Reflection on This Year

I have always been the type of person who dwells on the negatives and being a teacher often gives me many negatives to think about. Upon reflection, I was reminded of all the amazing things my students and I have accomplished this year. I am constantly striving to improve myself as a teacher and a person. It is Important to realize areas that need improvement, but I also need to celebrate the victories.  I tend to dwell on the negative while forgetting the positives. This reflection has helped me remember all the victories.

Victories this Year

1. My students put on a wonderful Christmas Musical. 

2. My 5th/6th Grade Choirs gained members second semester. 

3. Both 5th/6th and 7th/8th grade choirs improved. 

4. Students in kindergarten thru fourth grade enjoy and look forward to music class. 

5. Technology has been incorporated into music: class badges, class dojo, garage band and many other iPad apps.

6. Class Website is setup and maintained. 

7. Grade level electronic portfolios have been created (videos, pictures and audio samples). 

8. Each student has a paper portfolio. 

9. In the process of rewriting K-4 Curriculum

10. Moving towards Standards Based Grading

11. Transitioned classroom to a Love and Logic Model

Improvements I Need to Make

1. Setup means to communicate with parents better (website awareness and email). 

2. Be more proactive. 

3. Stay on top of grading

What accomplishments are you most proud of this year?

Everynote as an Assessment Tool

Two of my coworkers attended a conference on using technology in the classroom. One of the ideas they shared with me was on using Evernote as an assessment tool. At fist, I wrote this idea off and did not think it would be useful in my classroom, but I have sense changed my mind. 

I have been using Evernote for Recorder Karate Belt testing and have had great success. Finding time to test students on recorder pieces one on one has always been a struggle. Using Evernote allows me to test one student while another student records their performance into Evernote using my district assigned iPad. I still have to find time to listen to their recordings, but it allows us to get more done during class. I demonstrated with a few students which button to push and how to record (I have them say their name and the name of the piece before they perform). The students I taught have now taught other students how to use it. 

Earth Day

I first learned about Listening Walks when I took over a program where they were part of the Kindergarten Curriculum. In Alaska, my school was on miles of hiking trails, so I would go on a listening walk one day each spring with my classes. This year I decided to use it as an Earth Day activity. Although it is called a walk, we did no walking. We found a patch of grass, sat and listened.

I gave my kindergarten and first grade classes a blank piece of paper. I folded a piece of paper into 4s, copied over the creases with a marker and made copies of the paper. The directions were to draw four pictures of things they heard. With my second thru fourth graders I had them make predictions on what they thought they would hear before we went out.

I was really impressed by how quiet my younger students were able to stay. This activity was a great way to incorporate hypothesis making and art into music. It also forced the students to focus on listening, which I believe is a skill most people struggle with.

Handout for Grades 2nd-4th

Earth Day 2013
Name:
Class:

Listening Walk Directions: Include words and pictures. What you heard and what caused it.

I think I will hear?

1.


2.


3.


4.


5.


I heard_____________
Did you see it or just hear it?
1.


2.


3.


4.


5.

Why I Whine

I whine about my job because...

-I believe my students deserve the best music education possible.
-I am tired of my field being disrespected and misunderstood.
-I see the direction education is going and it worries me.
-I believe students deserve the best education possible.
-I believe there are better ways of doing things.

I realize that whining without action is a waste of time. I try to make sure I spend more time solving problems then venting about them. What issues in educations do you vent about?

My Teaching Bucket List

I have a Google Doc that lists all the things I want to accomplish, learn or places I want to visit during my lifetime. I also have a Google Doc that lists all of the things I want to accomplish and do as a teacher.

My Teacher Bucket List
1. Create my own app.
2. Earn a Masters in Music Education.
3. Be involved in advocating for my field.
4. Create a strong elementary music program that connects with a strong overall music program.
5. Build a chorus that students are proud of and want to be involved in.

5 Gut Questions

Through Twitter Chats and articles, I have found a few questions that have made me stop and reflect upon my teaching. These are gut questions and the answers can be a little disturbing if we are being honest with ourselves.

1. Would your students still come to your class if they didn't have to?
2. What will your students remember about you and your class?
3. Are your teaching ideas worth stealing?
4. What lessons are you teaching by your reactions and behaviors?
5. What is the best part of your classroom?

My Dream Classroom

Our school recently received a donation from a community organization to use for the music program. With this extra money, I have been thinking about how I want to spend it and what my dream music room would look like. I made a master plan, so I can work on purchasing materials and instruments in a logical sequence.

I am fortunate to have a useful number of instruments (small percussion and Orff), but many of these instruments are old or slightly broken. My music education philosophy is a combination of Orff and Kodaly methods, so one of my priorities is to purchase more Orff focused resources. My class sizes are between 16-25 students. I don't mind if my students partner up, so my goal is to have around 15 instruments (I would prefer for students not to share glockenspiels).

Resources
1. Mallet Madness #1
2. Mallet Madness #2
3. DRUM method

Orff Instruments
1. 2 Bass Xylophones (I have 1 good one and 1 bad one).
2. 3 Glockenspiels (I have one).
3. 2 Metalophones (I have 1 good one).
4. 5 Soprano Xylophones (I have 3 good ones).
5. 3 Alto Xylophones (I have 1 good one).

Technology
-I currently use a desktop computer, large monitor and an iPad.
1. Reflector App (This was just installed on my computer and we love it!)

African Drums
-The school already has Remo Children's Drum when I came, so I am going to continue buying these. I teach K-4, so the smaller drums work well and I have limited storage space.


Recorders
1. Enough classroom recorders for all 3rd and 4th grade students (right now I am 3 recorders short of this goal).
2. Enough recorders for all 3rd and 4th grade students so each student can barrow and take one home. Right now students can buy one to take home, but not all students do. Lending recorders would eliminate the issue of not having a recorder a home. This would enable all my students to have the opportunity to practice at home.

Are there any books, resources or instruments you would recommend? What items are part of your dream classroom?

I Spy

During First Grade Music we have been working on reading basic rhythms using ta's, quarter rest, ti-it's, and ta-a's. I have started playing I Spy with my Kindergarten Classes as a tool to get them to line up quietly. I tried using it in First grade and it went over very well.

I put four Rhythm Flashcards on the board. I chanted one of the rhythms and the students had to identify the rhythm. "I spy a pattern that sounds like this..."

The students loved being able to identify the rhythms and it gave me a chance to do a quick individual assessment of their rhythm reading skills. I want to incorporate this same idea with my other classes using rhythm patterns and Solfege patterns.

What it Takes to be Great

As an educator, I feel it is my duty to watch movies about education. I have by no means seen them all, but I have seen a lot of them. I have also read many books about different teachers.

As I reflect on these movies and books, I believe there is one common thread that is similar to all of these great teachers that are depicted in these movies/books. All of these great teachers have positive relationships with their students. These relationships are built on trust and respect and they create an atmosphere where students feel respected and safe. People will work very hard when they feel this way.

Successful schools are built on these positive relationships between students and teachers/staff. I have not heard of one school that is successful because of the technology, programs or curriculum they use. These are all contributing factors for success, but the most important one is relationships. Negative relationships make learning very difficult.

We need to focus on our relationships with our students and make it a goal to great a positive environment.

One Liners

The book Teaching with Love and Logic includes many suggestions for quick interventions to common classroom issues. Here are the ones I currently use in my classroom. It is Important that all interventions are given with empathy, don't interfere with teaching, force the child to do the thinking and prevent a power struggle.

Problem: Tattling
Response: Don't you hate when that happens?

Problem: Student is displaying behavior that is incorrect for the setting. (My kids love to spin on the floor.)
Response: Can you please save that for ___________?

Problem: Student is not participating or displaying an unwanted behavior.
Response: You know I care about you right? Do you think I should let you get away with ______?

Problem: Student is causing a disruption.
Response: You know, I have a really hard time teaching when you do that. You have probably notice that I do a bad job when I am distracted. Do you think you could stop ________ for me?

Problem: Student is not telling the truth or is too upset to discuss the situation.
Response: I will be glad to listen when you are ready to tell me what really happened. (The minute they start blaming others, I repeat itand walk away. I go and work and give them a few moments to think. Sometimes this has to happen over many tries and can last for a while.)