I honestly did not know what to expect from this module. It surprised me how much I enjoyed it. It was very interesting to see how important music and arts are and all the fun ways to incorporate it in day to day activities in the classroom. I found it challenging to know what type of music and activities are appropriate for which grades. I will most definitely incorporate music and arts into my lesson plans. Overall the module's framework was precise and in order. All dates and assignments were explained completely. I really enjoyed this module. 

Study Unit 5 

Second last entry, almost done.

I think that most teachers do not have the knowledge and interest to fully use music to their advantage in the classroom. And they do not know how to assess the music activities and rather than finding out they just decide to leave it out. Or the teacher does not like arts or music and then neglect it. I think schools can have a course where teachers learn how to incorporate music and arts and how to assess is.

Hey guys. We are almost at the end.

I strongly disagree with people who think that arts integration is a waste of time. All students are unique which in turn means that they do not all take in information in the same way. By integrating different art you can teach concepts to children in a lot of different ways to ensure that all students understand the concept. Most students learn through play-based learning. Art is mostly fun for the students so they do not always realize that they are learning. I think sometimes we as teachers forget that the students in our classrooms are only children and they do not have a long concentration span and they enjoy to play and move around, so we must use it to our advantage.

It was very interesting to see how music integration has a positive effect on all subjects for learners. It was very eye opening to see that there are so many studies done for the effectiveness of music. I did not know that it has been studied for so long because up until now I have not seen a teacher that integrates music into her lesson plans. What was challenging was all the new knowledge. I honestly did not know that music had such a big impact on learners. I hope that I can incorporate music and maybe teach other teachers to also do it.

Hey it’s me again.

I think it is a great idea to incorporate different cultural music into your lesson plan and creating music activities from it. I do however feel it is important that learners know exactly what the words mean that they are using and what the song is about. Also, I think you should think about the different culture groups in your classroom and find out whether everything is appropriate for all cultural groups. All learners do not like having all the attention on themselves, so when they danced in a circle give them the choice to dance in the middle or just eliminate that part of the activity.

Some learners were uncomfortable because they did not know what the words meant that they were singing, and some were uncomfortable to dance in front of boys and their peers.

Prepare the students in advance so that they know they are going to learn a Zulu song and do a dance activity. Make sure that the learners have both the Zulu and the English versions of the song so that they can see at anytime what they are singing. When doing dance activities most students are uncomfortable to dance in front of others so instead of standing in a circle stand in a line so that the students cannot see each other. Give everyone the same dance moves to do. Make sure that the music is appropriate for all culture groups, if not sure send the music list to the parents so that they can say whether it’s appropriate or not. If the girl may not dance in front of the boys, position everyone so that girls and boys can dance separately or send the boys out so that the girls can dance and vice versa.

In the beginning of the school year talk to the parents and ask them what is inappropriate or unacceptable to do in their culture. Make a list and always make sure you use those guidelines when planning and creating activities.

Hope you’re doing great.

See you next time.

Hey guys it’s me again,

Here are my thoughts on study unit 2’s reflection questions.

I think it would be a good idea to see what the classroom music preference are to ensure that the music activities can be fun and relatable. So, for me I would prefer to ask the classroom what, are the music they like and know and then work from there. It also depends on where your school is where you teach and the backgrounds of the learners. Even though I have to choose one I think it is important to showcase other genres as well.

My personal preference in this case is contemporary commercial music. Most learners will at least know some of the songs which would make it easier to create activities that they can fully engage with. When learners at least know the song, it would be easier to create activities from because they know the song, so they only need to learn the movements added, body percussions, singing etc.

Yes, I do think that the content is inclusive. The study unit very thoroughly describes music elements, music education approaches, how to identify and apply appropriate teaching strategies, movement, body percussions and singing. I now know what each of these concepts are and how to use them in my classroom. The videos are also very helpful. I am capable after this study unit to create music activities for my classroom.

I think the content of study unit 2 was overall inclusive. I learned a lot and gained some knowledge and skills for my future classroom. I would just add exactly how to go about creating music activities, we see teaching strategies we can use, activities but not how to incorporate everything and a few suggested music options because sometimes it is hard for us, that do not work part time etc. to know what music the children would like and what music or beats or rhythms work best. Just for us to create the base of our music activities. 

Have I great day. See you next time.    

Hey guys,

Here are my thoughts on the questions for study unit one.

I love music and I think most people or children do. When I was in the foundation phase the teachers did not use music to teach, so this is a very exciting concept that I cannot wait to gain more knowledge and skills to use it in my classroom.

Before this study unit I did not know that you can incorporate music with teaching in so many different ways. I do have confidence in the theory of music but not in how to incorporate my music knowledge with movement teaching ideas and activities. I am so excited to see where it leads me. I hope to learn how to manage the classroom whilst doing such fun activities and to use the right activities to get the most out of the learners. Currently I am not too confident in integrating music into my teaching, but I sure am excited and ready to learn how.

This is a hard choice to make. I do love music and physical education. Before this study unit I would probably without a doubt chose physical education but with the knowledge and research I have done about music education it makes me lean more towards it. There are so many aspects to music education, students learn a new skill (playing an instrument), which gives them confidence, they learn to interact and work with their peers to create music together, even use problem solving when they might not agree on how to make the music or when their song doesn’t sound like they thought it would. They also have a little bit of physical education with stomping their feet etc. I think when using music education in different ways you can facilitate most if not all of the aspects of holistic development. It is up to the teacher or me to create and choose the right activities to improve the students’ holistic development. 

See you soon! 

Hey guys welcome to my blog.

My name is Kari van der Westhuizen, and I am 23 years old.

I grew up on a farm in the south of Namibia and still live there. After school I took a business course but my interest and passion was elsewhere. After two years I finally decided to follow my passion and start the journey of becoming a teacher.

I love working with kids and see how they develop and grow. I am so excited of what the future holds and can't wait to use all the knowledge and skills, learned here, for my future classroom. Another one of my passions are baking. I love trying out new recipes and spoiling friends and family with sweet treats.

I am not entirely sure what to expect from the module. I do love music and am excited to learn and see how to incorporate music in the classroom.