March 15- DANCE

My nephew Vincent on left and my son Ethan on right. This was in December 2010 at his Hip Hop performance. I thought it fit perfectly for my dance reflection!

Dance was so much fun. I have a hard time being serious when dancing in class though. I feel a little silly. After more practice and performing hopefully I will feel more comfortable. It makes sense to integrate dance into curriculum. Why not? Students can get their excessive energy out, be creative, and learn about a specific genre.

I love flocking, shadowing, and creating dance moves on the spot. I've never realized how many movement words are found in books. I will definitely change my perception when reading books from now on. It is amazing how many adaptations you can make with books incorporating drama, music, visual arts, and dance.

As with the other art forms, there are specific elements and principles for dance.

Elements are simple to remember, just remember BEST!

B-Body: parts, shapes, actions

E-Energy: attack, flow, strength, weight

S-Space: size, level, focus, place, direction, pathway

T-Time: speed, duration, accent, rhythm, phrases

Principles include balance, repetition, patterns, unity, transitions, variety, and contrast.

It has been a lot of fun working with different people and groups. I haven't run into any major problems with group members. I think communication is key and talking frequently about our parts and having time to review and practice with each other I like having all the mini lessons, it is fun seeing what everyone else comes up with. It sure is nice to look up the full lesson plan on Dr. Escalante's course website afterwards. What great resources for us to use in our future classrooms.

March 2, 2011- MUSIC

"The hills are alive.... with the sound of music."

I have some great music ideas I've learned in class to incorporate into my future classroom. I am so excited to share one of them. But first, let me tell you about the basic elements found in music.

• Pitch: The highness or lowness of a sound.
• Duration: How long of a sound or how long of the silence.
• Dynamics: The volume or attack
• Timbre: The quality of sound.
• Form: Patterns and structure in the music.

For Elementary School we will focus on:

Sing Play Listen Create

Read and Write Learn from Times and Culture

Okay, here is a fun Syllable Game!

First, you choose a volunteer to go out of the room. The rest of the class sit in a circle and choose a word with 3-4 syllables. For example: elephant, avocado, sympathy, etc. Then divide the circle in 3-4 groups (depending on number of syllables of the particular word). For example: A-VO-CA-DO. Now, invite the volunteer to come back in. To the tune of Row, Row, Row your boat song, everyone sings their particular sound. For example: "A" group would sing "Awe, Awe, Awe, ..." and th "VO" group would sing "Voe, Voe, Voe....." It is important that the students sing their sound correctly. While the singing is happening, the volunteer will walk around the circle and try to put the word together. This game is great for teaching language arts when learning how to split up syllables!

There are 7 Habits of Highly Effective Singing.

1. Body-Braindance
2. Breath- Low and expansive
3. Vocal Play- Games and stories (Mr. Wiggle and Mr. Waggle)
4. One Pitch- Match "la, la, la, la, la, la laaa" to either high or low pitch
5. Two Pitches- Match 2 "la ...laas" to high and low pitches
6. Phrase- La, la, la.
7. Words- Add to phrase

There are 4 Basic Compatible Rules.

1. Whole to Part
2. Sing not Say
3. Listen in many ways
4. Be actively involved