Integrated Arts: workshop – dance and music.
Dance: This week was the final week in Dance, which meant it was time to record our video. We joined both sections together as there was a absence of people, and formed a new dance to perform as a group. We used aspects from both section’s dances which worked well together. To start, we split into groups and created either a game, a cool down or stretches to warm up our bodies for dancing. We played games such as ‘Santa says..’, christmas tig and the number game. We then stretched our full body and also completed a cool down as we hadn’t done that before. We then discussed the importance of completing these activities. We recorded our dance then watched it back to complete a personal and peer feedback sheet. This would be a good idea to use in a classroom as pupils can watch back and see what went well and what can be improved (3 stars and a wish). This was an important task as pupils need not only teacher feedback, but to look at their work themselves and decide what went well and what needs worked on.
**I can analyse technical aspects of dance, make informed judgements and express personal opinions on my own and others’ work.
EXA 4-11a** (Scottish Government, 2004, p.64)

This is our class dance:
https://vimeo.com/244831329

Music: This weeks music lesson was a self taught lesson on the ukulele. On Moodle, there were YouTube videos to learn different songs from. The Ukulele would be a fun lesson for children to learn as it’s a different instrument rather than the instruments pupils traditionally learn such as the keyboard or recorder.
**I have the freedom to use my voice, musical instruments and music technology to discover and enjoy playing with sound and rhythm.
EXA 0-17a** (Scottish Government, 2004, p.67)

Reflection
Dance: This workshop showed that as a teacher, you always have to be prepared for the worst. Many people did not show up for the workshop, meaning we had to join two sections together and create a new dance. This was not an easy task, as both sections had completely different ideas. We had to teach each other our ideas, and make sure it was in time with the music. After recording the dance, we evaluated our own work. This is very important as a teacher, as giving feedback is helpful in learning. After a discussion with my peers, we all had similar ‘3 stars and a wish’ outcomes. You can use this form of evaluation with any subject, with both teachers and pupils taking part in it. This is also a good way for assessing dance as some teachers may find it difficult to find a way to do so. “Empowering children to create dances about what is personally meaningful presents them with the responsibility and commitment to bring their vision alive” (Cone, 2009). Teachers allowing children to create their own dance and reflect on it, gives them control and leadership of their work. Thus, keeping childrens’ creativity alive and allowing children to lead, is important in the Arts.

Music: Supplying children with resources to learn music from is very helpful for further learning. If pupils have an instrument at home, they can use online resources to get extra practise. Creativity is not about what is being taught, but how teachers teach it (Penny et al, 2003). Children do not necessarily need to be taught by someone physically being there, some children may engage more by watching an online tutorial. Although learning music notation can be fun and somewhat engaging, pupils tend to be more interested in learning through something that they can physically have and hold. When children get a few notes correct, or complete a song, they will have a sense of achievement, which is important in a young person’s educational experience. Sadly, not all pupils are able to have an instrument at home or even get the opportunity to learn an instrument, due to the lack of funding in schools. The government simply cannot afford to give every school large amounts of money to start music programmes, and some schools are not that interested in Music being a key subject for children to engage in. This is quite disappointing after learning about all the positive ways the Arts can help a child both socially and mentally. As a student teacher, I will most definitely be teaching the Arts in my classroom as I believe they are highly important for young people in modern day education.

Link
The link for these workshops would be to have confidence in yourself as a learner. In Dance, we completed a full dance, in one session and had the confidence to perform in small groups to each other. In Music, we had the confidence in our own ability to learn an instrument from watching an online video and working as a team.

References
Cone, Purcell, T. (2009). Following Their Lead: Supporting Children’s Ideas for Creating Dances. London: Rutledge.

Penny, S., Ford R., Price, L. & Young, S. (2003). Teaching Arts in Primary Schools. Exeter: Learning Matters Ltd

Scottish Government. (2004) Curriculum for Excellence [online] Available: https://www.education.gov.scot/Documents/all-experiences-and-outcomes.pdf [Accessed: 18 December 2017]