Monday, Sept.

13:

I observed a beginning fifth-grade strings class. They were learning the names of the
open strings (C, G, D, A, and E, depending on the instrument). The teacher reminded them
about how to play the instrument properly, according to the instrument, and how to play with
correct posture. The teacher would ask a student to show the correct posture, and, if the student
did not understand, the teacher would remind them by modeling the posture.

The teacher also uses a sound of rhythms to keep the students on task. The rhythm
would just be a noise made with the mouth. She requires them to repeat the rhythm in the same
tempo. For students that had difficulty producing the sound, the teacher could have them clap
the same rhythm or tap it with a pencil. She also has a daily rhythm assignment that she gives
out every morning, and the students complete it by themselves at their own pace. She collects
them at the end of the class, and it helps her track the student’s progress in her class. She also
has a wall hanger folder that has extra books that students can grab if they forget to bring theirs.

At the end of class, we talked and the teacher said there were no students with IEPs in
the class. The students could have a 504 plan, which would be non-legally binding, especially if
the students don’t need as much structure every day.

Wednesday, Sept. 15:

I observed two band classes (beginning and intermediate) along with a beginning strings
class. In the band class, one of the students seems to get distracted easily. The teacher told me
to help these students keep where they were at in the music. I would point to the measures and
help them figure out where the notes were on their instrument. I would ask what notes they were
playing, and then the student would show where the notes were on the instrument. If I had not
been there to help the student, the teacher could have called out the name of the notes they
were playing or played the notes beside them, instead of across the room.
The teacher had to tell this student multiple times which line they were playing. At the
end of the class, the teacher reminded the student to turn in the daily rhythms. In the
intermediate class, the students played a piece called “Sakura Sakura”. It is a Japanese folk
song, and they learned about what it meant. I think the students would have greatly benefited
from learning about why those specific harmonies were used because they were struggling with
not playing each other's melodies and harmonies.

In the strings class, I observed the students and the teacher. I played cello to help the
cellists correct their posture, through modeling. This helped the students because it showed
them how to correctly hold their instruments when they were playing. It was a way to give a
formative assessment with immediate feedback.

Monday, Sept. 20:

 I helped, in the beginning-band class, the students in the percussion (one of which was
easily distracted) section keep a steady tempo when the other students were playing high-low-
highs. I would help the student by counting and clapping the tempo. This seemed to help them
keep on task, and have a steady tempo. The student would also constantly ask if they could
play while the other students were doing something different. The teacher would ask them to
play specific notes that harmonized what the other students were playing. It gave them an
assignment that kept them busy. I think this helped the student because it gave them something
to do. It prevented them from interrupting the class with multiple questions.

In the intermediate band class, one student was having trouble remembering the
fingerings of their notes. The teacher knew it was happening, but I do not think they wanted to
embarrass them by calling them out, so they talked to them at the end of the class about coming
in before school to get help. The student had been silently fingering the notes, trying to
remember them. The teacher occasionally showed the fingerings of a clarinet part on flute, and I
think it would have helped the other student to have been able to see the fingerings also.

In the strings class, the teacher had made up a chant that helped the students
remember their correct posture. “Face front, straight back, feet flat, sitting on the chair. Huh!”
They thought this was very funny, and it got them moving in a steady tempo to be ready to play.
The teacher had them repeat this every time they started using incorrect posture.

Wednesday, Sept. 22:

In the intermediate band class, the student who needed help with fingerings came in on
this day, and they could remember some of the fingerings. They played some of the notes in the
class, instead of just fingering them. They still had some difficulty, but it was an improvement
from the class before. The piece of music they were playing was approximately ten measures
long. The student could silently finger about two to three of the notes, but they could not play
them. During the next class, the student could play about half of the notes. The teacher praised
them afterward.

In the strings class, they started learning how to use the bow. The teacher had them call
out the names of the parts of the bow while pointing to them. It was an interactive activity that
kept them focused.

Thursday, Sept. 23:

I observed two intermediate strings classes. The students repeated the “master of the
alphabet” game while tapping their hands to keep a correct tempo, just like in the beginning
strings class. They also sped up the tempo. This created a scaffolded learning activity because
it built on their prior knowledge of the musicians’ alphabet. The teacher could listen and watch
the students make sure they were mastering the alphabet. If they did not, the teacher would
slow down the tempo again.
 One of the students in the second class refused to play notes except for one. They knew
the notes because they had previously learned on another instrument, but when they picked up
this instrument they would not play them, even though the student may have played it before. It
was unclear if the student had played another instrument, or if they had transferred from another
school. The teacher would ask them questions, to make sure they understood. The student
understood what was going, but refused to do the tasks. It was not a distraction to the other
students, but I think it frustrated the teacher because the student’s education was not being
improved. The teacher is having me give them occasional private lessons when I can be there
since they play my primary instrument.

Sept. 24th-Oct. 8th:

My CT has had to move one of the student's seating placement because they would
constantly talk during class. After moving the student’s seat, interruption has lessened, and the
student is paying attention more.
In the strings class one day, the students would not stop interrupting, so my CT stood at
the front of the class until they stopped talking. After they stopped talking my CT said that they
would not be able to teach unless the students stopped talking. My CT was firm with the
directions given, and the students have stopped interrupting ever since.
Occasionally, my CT will bring in another teacher, from a different school, to help a
specific group of students in the band class. The other teacher will help the students with
fingerings while playing with them, so they can stay on track during class and have a better
learning experience.

Wednesday, Oct. 13th:

The students were all given an end-of-the-unit assessment today. The assessment
consisted of all of the rhythms they had learned throughout the unit during their daily rhythm
assignment. They had to count the rhythm. After they finished the exam, my CT assessed them
after class in order to decide which rhythm concepts still needed to be reviewed in the next unit.

Wednesday, Oct. 20th:

The students reviewed the rhythms on the exam, and my CT asked the students to explain why
certain rhythms were counted in a certain way.

Thursday, Oct. 21st:

I observed and played with two intermediate orchestra classes today. In the first class,
the students did not tune, they were told to immediately take out their instruments and start
playing because the class was shorter (early release day). One of the students I was sitting
beside constantly played out of turn in pieces, and they did not count the rests even though my
cooperating teacher went over how long they needed to rest between playing sections.
 In the second class, one of the students did not want to play correct notes. They only
wanted to play one note. My cooperating teacher had me give this student a private lesson, and
I realized that the student was bored during the class. They wanted to play. They understood
the concepts, but they did not want to continue working on those concepts because they were
frustrated that the exercises were being repeated continuously. This student has a lot of
potentials to be able to play their instrument, and they are really smart. As teachers, when we
have a student like, we need to be able to pique their interest by giving them out-of-box ways
(extensions) to participate, all while learning the same concepts.

Friday, Oct. 22nd:

I observed two band classes today. In the first band class, one of the students was
constantly putting up their instrument, and my cooperating teacher would tell them to take it
back out. This upset my CT because they were not following the rules. My CT stood beside
them to keep them on task and participating. Instead of getting angry at the student, my CT had
them participate while she was standing beside them. They also talked about how the student
was being graded on participation in class. This helped the student understand why it was so
important for them to participate in class.