Week 11

This was the second week of my second placement. Going into this general music placement I was worried about being good at general music, or if I was even going to like teaching k-4 since I have had my heart set on teaching band. I have to say I am really loving being in a general music class. The students are generally really excited to be in music class.

My day consists of for  K-3 we come up with fun musical games that teach the students musical concepts. There are games that involve movement that help teach students about tempo or major and minor. I feel like I am spending my day playing games with the students. They don't even care that they are learning. For example, we played a Halloween rhythm game that involved using a vibraslap and a glockenspiel and the students loved it, they even learned what a glissando was and how to play it on a glockenspiel. I am really amazed at how much music these students can learn and remember.

The 4th-grade class is putting on a show called "Compose Yourself" which teaches them all about the famous composers and their styles of music. The students sing a version of a Bach fugue which is really cool to hear 4th graders singing a fugue. They are learning about all of these famous composers in a show that they will put on for their families.

This week's chapter was about communication. This chapter comes at a good time because I had the chance to sit in on a meeting with all of the special teachers as they discussed the curriculum and how the program is doing. I will also get to sit in on parent-teacher conferences in a few weeks. The book talks a lot about getting to know your students by talking to their families. I will be interested to see what gets discussed in the conferences I see.