1st week

The students started the class by playing recorder. They also had time to learn about flute instrument. After, I taught a new game song called “Sansa Kroma”. This was my favorite game since I learned it from school. Even though it looked very simple, this was actually the first time I had a chance to teach a NEW SONG. That meant I had to pay more attention on the kids just to learn the song. I routinely started to sing the song and try to teach the game rule. That was my big mistake. First of all, I really needed to teach the pronunciation of each word since the language came from Africa. After I noticed it from a teacher, I explained how they would go about playing this game. After the class, the teacher proposed to me that when dealing with young kids, I should break down every step I need to teach them. That was a good experience for me to realize how to process teaching

Unlike the last week, teachers and I went into their classroom. That was the kids’ lunchtime. It was great for me to be there since I could watch for each individual closely and get to know them while helping as they ate their meals. The classroom was pretty nice and big enough for them get reach to all the stuff. I could see the picture of the students with names in the center attached to the blackboard. It is very hard for me to memorize names of people, but I thought the best way to be able to know the kids well is to know their names. So I tried to match their faces and names. After finishing with having lunch, the children started to sit on the rug and started reading books. After a while, we continued to read for the kids the book “Follow the drinking gourd” with the addition of music. I think this book is great for any grade in elementary school because children can think throughout the book with a historical background. Surprisingly, they got to understand the lyrics for the song by reading the book even though they were still young. We also had fun while freeze dance. I think it can be a good transition as well as letting them relaxed.

At the start of the class the teacher wanted to express the different cultures, and asked the students to come up with “hello” of different languages that were taught previously to them. The song “This land is your land” involves different hand motions that seemed to help the children remember the lyrics better. The song “Che Che Koole” which I taught the students, gave them the chance to understand about previous knowledge. There are many kids that had learned this song since preschool and helped the rest of the students to follow and enjoy the song better. Parade of wooden soldiers is performed by the students using different percussion instruments, where they have to follow a couple of different specific patterns that they listen beforehand. This activity allows the students to learn better about the lyrics. Since the students are first graders they learn more by listening to the rhythms rather than by seeing notes or music books. At times when the teacher is explaining an activity, I have noticed that there is always a bunch of students who do not pay attention. I have realized that I need to find ways to take control and allow these students to respect music and engage in the activities.