We had our fist dance workshop with Zara today, it was a very practical lesson. In the music workshop today we were joined by Primary 7 pupils from a local primary who taught us how to play their string instruments.
In our dance workshop we discussed that role that dance has in primary schools and the important part of the curriculum that it really is. Dance in primary schools has a focus on improving the pupils physical fitness whilst also wanting the children to create and preform: “through dance, learners have rich opportunities to be creative and experience inspiration and enjoyment” (Education Scotland, 2019). We also discussed how dance can be incorporated into other topic areas. For example, if Scottish highland themed music is used, this could lead to a class topic of the history of Scotland and can allow the children to learn more about the Scottish heritage. Furthermore, we went on to discuss the 10 key components of movement in dance: balance, gesture, hop, jump, kick, reach, roll, slide, turn and twist. We then got into groups and created a sequence which included all ten of these movements.
In the music workshop, I experienced the chance to play a violin along with a primary 7 pupil. All the primary 7 pupils that came along were involved with an East Ayrshire program which includes 18 other primary schools. The program provides children with the chance to learn how to play an instrument from primary 4 until the end of primary 7. This gives the children a chance to learn an instrument, they simply might of not had a chance to learn how to play an instrument without this program. Not only does this opportunity provide the children with knowledge of music and playing a musical instrument but can provide the children with major mental and physical health benefits (Mandel, 2007). I feel that this opportunity also built the child’s confidence up as they were teaching an adult how to play an instrument. I observed how the pupil I was working alongside with really just seemed to be having fun.
Mandel S.E., Hanser S.B., Secic M., Davis, B.A. (2007) Effects of Music Therapy on Health-Related Outcomes in Cardiac Rehabilitation: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of Music Therapy. [Abstract, Online] Vol.44(3), pp.176-197. Available: https://academic.oup.com/jmt/article-abstract/44/3/176/954996 [Accessed: 4 December 2019].
Education Scotland (2019) Curriculum for Excellence: expressive arts, experiences and outcomes [Online] Available: https://education.gov.scot/Documents/expressive-arts-eo.pdf [Accessed 4 December 2019]
