Integrated Arts: workshop – music and art.
Music: This weeks music workshop was all about learning to keep a beat and read music. Everyone was given a pair of drumsticks to practise with. We discussed that when teaching children music, at first we use connotations. For example, we used ‘circle’ and ‘square’ to show the notes that were being played. A square was a one beat note (crochet) and a circle was a two beat note (quaver). This was due to syllables, circ-le having two, square having one. This made reading the music much easier for me as I used to find music reading difficult. We then practised different songs using the drum sticks to keep the beat. In the workshop, we managed to get through 3 terms of music work in an hour which was impressive. After a while of practising the music, we were given glockenspiels and xylophones to practise on. We worked in pairs to practise different songs, but this time, we learned to read music sheets. This was quite difficult and I still don’t think I would be able to teach pupils how to read music as I have not had much practise in doing so. This workshop was fun and gave me some ideas on how to teach pupils to count beats and to keep a rhythm.
**I enjoy singing and playing along to music of different styles and cultures.
EXA 0-16a** (Scottish Government, 2004, p.67)
Art: This workshop was fully discussion based. At first, we discussed in our groups what arts we had seen whilst out on placement whether that was Drama, Music, Art or Dance. We then shared our experiences with the class. Most of the answers varied from seeing art used in topic work or for assembly, with very few people seeing a drama lesson occur. I personally have only seen Music lesson’s and one Art lesson occur. A specialist comes in and teaches the class recorder. However, the class do have other Integrated Arts lessons on other days when I am not in class. We then discussed how people from other countries may complete Art lessons. We used the example of pupils from Lapland. They use their snowy weather to an advantage. Pupils and teachers go outside and create sculptures from the snow. This would be a fun activity to complete with a class if you were fortunate enough to have that weather. However, you could use any types of weather as a stimuli for your art lesson. For example, you could use leaves from Autumn to create textured art. My confidence in Art has developed throughout this module, and I know have a better understanding of not focusing on a set art lesson, but rather to just let art happen.
**Inspired by a range of stimuli, I can express and communicate my ideas, thoughts and feelings through activities within art and design.
EXA 0-05a / EXA 1-05a / EXA 2-05a** (Scottish Government, 2004, p.62)
Reflection
Music: Using drumsticks to teach children a Music lesson, shows that teachers don’t always need a large range of instruments for a Music lesson to be engaging. Teaching pupils to read music sheets is important as it’s giving children a basic background on music, rather than just learning from figure notes (which is extremely helpful for starting to learn). Teaching children music in stages, allows time for questions and one-on-one help, rather than rushing learning with the risk of the children not fully understanding which happens quite a lot in teaching Music in primary schools, from personal experience. Giving time for Music lessons can be a barrier in teaching, due to some schools believing the focus should be on Literacy and Numeracy.
The Arts are not as respected in Education as they should be. Schools need to focus and allow time for the Arts to occur.
Art: Reflecting on my own placement experience of the Arts, does show me that the Arts are barely ever experienced in schools compared to other subjects. The Arts provide creativity for children and allow children to express themselves in many ways. Creativity is important and applicable in all features of learning (Duffy, 2006). Using art across the curriculum allows for creativity in the classroom, which is an important part of Education. After a discussion, it was evident that not many people had witnessed the Arts fully, whilst being on placement. This was quite disappointing, as I have come to realise how important the Arts are after taking part in this module. Finally, we discussed, as teachers, the use of templates and how schools around the world use resources to create Art. For example, schools in Lapland, use their snowy weather to their advantage and make snow sculptures! I thought this was such a smart concept and I would have loved the chance to do this during my time in school!
Link
The link for the workshops would be the easiness of teaching an Integrated Arts lesson when you have the correct support and resources. In Music, we only needed sticks to keep the beat, and in Art, we discussed what Arts we had encountered on placement and the resources available.
References
Duffy, B. (2006) Supporting Creativity and Imagination in the Early Years. Maidenhead:Open University Press.
Scottish Government. (2004) Curriculum for Excellence [online] Available: https://www.education.gov.scot/Documents/all-experiences-and-outcomes.pdf [Accessed: 18 December 2017]
