Week 7
This week I chose a song to learn called “Down by the Bay”.
This song is a traditional children’s song. I chose this song because it
teaches children about rhyming. In the verse the children are prompted for a
rhyme, such as, “Did you ever see a fly - wearing a tie?” When choosing songs I
want to make sure that they are educational for my students. In my recent
practicum placement I found that Language development and music paired very
well as cross curricular connections because music helps foster a variety of
language skills. For example, in this song students are learning to hear and
produce rhymes. Therefore I want to use songs like “Down by the Bay” in my
future classroom to make cross-curricular connections whenever possible.
This week I decided to set a challenge for myself. I wanted
to play in front of other people for the first time. I had always practiced
playing my ukulele alone in my bedroom, so I decided that I should further
develop my skills by performing in front of other people. I asked some of my
friends if they would listen to me play songs. I chose “Down by the Bay” and
“Baby Beluga” because these have been my two favourite songs. I was very
nervous performing in front of other people, but my friends were very
welcoming. After a few fumbles I was able to play both songs. I’m really glad I
challenged myself. This experience made me feel more comfortable performing in
front of others. This was a good challenge for me to gain confidence in my
ukulele abilities because I want to be able to use my ukulele skills in my
future classroom one day.
Throughout this experience I have learned a lot about
playing the ukulele and music instruction but I recognize that there is so much
more to learn. I am very excited to continue my journey of implementing music
into the classroom. Thank you for reading!
Alex,
ReplyDeleteThe passion you have to learn how to play the ukulele so clearly shows in the goals that you set for yourself, the way you over came challenges, and the connections you made between education and music. Its great to see that you are not only doing this to further develop your practice as an educator, but its something that you are genuniely interested in! I really liked how you included pictures, videos on the music you were attempting to play that week, and even the connection you hope to make with your ukulene. Something I did when research my genius hour that I found extremely beneficial for my growth was look to other educators both around the world to see what they are doing in their classroom. I found that it really expanded my ideas and exposed me to a new perspective! Just something to consider. Also, you might want to consider posting a video of you playing the ukulele as a final reflection to display a final product!
Thanks for sharing your experience with me! Amazing work! I hope you are able to bring some of these ideas into the classroom this block :)