Group project

To find the group book, we all found one book and brought it in and we then picked which book we liked best. I was glad that the discussion board was available for our group to use because it was difficult finding time to meet with all our schedules.
We had fun doing this project together. We used class time to our advantage and I think we definitely benefited from that time. We got most of the materials and procedure figured out during class time. The only thing that was difficult was putting all together on paper without just making one person do the work. Blackboard helped with this issue.
My favorite part of this project was learning all the many ways you can create a fun learning atmosphere for your students. By this experience, children can learn the many things and many ways you can use as instruments to create certain sounds.

week 11

The Binary form has two contrasting parts, a chorus and a verse. During the verse, we held hands and walked to the right, and during the chorus, we stopped and clapped our hands and pretended we were butterflies. Some examples are "Aint No Mountain High Enough" by the Temptations and "ABC" by Jackson 5.

My favorite day this week was when we played all the precussion instruments to The Napping House story. It is important to incorporate things to involve the students in the lesson so that they stay focused and want to learn. I know from experience that if you just read a story to a child, they will be figgity and not want to listen if it is not interesting.

JOurnal week 10

I enjoyed class a lot this week. It was creative how Ms. Wang simply changed the lyrics for the Boo-Hoo Baby from the song What Do We Do with the Drunken Sailors. Having students decide what noises to make for all the animals in this song not only keep the students entertained and focused, but also help other students broaden their understanding of the topic by listening to their peers.

The Listening Walk activity was a great way to understand the concepts of dynamics and timbre. When teaching young students you can review when to use different levels of loudness and softness in everyday life. For example, in a library we should be quiet when we talk like a pigeon. We can be loud when outside like a jackhammer, if you CAN get that loud! Relating to music, the students can understand the difference between forte, piano, and the mezzos in between.

I like these activities because they are student-centered. No one is right or wrong which promotes self-esteem. By having each student create a sound, it keeps everyone involved and having fun.

Week 8

Creativity is important in any aspect. Being creative is beneficial because it makes students feel a certain pride and accomplishment when they create something of their own. Anyone can copy an idea just to get it done, but it takes a creative person to keep everyday life interesting. Throughout my grade school years, I was always told, "Have your finished product look like this." It bothered me that I could not put my own spin on the project or make it somewhat personal. It was a struggle in the beginning of high school when I was asked to create things because all I knew how to do was mirror.
By using what we have learned so far in our music class we can promote creativity. An example would be to have students show how they would keep the steady beat of a song or make a story using instruments for certain actions.

I was insterested in doing African American Culture and use
Jazz for the music. I chose this because I have been interested in my African American friends' backrounds and also because my boyfriend played in a Jazz band (trumpet).

week 7- test

I was grateful for the study guide because I went through each point and said the answer out loud to myself. The points that I was not sure about I look up the answers in the previous homework assignments. The most difficult part was going to remember the notation for each note and how to write them on the scale. I feel I have a good grasp on memorizing the hand signals and what each stands for and what letter it matches on the scale.

I have learned a lot this semester. The most difficult thing for me will be to use my head voice when singing with young students. I really enjoy learning how to play the recorder because I have tried to learn a few instruments, but I never got the hang of it. I learned the actual definitions of steady beat and rhythm, which before I didn't know there was a difference. Even though I do not still quite understand what the time measure means, I know what it is used for. I also learned through the lesson plan that the more lessons you teach the easier it will be to prepare for them and less nervous you will be after a while.

Reflection #6

The part that I found the most difficult was staying calm. I was very nervous which made me go off track from my plan.

Things I did not do well: When I used the recording, It went too quick when I was doing the movements.

What went well for me: I had the students laughing and it seemed they were having fun.

If I could do it again: I would talk slower and try not to be as nervous. I would also brought props to go along with the song.

Week 6- Self Evaluation

Week 3/4 Journal

I learned these past two weeks that steady beat and rhythm are crucial to any sort of music or sound. I also learned that when singing to young students I will need to use a higher tone. Reason for this is because that is the type of voices my students will have since most, if not all of them have not gone through puberty yet.
I found that rhythm and steady beat can be done many different ways. Such as; clapping, tapping your knees, stomping with your feet, etc. The more creative the movements, the more interesting it will be for the students. We learned songs this week that had similar beats to more popular songs. This is helpful in the classroom because it allows students to make connections with the music.
Learning these concepts and skills are important for me to know so that when I have my own classroom, I can incorporate them into my lessons. I am glad we are doing the music lesson plan because I love finding ways to keep students interested in the subject I am teaching.
Students can benefit from these concepts and skills by using them in and outside the classroom. Thinking of ways to keep rhythm or steady beat helps students use their creativity which boosts their self-esteem since they thought of it by themselves.

Week #2

This week we discovered the difference between steady beat and rhythm. Steady beat is a the repetition of a continuous sound.  Rhythm, however, is the use of long, short, and silent sounds. By using the rhythmic sticks, I was able to hear the difference when tapping with a steady beat as opposed to the rhythmic pattern when singing my name rhyme.

By having each of my peers play there song, I was able to learn from their mistakes as well as my own.  I like that Ms. Wang helps us when we do not hit the sticks or drums correctly.  It was interesting to find that a pause in a song or beat also counts as a sound, a silent sound.

I think it is important to learn these concepts and skills because it is helpful for many parts of your life.  Not only can I use these skills for my own sake, but i can teach my future children, students, and any others who would like to learn about music.  It helps me because I never understood the difference between beat and rhythm, or knew that silence was a type of sound.  These small, yet important bits of information will be helpful to do well in this class, as well as other aspects of my life. Example: I may now be better at Guitar Hero World Tour! 

Every sound in life could possibly be used  as a beat to a song.  I noticed just walking from class this past Friday that I had the steady beat we were playing in class. I noticed myself start singing my song while I was walking! I know it sounds lame, but beats help people like me remember things.  When I was in elementary school, I wish we would of had more music based learning because now I hear all these songs about the Continents, States, colors, etc.  It is amazing what music can do for the developing child.

Some children's songs that I am familiar with:

1. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

2. I Love You, You Love Me

3. Happy Birthday 

4. Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes

5. Do Your Ears Hang Low?

6. Peanut Butter and Jelly!

7. Alphabet Song

8. Hello

9. Little Monkeys

10. John Jacob Jingle Hiemer Schimt

My rhyme

My name is Julie.

I am kinda goofy.

You can laugh with me,

We'll have fun, you'll see!

My Music History

All my life I loved music. As an infant and toddler, I would not sit still without my parents playing my favorite Sing-along videos. Throughout my childhood and even now, I sing along to almost every song in every Disney movie. My grandma still to this day tells me about the time we saw Lion King in the theater and I would get out of my seat and dance in the rows when the songs started!
I love to sing and dance, I will admit I am not good at either one, but I still do it.
I attempted to play the drums in elementary school, junior high I took piano lessons, and during high school I tried guitar. Now I am content with playing guitar and drums on RockBand and Guitar Hero World Tour (video games).
I am constantly listening to my music every chance I get. While I am typing right now I am actually listening to my iPod. I have a variety of songs I like. For example, I have my iPod set to shuffle mode and here are the songs that have played so far: Super Girl by Saving Jane, Wake Me Up Before You GO-GO by WHAM!, Girls Lie Too by Terri Clark... I like hip-hop and country mostly though.


Class....
I will admit that when I first came into the class and we had to sit on the floor and you started singing that hello song, I was a little nervous and embarrassed to be there. As you probably noticed though, it didn't take me very long to warm up to the idea of being silly. I know that being an elementary teacher takes a lot of energy and you also need an open mind. I noticed even through my own experiences that when it comes to remembering things, I will remember lyrics to hundreds of songs before I can attempt to remember dates or names for a history test. Relating information to rythm makes it easier for many children to comprehend something.