This week was the final input of the integrated arts module, and the focus was on dance and music. First of all we had a lecture on creative partnerships which are partnerships made that benefit the education of the children and you people. They can involve many different people including managers, specialists and officers appointed by councils, parents and other teachers who have skills and abilities in areas you do not and outside agencies that come in and help you teach or teach the children for you.
Today was also the day that we were to film our Christmas themed dances. However, because only 35 people turned up between the two sections we were put together. This proved tricky as each section had different moves that the other section had to learn. When we eventually learned the new moves and had a practice. We then performed and filed the dance which we then watched on the interactive whiteboard and assessed/reflected on how well it had gone. We used the system of 3 stars and a wish to evaluate our performance. This would be a good system to use in a classroom especially before a major performance like an assembly or concert, as the children will be able to see what their dance looks like from the outside and can identify areas where they need to perfect for the final performance. This strategy could also be used in other areas of the integrated arts theme, such as drama and music, as it allows the children to self evaluate areas within the performance where they may be struggling. Here are some pictures of the evaluation sheet we used and a list of key factors the children and the teacher should be looking for when evaluating. I have also attached the link to the video of our dance!
The final music input this week was self-lead as the lecturer was unfortunately off sick with tonsillitis. It was great fun as we were playing the ukulele using resources that the lecturer set up on Moodle for us. There was a YouTube video for us to use to tune the instruments and there were different songs that we could teach ourselves. I think that teaching children the ukulele would be something different as usually you only hear of the recorder being taught in schools. Now although the recorder is quite fun and interesting to learn it can be quite boring and difficult for children. The ukulele would allow the children to learn simple songs that they could sing along with and have fun with. It’s also quite a cool instrument to learn in the eyes of children and if given the opportunity I would definitely teach them (although I’d have to teach myself first!).
