Introduction
I am an Elementary Music Instructor who has the responsibility to educate the future musicians of the Kent Community Schools District and I am interested in the impact of instructional time and classroom organization on students' musical learning. In my capacity as the Elementary Music Instructor I strive to find the best strategies that would maximize the instructional time allotted for the students that are participating in the Elementary Music program. This has been a constant struggle with the continuous back and forth with the administration and the scheduling conflicts of the students. Not to mention pulling students for mandatory state testing from the music class assemblies and other non-musical things, this has been
…show more content…
This helps if there is any discrepancy as to why a student received a certain grade in the class as the videos will be available for parents to view upon request. However, parents only have access to their child’s class videos. Furthermore, authorization to inquire about the progress of their student is granted to the parent only. I will not discuss any other student with the parents. At the beginning of each fourth grade class after the students have selected which instrument they want to learn, I always teach a 30-40 minute lesson on instrument maintenance which I log into the online student record book. The students take a 3 question assessment so I can get an understanding to the musical levels in the classroom. The majority of the students in the class score well below average on the music …show more content…
The next procedure that I implemented in the other 2 classes was the weekly practice logs. At the end of each week all students in classes “B” and “C” complete 10 minutes daily practicing on new techniques that we worked on in class. The students would have to practice at home and the parents would have to sign off on the practice times that the student practiced. This has added an extra 50 minutes on rehearsal time to all of the students who are participating in the elementary music program. At the end of each week the practice logs are logged into the online student connect. This also helps to get the parents involved in the student’s learning process. If the student is not practicing then the parent will know why their student is not earning a passing grade in the band class. At the end of the first semester the students in all of the beginning band classes have their summative assessment. The summative assessment is in the form of the winter concert. By this time if all students in class “B” and “C” have completed the necessary work in and outside of the class the concert is always a huge success.
The winter concert comes and the students perform 3 different selections. Each class performs the songs together and I keep an accurate account of how many notes are missed during the performance of each song. Below is a chart that represents the proficiency level of
Band is family. When your student walks onto campus, he or she is instantly adopted into the strongest society on campus. They will be spending their school days among the top achievers on campus, with fellow students who look out for one another and steer each other away from trouble instead of towards it. Teachers, staff, parents, and volunteers watch over all the kids as if they were their own.
Sheftel, B. (2002). Music Education Curriculum in Public Schools. PageWise, Inc, Retrieved August 6, 2003
Hundreds of children have learned to love playing music on their instruments in a safe and fun environment. Did you know the music programs are being cut out of schools due to budget issues? According to Do.Something.org these programs are proven to improve academic skills, advanced reading skills, and kids are more likely to stay in school. Music teachers go beyond and above to be the best teachers they possibly can be. Mark does this daily while getting up early for lessons and staying late for extra activities.
There is a monthly open school morning that the PTO has in the auditorium for parents to come by and be informed about what is going on in the school. Various programs and grades offer workshops and meeting. Every Tuesday from 2:40pm- 4pm the school has that time frame allotted for parent engagement. Parents do not have to wait to meet with teacher on the two designated parents teachers conference. Each Tuesday, the parents can come in and meet with any of their child’s teachers without an appointment. The parents can discuss any concerns or issues regarding with their child’s academics or behaviors performance. Also, the school engages parents by using an electronic system called N-grade. N-grade is a parent portal where parents login and look at their child’s assignments. The portal shows their child’s assignment grades, missing assignments and assignments they can make up to earn back their grades.
Most music educators realize the need for integration of music into other areas of the school curriculum but do not understand the effort that goes into forming an integrated lesson plan. When incorporating music into another subject, students gain a richer experience in their education. Perhaps the most important reason for music integration is fulfillment of the eighth National Standard: "understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts."
Jacob, Brian A.Rockoff, Jonah E. "Organizing Schools to Improve Student Achievement: Start Times, Grade Configurations, And Teacher Assignments." Education Digest 77.8 (2012): 28. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 3 Apr. 2014.
Akins, M. L. 1982 An analysis and Evaluation of selected methods for the beginning Private Piano student. PhD, Peabody College for Teachers, Vanderbilt University, USA.
Music education has always been an underappreciated concept, but as a future teacher it terrifies me to know that there are children that be...
What comes to mind when you hear the words “classroom management”? Many people think of a school classroom in utter chaos: students socializing during work time, projectiles flying across the room, a fight breaking out in the corner, and a helpless teacher wondering, “where did I go wrong?”. Eggen and Kauchak (2007) cite classroom management as the primary concern of preservice teachers (p. 369), and I am no exception to this citation. I am very excited to teach in a classroom someday, but confess my concern that students will not behave or listen. This paper, therefore, seeks to further explore the concepts of classroom management, with an emphasis on challenges specific to the instrumental music (band) classroom.
Physical science is the study of non-living matter which I will be talking about the physics of music, and how pitch and frequency play a role together in science. Physics is known to be the most fundamental science, based on the principle and concepts. It deals with matter, motion, force, and energy, (Shipman-Wilson Higgins, 2013). In this report I will be dealing with pitch, frequency sound and waves which are also dealing with physical science and how they our related.
To fully understand any musical style, one must be able to analyze the various elements of music as they exist in that particular style. In this first musical close-up, we shall briefly describe these elements of music. In subsequent musical close-ups, we shall examine one or another of these elements in greater detail as it pertains to a given style or topic.
Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “Without music, life would be a mistake”. Music is almost as old as the human race and is as much a part of it as anything. So why would anyone choose to get rid of it? An Increasing number of schools across the nation are deciding to cut music education programs. This includes band, orchestra, choir, and general music classes. In 1991, 55.4 percent of public school eighth-graders took part in music classes at school. In 2004, this figure was just 49.1 percent. Money plays a huge role in this statistic: “...when funds are scarce, arts courses are usually the first to be dropped from a school’s curriculum” (“Arts Education”). While many argue that music education is an unnecessary cost for schools, it improves student’s overall well being.
I completed my arts integration experience at Isanti Intermediate School/School for all Seasons. I was able to complete 15-20 hour observation in a kindergarten class with approximately 20 students’ and I was also able to spend time in the music specialist classroom. I was able to observe kindergarten, first grade, third grade, fourth grade, and a fifth grade sections in the music class. Each section had approximately 20-25 students. The students’ were a group of diverse learners who came into the classroom with different learning abilities, needs, and experiences.
When parents meet with their child’s teacher, they are able to see how their child performed against other students in their state and even across the country, based on standardized tests results. Parents and schools alike can follow a student’s development over the years. Seeing if a student is improving, declining academically, or staying the same helps teachers and parents know what steps may be necessary for the advancement of the student’s education.
My classes' abilities range from high to very low. The highest of my students can read, speak in full descriptive sentences, respond creatively, and appropriately to thought provoking questions. Whereas, my lowest students know only a couple letters of the alphabet, have difficulty coming up with meaningful sentences and often answer questions with statements that have no bearing on the subject matter. My biggest challenge when planning for this period of instruction was to find a way to actively involve all of my students and offer success for everyone, regardless of skill level. I decided to have stations where 4 students, at a time, would be engaged in stimulating activities and where there would be very little "wait"...