Reflection # 9 -- Music Seed Strategies

I have always loved music and it has been influential in my life. I know that I never really appreciated music time in Elementary, but as I grew older and realized what an impact it can have on learning, I wish I had payed more attention. I liked the quote in chapter 12 that stated, "Musical sounds charge the brain, stimulating whole brain involvement. Through songs and music, students increase general vocablulary, fluency, and understanding. Music develops listening skills, and listening is a main pillar of learning" (pg 309). I believe that this is so true, music helps people learn better and increases learning activity.

From the process in class I understood better the different elements of music and learned how to integrate them together. I learned about the steps a teacher should go about in teaching music to children; 1 - Whole To part 2 - Sing Not Say 3 - Listen In Many Ways 4 - Be Actively Involved. At first I thought it sounded a bit complicated and a lot of steps to do, but as we were going through the lesson it went by faster and really flowed. It was a lot of fun.

During the presentation I had a harder time, there were a couple of members of the group who it seemed like wanted to do things only their way. For example; we had activities all planned out and written up and then they got on and completly changed it. And then during the presentation it felt like they were the ones who wanted to do all the talking. I know that the presentations were short, but I still could have had more to say/do then just leading a round a couple of times through. But overall I think it went relatively smooth and I'm glad I got that done. I think part of it was due to the stress of starting field that same week.

As I prepare to become a teacher and if I want to integrate music then I should prepare myself by learning about music and finding activities and create lesson plans that use music to help teach concepts. Like certain math equations have songs that go with them to help students remember....I still remember a few, so I feel like it would be good to find and prepare things like that. I have read the text book and I liked a lot of the ideas it had.