The final time I observed Katie McIntosh I got to see her 4th and 5th grade choruses as well as her 3rd grade general music class. During this visit I got to do quite a bit of teaching. The 5th graders are singing a piece called "Jasmine Flower" that has a section that is in Mandarin. There are quite a few students who speak Mandarin, and so Katie is having those students teach the students who also want to sing that verse as a feature teach them the song before school and in a few minutes during chorus. I was tasked with supervising and playing piano for those students while they taught the words.
At first it seemed as though I would only need to play the notes for them when they sang, but I quickly realized that there was no plan or sense of urgency to teach the words by the students, so I took charge. I had the students who didn't know the words go on one half of the room and the students who did know the word stand at the other half. I asked the students who do know the words to speak it for them, but this seemed to make them nervous since there was a little too ambiguous for them. So instead I played the piano so they could sing the words for the rest of the students. This worked well and we finally got into a groove of going phrase by phrase with me giving directions to enunciate and repeat certain sections along the way. While we didn't get through the entire verse due to time, what we did go over the students sang very well in front of the whole rest of the choir. While I admit that I didn't have full control of the classroom (some students were off task or moving around the chairs in the room) I decided that it was most productive to continue to work with the students who were focused and eventually most of the other students started paying attention. Ideally I wouldn't let that kind of behavior go unaddressed, but given ten minutes to teach a verse of music I thought that continuing on was the most appropriate thing to do.
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At this observation with Katie I got to see the two choruses once again as well as her 3rd grade and 2nd grade general music classes. I was amazed by her dedication to each and every student. In the general music classes they played a game where each student would copy the sound of slide whistle using their head voices. Most were able to do this, or at least demonstrate that they were really trying to use their head voice, but a few would only use their speaking voices. While students were onto the next activity, Katie took the time to meet with those students individually to help them reach their head voices. This really showed the value of finding one-on-one time, as it made a huge difference.
In terms of classroom management, there were a couple incidents which were resolved by simply reminding students of the music room expectations. For example, when teaching the game for Snail, Snail (which I was able to help demonstrate and participate in) the students got a little too excited and rough with each other. At this point Katie simply asked the class if we were being safe. Once they were reminded of what safe looks like, things calmed down and we were able to play the game again. At this session at Oak Hill I got to observe the 8th grade string orchestra, 6th grade guitar, and 6th grade chorus. The routines in these classes are less strict but still succeed at getting students ready to learn. Two assigned students help pass out guitars for the guitar class and in the choir they always start with the same warm-ups. During this observation I mainly got to participate by correcting students fingerings and leading warm-ups as well as helping the altos during the 6th grade choir.
When correcting students fingerings on guitar, I checked in with every student to simply make sure they had their index finger on the first fret of the first string. While most got this immediately, some did need my help to physically move their finger so they understood. This was valuable to experience because it made me realize how even the simplest concepts can get lost and be confusing for a student, so it is important to have a checking system. When leading the warm-ups for the boys choir sectional, Caleb had to leave the room for a few minutes so I was alone with them and the accompanist. This was definitely daunting, but I knew the warm-ups he normally does so I lead with those and things went fairly smoothly until Caleb returned. When helping the altos, who are lacking in confidence, I sat with them and sang their part. When sitting in their section I was able to hear that most were either not singing or singing very quietly, so I am excited to work with them in the spring to build their confidence. The first time I got to observe Katie McIntosh, I saw her 5th grade chorus, 4th grade chorus, and 3rd grade general music. The two choruses include every single student from each of the grades. As such, there are over 60 kids in each chorus and classroom management is crucial. Katie does a fantastic job of looking ahead to prevent misbehavior and musical cues in order regain control without having to yell. The routines involve stretches, warm-up songs that they also do as rounds, and sight reading from folk song books. Once they go through these things, they start working on the repertoire, mostly by rote. The music is challenging but doable and includes many multicultural selections.
In the general music class they were focused on recorder. As students walked in, "In the Hall of the Mountain King" was playing and students were asked to think about the focus question as they get settled into their spots. The question was, "What is the tempo of this piece of music?" which they discussed as a class. The students brought many descriptive and insightful ways to look at the music. After this opening, Katie filled out on the board a worksheet that they would soon do in groups, which involved creating a recorder composition using the notes G, A, and B. After the class was in groups, I was able to go around the room and both help students with questions (such as correcting rhythmic values and notation) and playing their compositions for them on recorder so they could hear how they sound and make changes based on how the piece sounded. This was great because I was able to passively react with students while also getting to observe how they go about composing and correcting mistakes with their peers. On this day I got to see the 7th/8th grade string orchestra, 7th grade guitar, and 7th/8th grade choir along with the sectionals for the altos and tenors/baritones. The string orchestra had routines where the students would ready their instruments themselves and then do their scale warm-ups, of which they had one for each month. Once again Caleb used a lot of student modeling for both the violin and cello parts so that the more experienced players in the group could show other students good form. Additionally, whenever he worked with a specific section he had the other players air-bow so that he maintained focus. Finally, the group sounded pretty good in terms of tone. The main thing that they were working on was keeping a sense of pulse and playing in sync with each other.
The main way I got to participate this day was with the guitar classes. After a review explanation of how to read chord charts, they were given time to practice songs from their packets. They would be tested on playing "Ode to Joy" and then practice playing chords. I was tasked with listening and correcting fingering for students playing "Ode to Joy" as well as playing chords for students playing the melody and vice versa. This was great for getting to know students since I was learning guitar along side them. Sometimes there were questions that I didn't quite know how to answer, such as an easy way to remember which notes were which, but since we were figuring it out together we were able to learn a lot from each other. When I observed Kelly Graeber at the Morse School, I got to see and interact with her kindergarten, 1st grade, and 2nd grade general music classes. Overall, she used a combination of Kodaly, Feierabend, and Orff in her classroom to create a dynamic learning experience for her students. The activities consisted of rote songs, songtales, reading rhythms using "heart beat" images, chants, soundscapes, and rounds. Students were often called upon to name a song that had the same rhythm as the one they had just learned, or to draw the arc of the melody on the board. For older classes they would start with a welcome song and the song "Hey Charlie" where students get a chance to sing a solo if they are chosen. Kelly challenged them to keep the song moving even when a student had a solo so that they never paused or lost the pulse. Additionally, the class would often be split in half and given student leaders in order to help lead their students in the singing of a round.
In terms of classroom management, it was generally a calm learning environment, but some students in particular struggled quite a lot. There were some concerns on safety after a student found a rubber band and was flinging it at other classmates. This was a stressful moment and certainly rattled both the teacher and remaining students. This was valuable to see as I was able to experience needing to remain calm but also regain control. After the student was brought to the office, Kelly found it necessary to do a calming breathing activity with the class. This made a great impact on me because I could see the importance of taking time to check in without students before just continuing the planned lesson after something unexpected happens. When I observed Adam, I got to see his 2nd grade general music classes and his 6th grade general music class. Overall, his Kodaly teaching style was very effective at keeping things moving and having kids quickly transition from singing, to movement, to using white boards to write out rhythms. There were a variety of activities that clearly corresponded to Kodaly's prepare, present, practice. To prepare for full notation they sang a song with different pitches being represented by pictures of bells on the staff. He presented syncopation by teaching the song "Liza Jane" and coloring the lyrics where there was a short-long-short rhythmic pattern. Finally, there were several activities that practiced musical skills such as arranging magnets with rhythms and reading them aloud as well as marching to Engine Engine.
Classroom management was incredibly smooth due to fully laid out lessons and strict routines. Every class starts with a welcome song, which Adam will often sing in different languages, that students walk in singing. The class then says their class pledge, which is simply expectations for music class such as being respectful, being good listeners, and being musical. Next Adam has the objectives, or goals, written out for the class that he has two volunteers read, helping to connect english and music for the students. Finally at the end of the class, the expectations stated in the introduction are revisited where a student gets to check mark on the board if they met the expectations which is determined by reflection on the part of both the students and the teacher. This creates a reward system for the entire class to follow expectations in a positive and communal way. I learned a great amount by observing Adam's brilliant use of routine and planning. He created a very welcoming and productive classroom environment while being a great example of a Kodaly teacher. The first time I observed Caleb Cutler, I saw his 8th grade guitar, 6th grade general music, 6th grade chorus, and 7th grade guitar. Immediately I was put to work and learned how to restring a guitar as well as how to use the big copy machines they have. Additionally, I got to get to know a few students well. Caleb had me help two students organize the choral music in his office where we got to some time to talk as well.
Observing Caleb's teaching, he has a very vibrant teaching personality. His classroom management most of the time consisted of connecting with the student that was talking or off task by poking just a little bit of fun or asking how their weekend was, just to regain their attention. In terms of teaching style, he used a lot of peer modeling. In the guitar class he would point the doc cam at the students fingers so that people could learn from both what they played correctly and what mistakes they made. Other ways I got to participate were through helping students with theory worksheets in the general music class and helping Caleb to assess the guitar playing, which he is clear about grading based on tone, note/rhythmic accuracy, and a sense of pulse. When I observed Jamie I saw her drama, chorus, general music classes, and the fall play rehearsal. In general, there was a good amount of student leadership in her classes. In her drama classes, they had a sort of warm-up activity where students were tasked with creating a tableau of a particular scene and then having one student director make changes. The choir warm-ups were lead entirely by student leaders from the 8th grade chorus where they even taught a new warm-up song with multiple voice parts. When there wasn't a lot of student leadership, there was student autonomy. In the general music classes, students were given demos and chances to play drum set, bass, guitar, and keyboard and then have the freedom to pick which one to practice and use for a project. In terms of classroom management, her main technique was to remind students of expectations and possible losing of privileges if they don't follow those behavioral expectations. This pre-management proved to be fairly effective.
Overall, even though I did not personally participate in the classes, I could see that the students had respect for Jamie and that she was able to clearly teach musical, as well as dramatic, concepts. |
AuthorReese Massey recounts her observations of elementary and secondary music teachers during her time in pre-practicum. Archives
November 2019
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