop their “technical skills and the quality of their movement, and use their imagination and skills to create and choreograph dance sequences”. Therefore, dance can be constructive for many children as well as expressive and enjoyable.

This was an extremely fun and interesting input. I had never really been a dancer myself but with the skill set and knowledge I gained today, I would feel more comfortable teaching dance in a primary school setting.

For our second input, we were looking at the theoretical side of music. In groups we were given a section of International Journal of Music Education (2010) and were to create a mind map of the key points. Our section was given the heading of creativity. I found this quite interesting as both Simpson (1969) and Kalmar (1982) agreed that children who study music or play an instrument are more creative.

After a class discussion on our mind maps we created a lesson plan based on or heading. We came up with the idea of children creating their own instruments that make noise related to different weather. Although this lesson was less practical than usual it was also fairly interesting.

References

Cone, T.P., 2009. Following their lead: Supporting children’s ideas for creating dances. Journal of Dance Education, 9(3), pp.81-89.

Education Scotland (009) Curriculum for Excellence: experiences and outcomes. [Online] Available: https://www.education.gov.scot/Documents/expressive-arts-eo.pdf [Accessed: 11 December 2017]

Hallam, S. (2010) The power of music: Its impact on the intellectual, social and personal development of children and young people. International Journal of Music Education, 28(3), pp.269-289.

Kalmar, M. (1982) The effects of music education based on Kodaly’s directives in nursery school children: From a psychologist’s point of view. Psychology of music.

Simpson, D.J. (1969) The effect of selected musical studies on growth in general creative potential (Doctoral dissertation, University of Southern California).

Last week in integrated arts we were continuing with the printing exercise for the previous week. From the printing we had done last week, we chose the print with the most definition to photocopy onto white paper. We then extended the drawing in which way we desired. I personally continued the drawing as accurate to the original painting as I could. Following this, I decided to add other details to empty spaces and add colour to make my final piece stand out more.

While working on our drawing we were also examining children’s colouring books. However these were not traditional colouring books as the encourage imagination and creativity, not just with colour, but also with finishing the drawing. One colouring book which I found interesting was “The Boys’ Doodle Book” which encourages boys to become more involved with art and creativity as the subject is seen to be female dominated.

In our second input we were focusing on music using the app GarageBand to create an 8 bar piece of music and finally add video from Moodle to the track.

Apple (2017) states that GarageBand “is a fully equipped music creation studio inside your Mac … that includes instruments, presets for guitar and voice, and an incredible selection of session drummers and percussionists.” 

However, this app is only available on apple products. Despite this, GarageBand is a really fun and educational tool that can be used within the classroom to encourage children to be more creative. This is an extremely engaging for both students and myself and hopefully I will get a chance to use it in the near future.

References

Apple (United Kingdom). (2017). GarageBand for Mac. [online] Available at: https://www.apple.com/uk/mac/garageband/ [Accessed 11 December 2017].

Today in integrated arts we were focusing on the art of printing. In the morning lecture we explored Scottish artist Avril Patons ‘Windows of the West’. We discussed how this painting can be used for other curricular areas such as literacy e.g. writing a story on the different individuals living in the tenement. Drawing on the painting for the follow-up workshop, we chose a section for this painting and drew that section onto a polystyrene board. Using coloured A4 paper (folded in half to create a card) and coloured paint, we rolled the paint onto the polystyrene board and printed the image onto 3 or 4 different sheets of coloured paper. We repeated these stages using different coloured paints on top of one another. The end result was a contrasting image consisting of texture and vibrant colour. Everyone’s final piece was different showing off everyone’s individuality and creativeness.

Continue reading Integrated Arts – Week 4 →

Last week in our integrated arts module we designed our own paintbrushes. This allowed us to be creative and explore different patterns and brush strokes with our own designs. Creativity is an important skill which children and young people should be encouraged to explore. Education Scotland (2013) states that “Creativity skills help children and young people not just to understand their world, but be sufficiently equipped to influence its shape and to exercise control over their interactions with it”.

Also by designing our own with materials such as wool, paperclips, feathers etc. We felt less inclined to compare our work with others as we had created the paintbrushes ourselves. After spending some time creating our paintbrushes, our lecturer described a Scottish landscape and we had to paint, with our own brushes, what had been conveyed to us using only the three primary colours -blue, red and yellow- and white. Just as there were no two paintbrushes the same, everyone’s final piece was also different including brushstrokes and colour. This was an extremely fun and relevant class as art has always been a large part of my own school experience and I thoroughly enjoyed this workshop.

In the second workshop we were looking at figurenotes in music. This allows children to participate in music whether they have experience or talent or not. This way of learning standard notation can be learnt instantly and increase confidence and motivation.

I found this workshop particularly helpful as I find music more difficult than art. Both workshops were extremely interactive and displayed individuality and creativeness and would be good lessons which can also be used in a primary school setting

References

Education Scotland. (2013) Creativity Across learning 3-18 [Online] Available: https://education.gov.scot/improvement/Documents/Creativity/CRE1_WhatAreCreativitySkills/Creativity3to18.pdf [Accessed: 2 October 2017]