4th week

Reflection on teaching for Kindergarten last week

While preparing the lesson plans for kindergarten music class last week, I had some difficulties gathering the repertoires that had the relevancy to the objective and level of the children. Whenever I look for songs for the class, I tend to think about the children and how easily they can sing with me. In that way they can find joy as well as they can learn. Once I get a theme for the lessons, I thought about how to make connections between each activity. For example, which songs might be good for the beginning of the class, how can I extend from one song to another, When do I use books, is it better for them to sit in a circle, what will I do(say) during transition and so forth.

After I presented my lesson plan in class, I thought about a couple of things I needed to be more aware of when teaching the kindergarten class. First of all, I need the students to get more involved in the lessons. I think this relates to making sure that every student understands what I am trying to explain for the lesson. Some students might have heard or sung some of the songs before so they participate more actively, however on the other hand, it takes some time for the other students to learn the songs. When students are noisy or they don’t seem to get the lesson, I need to remind them by asking the students about their understanding in the particular lesson.

Secondly, I should be more specific and clear in every activity. When I asked the students to listen to the music, instead of just letting them listen passively, give them an objective, which will help them listen effectively so that they can verbalize better about what they perceived and experienced whiled listening.

Third, I think it could be a very efficient way to summarize the lesson or ask them at the end to talk about what we have done during the class. I believe it may help them remember better next time by reviewing right after the class. Another thing I experienced through teaching is to be more open and honest. Whenever children ask about something I haven’t thought about before or they respond to me in a way I didn’t expect, I tend to be embarrassed.

Lastly and more importantly to me, I need to speak much louder and slowly. When I was performing in the past, I did not pay too much attention on how I would present music because there was a medium such as the piano. But for teachers who convey their ideas and plans through articulating their own voices, it is required for me to organize my thoughts and express it clearly so that I can communicate better with children.

I have found that trying to think about the lesson and the students at all times is very complicated and hard. Much practice and thought about the lesson plans must be given before starting the class so that I can be mentally prepared to deal with teaching the students.