Reflection #4: Music

Music is an important part of the world, and it can be a really helpful tool in education.  Music makes things fun, entertaining, and it can make it easier to learn difficult subjects or a good way to memorize something (like the states).  I really liked learning about how to incorporate music into the classroom, especially with how to teach the song using the 4 rules.  I thought it was so cool that we would take about 15 minutes in our presentations and yet at the end of the day, I knew 5 new songs.  I would probably need more practice with them, but it's so cool how fast they can be learned.  I learned, from the presentation, that the best songs are short and simple.  We tried to fit a lot of information into our songs, and that made it a little more complex to teach, and to understand.  I think the more simple the better.
Now that I have learned this technique I'm going to incorporate music into my curriculum as much as I can.  I'll try to find songs, or even write songs that I can use.  I also think it would be fun to have the students write their own songs about what they are learning.  I think this can be an even more effective tool because students will have to be coming up with the information and applying what they learned to a tune.  It's important to teach music in school because music can really help the brain.  I really think that other subjects can be improved if music is taught, or at least incorporated.
As a teacher, I will prepare to use this and incorporate this into my classroom by trying to incorporate songs into my lesson plans now.  Or if I come across a song that I will be able to use in the classroom I will get a copy.


I'm glad we got to do this group project, mostly just for the experience it brought.  As a group I wish we would've spent a little more time on it, but think that overall we came up with a really cool song.  I contributed to the team by coming up with things we could do to teach the song, and how to apply the different things like sing not say, or whole to part.  I've learned that working in groups can bring lots of good ideas to the table, things that sometimes can't be thought of on your own.  I personally don't like working in groups as much as we do in most of our classes, because life is busy and it's hard to find a time to meet when everyone can.  But I think group work is very useful in elementary school if it's something done in the classroom, or for a few projects through the year.  I think it can build communication skills and help students collaborate and work with others.