Musical Minds: Music Ed. Student Teaching Blog

 I do not communicate with parents myself, all communication comes through my CT. I did create a poster to send to families via the school's communication app. I just gave details about what a student teacher does, a few fun facts about myself, and a picture of myself.

 I ask my CT for feedback frequently. Most of the feedback I ask for are her thoughts on lesson difficulty based on grade level. She knows her students more than I do, so sometimes I plan something that is too easy or too difficult for a certain class. This was very important in the beginning of my placement, and now I feel more confident in making lessons fit each class. I also ask her for feedback on how I can do things more efficiently, for example my first lesson took a longer time than expected because I passed out instruments myself. She suggested to set out groups of instruments and ask the students to grab the instruments themselves. I take the feedback that my CT gives me, and I apply that feedback to each lesson after. Over time, I feel more confident in my teaching and lesson planning abilities.

Being the music teacher and seeing every student in the school means that I am differentiating my instruction every time a new class walks into the room! Not every class is the same, even within the same grade. I taught 4th grade a game called "Pass The Beat". We stand in a circle, and each student says one word of this phrase: "Pass the beat around the room." and the last student puts their hands on their shoulders to signify a rest. There are more difficult levels of the game, where more words are replaced with rests. My first class could do the original version perfectly, so I moved on to two rests. They had trouble keeping up with two rests, so we moved onto a backup activity. My second class could barely get through the first version of the game, so we spent most of class playing the backup activity. My third class played the game the entire time. They made it to three additional rests, and they did not play the backup activity. I have a fourth class coming in ...

I have fully stepped out of my comfort zone with this placement! I have never taught in an elementary setting before, so I have been learning something new every day. I knew that I needed this experience before I graduated, so there is no time like the present to try something new. In my first week, I taught certain parts of each class. Mostly I read books. I learned each class's hello song and the school song, which is sung at the beginning of every class.  This week I have taught full 2nd grade and 1st grade classes. I am still getting comfortable with singing confidently- I am an instrumental major, so I am not the most confident singer. However, a little girl did say my singing voice was pretty, so I felt like I had won a Grammy for the rest of the day. I will add Kindergarten to my teaching rotation soon, then 3rd and 4th grade for a full-time teaching schedule.

Week one was a blur!  My school operates on an eight-day rotation, but specials operate on a four-day rotation. In the first four days of classes, I saw EVERY STUDENT in grades K-4th. I am still working on names, but every class has its own personality for sure. My favorite grade so far has been Kindergarten! They are so amazed by everything, and it is refreshing to see that excitement and exploration in the music room. Especially after being in high school and middle school band rooms where competition and accuracy are the main focus. Elementary students love music because music is fun! On a one-on-one level, I have connected with a few students. One kindergartener was having a really hard first day, so I sat with him during music class. His goal for the week was to keep a calm body and stay in the classroom, but he was not expected to participate. By the end of the week, he actually picked up an instrument!