Reflection Week # 13 - Final Field Experience

This week was a short week, but it contained our last two days of field work. Since we had finished our unit we just observed the class and helped our cooperating teacher with tasks she needed help with. There was very little art going on in the class instruction, similar to how it had been before we came. I was not surprised with the lack of art though because that seems to be the style of our teacher.

The students did get to complete on project. It was a simple project where the students were given an outline of a turkey and it's feathers. They were asked to color the turkey and the feathers and write things that they were grateful for on the feathers. They were then supposed to cut out the pieces and glue them together. As far as the Utah Core Curriculum for Art goes I felt like the activity had little purpose. It was very lacking in creativity and I felt like the majority of the students felt like it needed to look exactly like the example. Some even went so far as to copy what the example had written on its feathers. There were a couple students that took creative liberties on the project though and that was really fun to see. One student in particular took the feathers and on each drew a turkey holding up a sign, and on the sign were written various things he was thankful for. It was a very different take, and it was fun to have a window into how his mind works. This particular student was one that struggles a little in school. He is always drawing and doesn't want to have to stop to listen or do other work. He was one of the students who enjoyed this little art project the most, and I could see how doing more art would really help him show what he knows.

My field experience was a very enlightening one. I for the first time realized just how hard it is to integrate the arts into the classroom. There never seems to be enough time in the day, and it seems like it takes a lot more work to use the arts. I realized though after using the arts we did in our lessons that the arts are not something that can be removed from the classroom. It is a way to connect all of the students and a more enjoyable way for them to show what they know. The only way that art integration will become easier is by practice, so I will look for ways to teach and create lessons plans with the arts so that when I become a teacher I will have the skills I need to effectively integrate the arts.

Reflection Week #12 - Field Work 3

This week was pretty cool as far as arts in the classroom. We got to teach our lessons and we integrated the arts for two of them. It was really fun to watch how the students reacted.

For our first integration we created a song about the Native Americans. We wanted the song to be a review for the assessment we were doing the next day. We taught it to them using the Whole to Part, and they really enjoyed it! The students that aren't normally engaged really seemed to connect to the song. It was so fun to hear them singing it even after we were done, and during the assessment. It really showed me that music is a powerful learning tool. It was pretty simple creating the song, and it really inspired me to want to use that tool in my classroom.

The second lesson we did that was integrated was as a final experience. We wanted the kids to connect to the legends that Native Americans teach so we found a book called Night Dancer. It is about a spirit that plays flute music in the night and all of the animals of the desert join him in his song. We wanted to integrate drama so we played flute music in the background and had the students visualize themselves in the story. We wanted to do more dramatic activities, but there just wasn't enough time. It was harder to fully get into the drama, but the little we were able to do seemed to connect well with the students. It was a great experience, and I hope in my next field experience I will be able to continue to integrate the arts.

The chance I got to use the arts in the classroom really showed me how powerful they are. The students remember the material better, and I could tell they loved the variety it brought to their day. I loved the arts as a kid, and so it is not surprise to me that students today still love them. I really like the integration movement and can see that it will really be more beneficial then the random frilly projects I did in elementary school. I cannot wait to learn more about the arts as I prepare for my own classroom and students.

Reflection Week #11 - Field Work 2

This week in our field we were able to spent the majority of the week in the classroom. We are starting to know all of the students names and are learning more about their individual personalities. It is fun watching them as they are learning about new subjects, and seeing how they respond to the different activities the teacher has them do. The students are starting to trust us and enjoy having us in their classroom. I love listening to them tell us about their days, and getting hugs from them as we leave.

There was a substitute for two of the days we were there this week, and we learned A LOT from that experience. We weren't planning on teaching anything, but the substitute wanted our help because we had seen how Mrs. Ericksen teaches so we ended up teaching quite a few of the lessons. Our teacher left a ton of worksheets for the students to do so they wouldn't have "free time" where they could get out of control. By the end of the second day of worksheets though the students were sick of doing them and complained that they weren't really doing science. :)

We are starting our unit on Monday and I am excited to see how the students respond to the lessons we have planned. From our observations so far it doesn't seem like the arts are used very often so I am most excited to see how they respond to the lessons we have planned that incorporate that. We have an arts lesson and a dance lesson planned and hopefully they will both go smoothly.

Reflection Week #10 - Field Work 1

This week was my partner and I started our field work experience. It was so fun getting to meet the students and to be able to practice what we have been learning in our courses these past months. We are in a fourth grade classroom at Winsor Elementary school. Our teacher when we first met her stated that she isn't very creative and doesn't incorporate art very often. So far in our experience she has not used any type of art even though there are places where I think it could have been useful. One experience in particular was when the students were learning about the order of operations in math. Her students were really struggling remembering it, and I believe that if she would have used a song it would have really helped them. The class we are in is in a lower socioeconomic area so a lot of the students struggle, and I think that our cooperating teacher would really benefit from integrating arts into her curriculum. Hopefully we will be able to share some of the techniques we have learned with her.

When my partner and I introduced ourselves we decided to sing a song with the kids. It was interesting to watch their reactions. One of the students kept looking at us like we were crazy, but the majoring of the students really enjoyed the activity. We didn't have the time to teach them how to sing it well, but we did use the whole to part model and sang it for them a few times before they started joining in. I thought I would be really nervous doing it for the first time, but it really went well.

I never really realize how important it is to use the arts in the classroom. I hope that when I have my own classroom I will be able to remember the techniques I learned, and use my art journal to fully integrate the arts. I believe the benefits are incredible, and as teachers we should capitalize on those benefits. The arts put kids on a more level playing field and give them a chance to be kids. Being in the classroom this week has made me want to search continually for unique and fun ways to integrate the arts so that when I have my own classroom I will be able to use them to my student's benefit.