Integrated Arts: workshop – drama and music.
Drama: This week, we were given the opportunity to teach a drama lesson, in groups, to the class. My group based their lesson on ‘The Gruffalo’. We decided this as it’s a well known children’s book which we could use across the curriculum. We worked as a group to create a plan of what we could teach our class, then individually/in pairs, made up a quick interactive activity to learn the drama convention being taught. We used role in the wall, flashback, mime, flashforward, teacher in role and vox-pop. I was given the responsibility to teach ‘role in the wall’. I explained the task and gave out worksheets with the figure of the Gruffalo and the Mouse on it so all the groups had a mix, rather than all picking the Gruffalo. After explaining the task, I gave the class 2 minutes to complete the worksheet, then give feedback. This task didn’t make me as nervous as I thought it would, but I think this was down to working as a team. As our class may not have known the story of the Gruffalo, we had one person in the group as the reader which helped when doing the activities. I felt this workshop was very helpful and gave us a test trial on how we could teach a class drama. I learned that in teaching drama, you need to give the pupils freedom to create their own stories, and adapt their ideas. If I was to do this lesson differently, I would take one of the ideas from the pupils and go with that, rather than basing it fully on the book.
**Inspired by a range of stimuli, I can express and communicate my ideas, thoughts and
feelings through drama.
EXA 0-13a / EXA 1-13a / EXA 2-13a** (Scottish Government, 2004, p.65)
Music: This music workshop was interesting and engaging. Primary school pupils came in to teach us how to play their string instrument. We learned the different notes/strings, and spoke out loud different rhythms we could practise. We were given one primary pupil per 2 university students. Our pupil taught us how to hold the cello and the proper way to play it. He then taught us how to hold the bow which was actually quite a challenge. We played a short song as a class which was actually fun but hard to keep in time. During the workshop, we watched a video which explained the music program that the pupils were on, which sounded like it was very helpful and gave the pupil confidence. This workshop was fun and I enjoyed learning the cello, however, I wasn’t very good at it. The pupils played a little song for us which sounded great compared to my attempt. I think that pupils learning instruments is a great way to learn teamwork as the pupils were called ‘an orchestra’. There are also many other reasons such as “enhancing coordination” (Matthews, 2011) and “bettering your maths ability” (Matthews, 2011).
**I can use my voice, musical instruments and music technology to experiment with sounds, pitch, melody, rhythm, timbre and dynamics.
EXA 2-17a** (Scottish Government, 2004, p.67)
Reflection
Drama: Working in groups to teach a micro-lesson has been an important task in our Drama experience. This gave us the chance to try and teach a Drama lesson. Trying to decide on activities that would keep a class entertained during a lesson was actually quite a difficult task. As we worked in groups to create the lesson, we all had an opportunity to share ideas and give each other feedback. This showed to me the importance of collaborative working in Education. Teachers can work together to create lessons which they both can use, or they can even join classes together for a full stage lesson on subjects, such as the Arts. However, some pupils may only be confident in performing to their class. Teachers need to remember that they cannot force a child to perform if they do not want to, this will let the child’s confidence drop drastically. Allowing children to teach each other, like I completed in the workshop, is a fun and exciting way for children to learn. Learning from peers is a fun way to learn as it allows both the teacher and the learner to engage in a lesson.
Music: Learning an instrument from the pupils from a local school, was an exciting lesson and a great experience for a student teacher. This primary school has an amazing music programme which allows pupils to learn a string instrument and gives the opportunity for the pupils to perform in some amazing places around Scotland . I learned the cello which I had never thought of learning before! It was such an amazing experience to learn from a pupil and you could tell that the children were all very motivated and that the music programme has helped their confidence greatly. After a discussion with the pupil who helped me, he told me that he really enjoys learning music and that it was his favourite subject. The children seemed very grateful for the opportunity they had been given. Allowing children to teach others, again, gives a sense of pride and boosts self-esteem in the child.
Link
The link for these workshops would be learning from others. In Drama, we learned from our peers and in Music, we learned from pupils from a local primary school. These workshops showed the different environments which learning can occur, with both younger people and people of a similar age group.
References
Matthews, M. (2011). 18 Benefits of playing a musical intstrument [online] Available: http://www.effectivemusicteaching.com/articles/directors/18-benefits-of-playing-a-musical-instrument/ [Accessed: 7 November 2017]
Scottish Government. (2004) Curriculum for Excellence [online] Available: https://www.education.gov.scot/Documents/all-experiences-and-outcomes.pdf [Accessed: 18 December 2017]
