Field Reflection

My experience at Westside Elementary School was so much fun. The teacher was so willing to work with us in whatever we needed to accomplish. The students were as close to perfect as you can get. I'm still pinching myself that I had that type of a classroom experience.

I had fun preparing and carrying out our creative arts lesson plans. One lesson plan was used as a Dance/Drama plan. I used the book, Most Loved In All The World . It is such a beautifully written and illustrated book. I used the theme of slavery and quilts to use for an arts and craft freedom quilt as well. I'll attach a picture of it.

We divided the class into groups and they danced the pages given. I had classic african american spiritual music playing in the background as well. The students had fun for the most part. I can tell that they were unfamiliar with this type of a lesson plan, but they were willing participants.

We also used "Role on the Wall" for the ending of the book. This part was actually my favorite. The students really searched their pages to find feeling and emotion to write on the body. AWESOME!! (See attached picture)

Our second creative plan was used during geometry. We used chinese jumpropes and a book called the Greedy Triangle. The students enjoyed making shapes with their chinese jumpropes and I'm excited to share our plan with you.

I learned so much about time management and modeling behavior expectations. It was a great experience. :)

Field Experience Summary

I was assigned to Westside Elementary School. It is a Title I school located in Springville, Utah. I was able to be mentored by Ms. Angie Paynter, a 5th grade teacher. The classroom was filled with 21 students which I still can’t believe. My children’s class sizes in the past several years have been very full – nearly 31 at times so it came as a surprise to me.
I could tell immediately that this was a “great” classroom. Teacher expectations had clearly been set high. The students knew what was expected and the flow of the classroom transitions was smooth. When the students arrived each morning, they immediately took out their math homework and planner page. Each student put it on the right side of the desk and then turned to the page where they’d find their morning work. Then, they would talk or head back outside until the morning bell rang. I walked around and marked their planner pages if their homework was out and finished. I also marked their planner if they had read the night before. After the morning bell rang, the students came in and immediately started on their workbook without the teacher saying a word.
Ms. Paynter was running a classroom community. She had a paper passer, table captain, line leader, etc. set up so that everyone had a responsibility. The students worked very well together.
The students in this class smiled and seemed happy to be there during the 3 weeks that I was there. It made me happy to know that their teacher is so good at what she does that the students are thriving and happy.
The management techniques used in her classroom worked well. If she was in a hurry, to get the students’ attention—she’d say “2,1.” They became quiet instantly. If she wanted them to wind down their activity and look at her—she’d say “5,4,3,2,1.” It worked like a charm.
When she was teaching a new concept she would ask partner A to tell partner B what was said and then the next time she would ask partner B to ask partner A. I liked this technique because it gave everyone a voice in a small, non-threatening way.
I enjoyed the guided reading groups and math instruction the most. It is clear that she loves books. Her guided reading was well planned and engaging activities to keep them involved in their reading. Her math lessons were great. She really knew how to break apart the lesson so the students would be successful with their homework. I also liked that she had the students write what she was teaching them in their math journals. She allowed them to use their journals if they had questions on their homework .
The technique that she used for answering questions was that the students needed to “ask three before me”. This meant they couldn’t ask her a question until they had asked 3 other students first. She said it is the only way to get to everybody with questions. She said the students usually figure it out before having to come and ask her because of the help from their classroom peers.
Overall, it was a wonderful learning experience. The students were well behaved and showed respect for me while I was there. The teacher was doing a great job and being in her classroom was an invaluable experience. I loved my field experience.

"I've got the MUSIC in me!"

Music is a great way to use repetition without it being too boring. I learned that the choice of song is very important. I liked our song, but it was difficult to teach and master in a short amount of time because there weren't repeating phrases. I would think about that before I used it in the classroom.

I will definately use music in my future classroom. I've been a primary chorister and know how much hard work it takes to keep children motivated, but I also see the results when I've done the work on my end---kids enjoy it and have fun. When I'm not prepared--they flounder.

The group project was fun. We are having a great time putting together our unit on the Civil War. The only problem with working in groups is narrowing down the ideas. Everyone has a different idea and it is hard to come to an agreement sometimes. Also, some people in the group may love music and others do not. So, it was a balancing act -- but worth it. I'll just remind my future students to be good listeners and take in the groups ideas and then cooperate the best they can. Every student should have to work in groups. It's a great teacher for future life. :)

Thanks so much for your preparation and fun music ideas. I am learning a lot from you and promise to use the arts during field and in my future teaching.

DANCE REFLECTION

WHAT: Dance/Movement with Elementary Students

So WHAT: I had a great time with this unit. I LOVED the lesson guidance last week. I would have NEVER thought to use dance for a book read. What a great concept. In the reading, I enjoyed the information on "dance being a powerful cross-curricular learning tool". I'll quote the author when he said, "as students learn dance elements they are analyzing and categorizing their own thinking". So, it will strengthen their language acquisition and writing abilities as well.

Now What: I'm going to start choosing picture books differently for my future classroom so that when it comes time to "dance" our way through a book, I'll have good resources from which to choose. Again, thank you for great instruction. I will remember to talk about space and body and time and energy with my students as well.

Processed Drama

I have never taken a drama class or anything so this was a very fun project for me. Though, I'm clearly not a professional--it was fun to try and think up ways to enhance the story dramatically.

We chose to use the book, The Quiltmaker's Gift. It is a beautiful story and it lent itself well to portraying it dramatically. We had looked at three different books, but decided that this one could be the most easily done in this lesson format.

So, we all picked the pages that we wanted to be in charge of and read through the 21 hot topics and came up with some great ideas. The aspect of our lesson that I thought came across well was the use of music to set the tone and also the props that we used throughout. We would have to change some things up if we were actually using this lesson in our own classroom because in your class, we used all of us and as a teacher, we would be on our own.

Now, I am positive that my future classroom will use processed drama as a learning tool. There are many children who do not enjoy reading--sad, but true! But, what a great way to get them thinking about the story and seeing it come to life. My husband will often have our kids role play during our family home evening lessons. We find that having them act it out is a great way to retain the information we are trying to teach.

I'm enjoying this class and appreciate all the time you put in to your lessons.

Visual Arts

I have to start my reflection off with the quote from the text, "A painter takes the sun and makes it into a yellow spot. An artist takes a yellow spot and makes it into the sun" (Picasso, pg. 141)

What: I enjoyed the visual art lesson that we had in class last week. I learned that I am better at some mediums than others. I am not very good with spacial art. I also learned from the text that visual brain receptors outnumber auditory receptors 30 to 1. It was so interesting to read that Albert Einstein rarely thought in words at all. He visualized everything.

So What: As a teacher I hope to use visual arts to make learning more fun and interesting. I was walking down the halls at my sons school yesterday and saw snowflakes made out of white string art. It was beautiful. The students had written papers and then had each made their own unique string art of a snowflake. When we heard presentations about 6 different illustrators in class this week, I was inspired by their art work. It was interesting to listen to your lecture about balance, proportion, rhythm, unity, etc. I have not taken the time to look at art work the way that I should. I enjoyed traveling around the room to the different art projects. Everyone did a great job.

Now What: As a future teacher, I'm excited to incorporate visual arts into my classroom. I enjoyed listening to the woman that spoke at the UVU Arts Conference last fall. I think her name was Mary Ellen Immordino Yang?? She said that we are inspired and awed by the arts. I really believe that. When children see beautiful art or hear music they are inspired to greatness. I want my students to be inspired to greatness! Also, in the newspaper this past week, Condoleezza Rice spoke at BYU. She said that it is important to have a well balanced education that includes elements of the arts, drama and music. She said that even when you try new things that are difficult--that self esteem comes.

Group Project: It went well. We all worked together and volunteered for assignments and it went smoothly. This is a great cohort. It was fun choosing an illustrator. Though we all had different favorites, we were able to choose Maurice Sendak and it was a lot of fun to prepare. We found a website that showed the steps of drawing characters from Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are. It was a fun rotation.

Did I Grow Up With the Arts?

What-Did I grow up with the arts? I grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada until the age of 9. We had music every day in school. We sang songs and performed dances in a musical program once a year. When I moved to Utah, we also had singing time in school and had a program at year end with some dancing as well. My middle school math teacher, Mr. Johnson used to play Dancing Queen every day while we corrected our math assignments. I learned from the chapter reading that when teachers are more creative, it helps with communication. Also, learned that four of the 8 ways of knowing are Art Domains--verbal, visual, musical and kinesthetic.

So What-I loved it! I have always enjoyed watching people perform and being involved myself. I love singing, dancing and playing the piano--though I'm just mediocre at all three. Music just makes me happy. When I think back to the teachers that I loved the most--they all used music and the arts in their classrooms. INTERESTING!!!

Now What-I hope to learn how to use the arts in a way that will inspire my students. I will incorporate the arts into my classroom NO MATTER WHAT!! If the Arts Program gets cut all the way out when I become a teacher--I will incorporate it into my classroom. I want my students to feel joy through the arts. I plan to learn from you a great deal.