First day of teaching
Grand summary: I was pleased with my music classes, drama club was exciting but a bit hectic at times, and I was least satisfied with choir but it was ok.
Now, a paragraph on each:
In my music classes, I gave a grand overview of the entire period by putting up things on the time line and listening to little music samples. The kids were very excited to participate with putting things on the time line, and they were also good listeners to the music. It was especially fun to see their reaction to my madrigal sample! They thought the 'fa la la's were hilarious! The first class I had was rather challenging - 17 kids, with a high percentage of boys. But the other classes were more manageable - one of 9 kids and one with 11.
In the drama club, I told them the story of the Light Princess, then, to get the idea of weightlessness, I had them play with balloons, and then we read a portion of the script aloud. A couple problems I came across: I had the idea of carefully observing the balloons and then trying to imitate that as a 'light' princess, but the combination of kids with balloons was anything but 'careful' and 'observing'. I dunno, maybe they absorbed somethings unconsciously, but on the surface it looked like mass chaos, even when I tried to impose some order. Hm. Another problem I encountered with reading the script: three of the kids needed the lines read aloud to them because of low reading abilities. So a practice recording will be really necessary, I think. But the biggest 'problem' is that I got two extra kids! This isn't a problem per se, but it means I need to a) readjust the script for 8 parts, or b) double-cast it, or c) some combination of the two. Sigh.
I also got one other kids in choir, which brings the total to 5. I really had hoped to do more singing and less talking, but alas, I'm not skilled enough to explain what I want in few words. When introducing a piece, where's the balance between learning by rote (unhealthy) and learning through modeling (healthy)? I wish I knew. Also, I don''t think it helps to have it at the end of a teaching day: the youngest little boy started complaining of tiredness during drama club, and so was draggy through all of choir.
So there you have it! One highlight before I go: at lunch, a little eight-year-old ran up to me and said, "Don't tell any of the other teachers, but," whispering in my ear, "you're my favorite teacher at Artios!"
From the Archives: Sept. 7th, 2008
Now, a paragraph on each:
In my music classes, I gave a grand overview of the entire period by putting up things on the time line and listening to little music samples. The kids were very excited to participate with putting things on the time line, and they were also good listeners to the music. It was especially fun to see their reaction to my madrigal sample! They thought the 'fa la la's were hilarious! The first class I had was rather challenging - 17 kids, with a high percentage of boys. But the other classes were more manageable - one of 9 kids and one with 11.
In the drama club, I told them the story of the Light Princess, then, to get the idea of weightlessness, I had them play with balloons, and then we read a portion of the script aloud. A couple problems I came across: I had the idea of carefully observing the balloons and then trying to imitate that as a 'light' princess, but the combination of kids with balloons was anything but 'careful' and 'observing'. I dunno, maybe they absorbed somethings unconsciously, but on the surface it looked like mass chaos, even when I tried to impose some order. Hm. Another problem I encountered with reading the script: three of the kids needed the lines read aloud to them because of low reading abilities. So a practice recording will be really necessary, I think. But the biggest 'problem' is that I got two extra kids! This isn't a problem per se, but it means I need to a) readjust the script for 8 parts, or b) double-cast it, or c) some combination of the two. Sigh.
I also got one other kids in choir, which brings the total to 5. I really had hoped to do more singing and less talking, but alas, I'm not skilled enough to explain what I want in few words. When introducing a piece, where's the balance between learning by rote (unhealthy) and learning through modeling (healthy)? I wish I knew. Also, I don''t think it helps to have it at the end of a teaching day: the youngest little boy started complaining of tiredness during drama club, and so was draggy through all of choir.
So there you have it! One highlight before I go: at lunch, a little eight-year-old ran up to me and said, "Don't tell any of the other teachers, but," whispering in my ear, "you're my favorite teacher at Artios!"
From the Archives: Sept. 7th, 2008
posted by Adelle at
8:23 PM
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