Field Experience

During my field experience, we really didn't have a chance to use art in our teachings. The teacher that we were working with was the only one that didn't really do much art. She didn't emphasize anything that wasn't really graded. With the schedule that the class was on, it was very difficult to encorporate any type of art into the lessons too.

We did manage to get some visual art into one of our lesson plans. They had to read about the Bunyans and after we read it once they needed to read it again to review for the test. So we came up with an idea of how to have them listen but draw a picture of their favorite part in the book (if they wanted) or while they listened, to draw a picture of what they were visualizing while we were reading the story. Some of the pictures were very cool and interesting...

Visual Arts reflection #5

I never thought that there were so many different kinds of art. I always knew that there were many different techniques but never payed attention to them.

In class, I think that everyone had a different type of childrens art. There was paper-ripping, pencil/shading, permanent marker with water color, just water color-no previously drawn lines, ect...

We tried all of these different types of visual arts and I found that some of them were frustrating to me and others came more naturally because I was just having fun with them and not trying to hard to make them perfect.

We learned that some children don' t like art because they say that it's not how they wanted it to turn out but maybe, have learned all of these other techniques, I can introduce all of them and then the students can choose which way they want to create their visual art for a project or something.

I think that settin up different stations and letting the kids experiment with what they like best will prove to be successful. It may even allow the students to gain a better self-efficacy and believe that they can do many things just in a different way than someone else. Thus causing grades to go up or at least improve because the students will be more excited about school because they'll know that they can achieve something that they may have thought differently about before.

Reflection #4-Music and Dance...

After doing the lessons in class that incorporated music and dance, I have opened my eyes a little bit. I never thought that you could incorporate these two things in all subjects. Some of the groups came up with some very good ideas and it was fun to do, yet you still understood the concept of the curriculum that we would want to get across. It kind of gave a twist to the lesson plan or the assessment; I think that the students will enjoy doing something new and they are able to use their creativeness.

I plan to try to incorporate more of music and/or dance into my lessons. It's something new and less boring and the kids get to do what they think or feel rather than the teacher telling them what they have to do... I'm kind of excited to try to incorporate it into my teaching style/lessons. More now, after watching the other presentations, than I was before.

Reflection #3-dance

I think that dance activities in the class gives students a chance to get out of their comfort zones. Also it gives them a chance to express themselves in a way that they can't with words. They can move in ways that show emotion or whatever they're thinking about. Honestly, I'm not sure how i'll use dance in my own teaching, I guess if I come to a lesson plan that I can use something with dance or a new experience then I'll use it. I guess I'll know at that time when I'll use it or not use it. Maybe when they are researching certain cultures we can learn a dance from another country that means something... I guess you can incorporate dance into just about any lesson, you just have to be creative about it.

Reflection #2-Drama

I think that drama is a good thing to incorporate into the classroom. Especially when it's a boring subject... drama will help bring that lesson to life and make the students want to learn more about it so that they can participate in whatever activity you have planned. When I first start teaching, I think that i'll use skits most often; the students will have to know the information and then present their skit to the class... That will get them up and moving around and they'll really have to research and pay attention in class so that they can put on their skits. They may also tell a story about a person that we are learning about, they may put it into their own words and present it to the class. Drama can be used in many different ways and I'll mainly use it when I'm teaching a boring subject so that I can keep my students engaged and interested in whatever subject it may be.

Reflection #1

I have realized that you can apply art into almost any lesson that you teach. I really never thought that that was possible; it's very interesting to me because now I know that it is possible. I just thought/knew that you had to make most lessons fun or entertaining so that your students would pay attention and stay focused. I never thought that by doing that you were also encorporating arts into your lesson. I guess i just had a different perspective on what arts was. Like my idea, before this class, was that arts was about drawing pictures, makeing sculptures, doing collages. I mean i know that that's what art is, but i never thought about cooperating that into my lesson plans with something that deals with what i'm teaching... I'm not sure what else i would like to learn because i'm not sure what is out there... I'm very excited to learn more though.