I cannot believe this is my final blog post for LSKM and that we are almost done with this year.

I really enjoyed this module and I really gained a lot of knowledge with regards to music within the education system. I learned so much and how important it is to implement music in the foundation phase curriculum.

I didn’t manage to comment on the individual blogs, but I did read my groups individual blogs and it helped me to reflect on each study unit and think a little bit further.

What I found most challenging in this module was to think of new ways to use music concepts in games and make it fun for learner, as I am not strong musically, but the lecturer helped and guided us so nicely through everything.

I understood most of the study units and the lecturer did a great job explaining them to us and the thing that we might not understand.

In this module I found most of the information useful and will be able to use it in my future career as a teacher. Everything covered in this module was in my opinion very meaningful, helpful and valuable, to assist me in my future career.

This week I’m doing well. Things at work are busy but I’m managing everything between my studies, work and extra-curricular activities.

Music activities for various lesson phases, the flow of a music lesson and assessment, how to incorporate games, arts and movement integration strategies, assessment strategies, various teaching methods for presenting and planning a music lesson and learning activities which promote active engagement, collaborative and exploration learning. Basic principles for planning a non-music lesson or music lesson with music activities, transformation through music education, characteristics of a well-planned music lesson. Music lessons about music elements and concepts, music lessons about the expressive qualities of music, music lessons about different music styles: Introduction, Teaching and learning phase, conclusion and assessment.

I feel that this study unit gave me a lot of useful information that I can make use of one day in my own classroom. It gave me information regarding the presenting and planning of a lesson, assessment, us of games and teaching and learning.

The new HOD does not emphasise or prioritise the assessment of music activities to any degree. “Assessment in the arts is often overlooked or avoided in the early childhood years because it appears to be incompatible with a child-centered, process-oriented philosophy which is characteristic of education for young children”.

Assessment is there for teachers to monitor learner progress and to see if the learners achieved the aim of the lesson. Remedial strategies and monitor progress, identify concepts/skills that need to be improved on, without this teachers and learners would not be able to identify issues or improve where it is needed. Assessment can also be used as an assistant tool for the learning process and as a means through which learners can reflect on their own learning.

This week is the start of a new term and it is already busy but I'm ready for this term.

I think that art integration in the foundation phase is very important. Foundation phase learners have a natural love for music and movement and this creates the perfect opportunity to add elements of exploration and discovering fun and play within the classroom. By integrating art activities the learners will develop problem solving and critical thinking skills, they experience personal and social wellbeing and their love for music, movement and arts are enhanced.

What I found most interesting in Study Unit 4 is the strategies that is used to include music in your daily program. I found this interesting because I don't have any musical background and the strategies gives me some ideas on how to incorporate music and art in my daily class routine. RIt is found that learners can achieve higher levels of achievement through their engagement with arts. Learning arts can build a bridge to a better learning experience for young learners from disadvantaged circumstances.

This week was one of my toughest week, it was just feeling if everything thing is happening all at once. Studies, working and managing extra-curricular activities was hard this week.

In this study unit I learned how important it is to combine play into music activities and how to integrate specific aspects of play into these music activities. I learned that through participation in play activities in the classroom it creates different opportunities for the learner, for example, they have the opportunity to master different ideas, social, intellectual and physical abilities. I also learned the importance of musical play in multicultural classrooms, many forms of musical games, play characteristics, the function of musical play, and the importance of play for overall development.

I feel that the content I have learned in the study unit can be used in the future when I have my own class.

I think that some learner my feel uncomfortable because they all come from different backgrounds and they don’t all know Zulu, which will lead to learners being unable to sing along and move along with the song.

I think that this issue can be addressed in the future in the following manners. Firstly I think that the teacher should give the learners the background of the song so that they understand where it comes from. Secondly I think that they can give the learners bilingual lyrics of the songs so that everyone knows what the words of the song are and mean. With regards to dancing, I think that the class should be divided into smaller groups; the children can choose their own groups along with friends they feel comfortable with, this will ensure that children are confortable and encourage then to dance along.

We can accommodate diverse learner profiles in the following way. The teacher can give more than one activity to the learners so that they can choose the one they feel most comfortable with, this will ensure that you accommodate almost all the learners. Lastly, teacher should be aware of the different cultural background within the class to ensure that they don’t offend or exclude any learner during the class or activity.

I am a little overwhelmed with the all the studies this week and arranging a wedding.

While working through Study unit 2, I learned so much and realised that this module can really be enjoyable, and everything in this unit was absolutely new to me. I loved everything, from the music concepts to the activities. I learned why we move with the beat of the music and how we start to move without even noticing it.

As a foundation phase teacher I would definitely choose contemporary commercial music because it is something that all the learners would be comfortable with because there is a variety and learners enjoy music that they are familiar with.  Another reason is because all the music is included from being popular to music in movies or commercials. I choose this because this is something that all the learners would know, for example it would be something that they already know from a movie or a commercial.

I do think that the content and examples in study unit 2 is inclusive, it included everything that we need to watch out for and made us aware of the elements in music. 

Personally I do not feel that there must be any changes in study unit 2 because everything was perfectly laid out and well taught. In my opinion I feel that the content of this study unit actually prepared me for my teaching practice and also for when I want to become a teacher one day.

Good day!

My name is Sarina Matthee and I am 26 years old. I am living in Pretoria and is working as a class assistant in a Grade 2 class. I like to hike and spend time with friends and family. 

I completed my Bcom degree in 2016 and worked in exports for 3 years. I then decided to follow my dream of becoming a teacher and started my studies again.

I am excited for this module to help me understand and incorporate arts and music in my lessons and the improvement it will have on my lesson outcomes at the end. I feel that so learner can express themselves more easily in this manner.