#12- LAST LESSON

State Standards and Objectives

Standard 3 Objective 1d: Create together a new song. As a class choose the subject, compose the verse. Consider solo/chorus for the structure. Decide what volume, timbres, and tempo to use.

Learning Objectives

·      Students will come up with the Libretto for the fourth line of their opera.

·      Students will learn that we can write music down on a musical staff. They will learn to draw a treble clef sign and they will determine whether notes are going higher or lower on the staff.

Lesson

            Today was my final lesson! I cannot believe how fast it has gone by and how much I have enjoyed being with this class. They have been so much fun working with!

            I started off playing a version of the “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” game that Jane had given me. I had one child go outside of the room while another child hid a small stuffed snowman I had brought. When the child came back in, we sang “Once there was a Snowman, singing softly when they were far away, and singing louder as they got closer. The children LOVED the game and begged to play it longer.

            We then discussed their libretto and began thinking of more they could add to the last part. By the end we had multiple good ideas. At one point, the children became rather restless and I could tell I was loosing their attention. I had them all come sit on the rug where we continued our discussion. They are always more engaged when we sit on the rug. Also, from my past experiences, I made sure to hold the big notebook in a way that all of the children could see what I was writing. This proved to be much more effective as they could remember their ideas and build off of them.

            I had hoped to talk to them about the Grand Staff and have them write down some of their songs, but we did not end up having enough time. While I did not get to everything in my lesson plan, today was one of the most productive libretto writing days. They had so many good ideas, and we got a lot done.

Reflection

           

            I cannot believe that my time with Mr. Knight’s class is over! The children have amazed me with their ingenuity and creativity. I have also been impressed with their willingness to share and give ideas. I have personally learned many valuable lessons about classroom management and teaching to the children’s interest. If I were to do it over again I would add two activities. First, I would make time to teach them about the Grand Staff and let them write a few songs. I think this would have been a perfect way to teach them musical skills and apply it what they were already doing; it would have been an effective hands on way of teaching. Second, I would have an exploratory assignment where I brought in short stories that mentioned living and non-living things. I think this would have helped them better understand story structure and come up with good ideas for their opera.