Sept 19 Reflection

The tour of the YETC was an eye opener to all of the resources there are for teachers and for USU students. There are so many websites that teachers can have access to for the classrooms. I loved google earth too. I saw the front of my parents house! It was exciting. I think that all of the media they have at the YETC is amazing. I hope to go in and learn more about it and actually use it. It was very informational and intruiging.

Lesson Plan

Musical Feelings

Summary: Music activities help students express and understand their feelings.
Main Curriculum Tie:

1st Grade - Content
Standard 1 Objective 3
Develop and use skills to communicate ideas, information, and feelings.

Moody Music
Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons”

Paper

Crayons

Pencils

Index cards

CD Player

Background for teachers
Students need to be exposed to a variety of music genres. Many classical pieces have been composed to portray a certain message and Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” is a good example of this. His music depicts the four seasons, Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall. Teach song "Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall" or "Seasons of the Year."

Intended Learning Outcomes:1. Communicate clearly in oral, artistic, written, and nonverbal form.

Moody Music

1.Divide students into groups of four.

2.Discuss with your class how music is composed to portray a certain message and makes us feel certain moods or feelings.

2.Introduce your students to Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons.” Discuss how the music was written to make listeners feel and imagine what each season is like.

3.Play one of the seasons and have students draw pictures of that season. Remind them to think of what activities they participate in during the seasons.

4. On the back of their paper, have students write about their season and then share it with thier

5. Repeat this activity with all the seasons, creating a season book. Each child will have created four pages and it is then put into a book. They will each have their own book that they can share with others.

6. Have one student from each group share their books with the class.

7.Teach songs "Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall" or "Seasons of the Year."

8.Students can pick their favorite season. Give them each a 3x5 card and have them draw their favorite thing that reminds them of the season and then place it on a graph that the whole class can see. The graph can be made out of butcher paper or a pocket chart that is labeled with all the seasons at the bottom. As a class, compare and contrast it.

Assessment: Play one of Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” and have the students identify which season it is.
lesson plan from http://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/preview.cgi?LPid=21433 with changes.

Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall
(to the tune of "This Old Man")
Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall
There are seasons, four in all.Weather changes, sun and rain and snow,
Leaves fall down and flowers grow.Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall
There are seasons, four in all.Look outside and you will see
Just what season it will be!
http://www.canteach.ca/elementary/songspoems64.html

Seasons of the Year
(to the tune of "Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush")

CHORUS:Here we go round the year again,
The year again, the year again.
Here we go round the year again,
To greet the different seasons.

Wintertime is time for snow.
To the south, the birds will go.
It's too cold for plants to grow
Because it is the winter.

Here we go round the year again,
The year again, the year again.
Here we go round the year again,
To greet the different seasons.

In the springtime, days grow warm.
On the plants, the new buds form.
Bees and bugs come out to swarm
Because it is the spring.

CHORUS

In summertime, the days are hot.
Ice cold drinks I drink a lot!
At the beach, I've got a spot
Because it is the summer.

CHORUS

Fall is here, the air is cool.
Days are short, it's back to school.
Raking leaves is now the rule
Because it is autumn.

CHORUS

Meish Goldish
http://www.canteach.ca/elementary/songspoems64.html

Sept 12 Reflection

Well friday's class was pretty cool. I am really excited about the UEN website. I think it is an incredible resource for teachers. I cannot believe how much is on there and I think its a great way to share lesson plans with others. That is really important to have access to. I also thought the presentations in class were really good and interesting. There is so much technology out there and I think that children should learn to use it and I am glad that everyone is learning. I think that it is also important to limit time if it is becoming an issue, especially in families. But I definintely think that amazing things are being done in classrooms and should continue to happen.

Reflection from today

Today I realized how really easy it is to create your own blog. I'm glad that this class isn't technology overload by any means, but we are still learning things that will be useful in the future. I am glad that we are learning how to use macs and that we talked about wiki and learned about blogging. You can share so much information that way, its pretty cool. I don't know how blogging will directly influence my teaching but learning new things seem to end up having relevance in your life somewhere. If anything, this me helps realize there is so much you can do with technology. Being more comfortable in utilizing technology now will make me more confident in teaching my students in the future. There are so many things you can do with it all in a classroom, its amazing.

Blog

This is the first blog I have created, and its kind of fun!