Choose a well-known children’s story and dramatise this, using musical motifs, sound effect, character songs and instrumental music to accompany the drama/narrative. This can take the form of a stage production or a radio version of the story.
CROSS CURRICULAR LEARNING IN MUSIC (3 hours)
Consider how you can make links between music and other curricular areas. Choose as many subject areas as you wish, and for each, create activities that draw upon musical knowledge to enhance the learning.
Music and Art – Create a picture to go alongside the piece they have created in music.
Music and Science – Waves and Vibrations
Music and HWB/Drama – Music linked to emotions
Music and Literacy – Music and Poetry
Music and Maths – The Sound of Shapes (reinforcement exercise)
Using Photography in teaching (4 hours)(Art)
Digital photography can be a useful tool and activity in the primary classroom. Almost everyone 
uses it, often without any formal teaching. Produce an illustrated guidance poster, video or hand-out for primary teachers and or pupils in the use of this medium. Consider aspects such as image quality, subject matter, composition, inclusion, accessibility, potential health and safety risks, privacy, storage, printing and compile a list of potential uses around the school.
The use of photography in the classroom is all too often limited to the teacher, usually taking pictures of the children working or what they create. These pictures are then used in displays and often little learning is taken from them. While it is good to document and evidence the children’s work, there are so many more learning opportunities to use photography in the classroom.
Using cameras as a medium for art allows children to expand their thoughts about art, and changes their perspective. This strategy can be useful in 
including children who feel that they are “not good at art”, as they can feel less pressure by using photography. They can capture the beauty of what they see without worrying about drawing properly etc.
There are also other uses for photography which draws links between art and the artistic nature of photography (angles, lighting etc), and other areas of the curriculum – some ideas are shown in the leaflet I have created for the TDT.
Task 2: SCOTTISH COUNTRY DANCING (1 hr)
Go to http://www.scottishdance.net/ceilidh/dances.html. Choose a dance and teach it to someone.
Being a passionate Scottish Country Dancer, the task to learn and teach a Scottish Country Dance as part of the Expressive Arts elective thrilled me immensely! I have been dancing as a hobby from the age of 5, and for the past few years have been assisting in teaching the younger class, and it is still a hugely enjoyable pastime for me, however, I believe that schools take the joy out of it.
The dance I chose to learn and teach to my class is “The Blue Lights of Pizza Express” (yes, it is a
real dance). The picture shows the dance crib (instructions)(click to view clearer), which is written using dancing terms, which we know, but would need explaining to a beginner. This dance is a Strathspey (slow dance), in a square set, the type of which is not taught in schools. The dance is quite complex, and took a good deal of explaining to my class, and therefore I certainly wouldn’t use anything near as difficult with a primary class. We did get a video of us dancing it, however, the file is too large to be uploaded to the site. If anyone would like more beginner-friendly instructions for the dance, just comment.
As my love for Scottish Country is so well established, I am of the opinion that it is taught completely wrong in schools, to the extent that our national heritage is loathed and comes with such a stigma. Whenever I tell anyone I do dancing, they usually ask which kind, to which I reply Scottish Country. The sheer comments and questions that follow highlight my point precisely. They ask “Why?”, or sometimes simply just laugh or look confused, a reaction which I argue would not be given had the answer been Ballet, Hip Hop or even Highland.
Schools teach the same 6-8 dances throughout primary and secondary, and in an attempt to make it more fun, have begun to use modern music. While this is a good strategy, and one we use in dance class ourselves, it is only the beginning. Children are forced to dance with classmates they would rather not, which starts the lesson off poorly. Children should be able to choose their partners, boy or girl, and, as long as there are clear rules about expectations of behaviour, there will be less misbehaving to warrant partnering children up. There should also be a range of dances taught, as well as step practice. We would not give children the task of playing football or basketball without teaching them some core skills they would need to play. Therefore, why do we partner children off and tell them where to go – usually by walking – and let them get on with the “dance”. There needs to be a shift in the thinking of teachers who teach Scottish Country Dance, before there will be a shift in attitude towards it.
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