In your opinion, reflecting on and synthesizing all that you learned in LSKM 221, what are the most important aspects to keep in mind when planning foundation phase lessons?

When a teacher plans a foundation phase lesson plan, he or she must ensure that the lesson is enjoyable, that it captures the learners' attention, and that the learners fully engage in it. When the teacher begins the lesson, he or she must first assess the students' prior knowledge before introducing and explaining the topic. You must devise activities that are simple for the students to complete. Ask questions, and allow students to ask you questions if they don't understand something. If you are teaching and want to incorporate music into the lesson to make it more exciting, place it at the beginning and end of the lesson. Always refer to the caps document to see how the art topics related to life skills. Allow learners to demonstrate and summarize the lesson at the end of the lesson to see if the lesson objectives were met.

Because students in the classroom have varying learning abilities and styles, diverse interests, and socioeconomic backgrounds, you must come up with ways to manage and accommodate all of them while also creating a classroom environment in which all students feel safe, loved, appreciated, and a sense of belonging.

What is your opinion about the value of utilizing arts integration and play in foundation phase lessons?

Learners should participate actively in the teaching and learning process through arts integration and play because it enables them to have fun while participating in relevant, authentic, and fun teaching and learning activities in social settings and demonstrating their understanding practically through the arts.

It is critical to include arts integration and play in the foundation phase because it not only develops learners' social and creative thinking skills but also increases learners' enthusiasm for learning while also allowing them to have a better understanding of the content taught.

Has your perception and priorities with regards to lesson planning and the inclusion of music (and the arts) throughout your teaching and learning in the foundation phase changed? Please motivate your answer.

Yes, because I've learned and witnessed that incorporating music and the arts into the classroom has a significant impact on the students. Students can have fun while learning in a real and relevant way through music and the arts. As a result, we can say that using music in the classroom increases students' eagerness to learn. Incorporating music and art into the foundation phase allows students to participate actively in the lesson while also helping to develop their social and creative thinking skills.

Art integration is a teaching method in which students construct and develop their knowledge through an art form; it benefits all students, including those with disabilities. For me, art integration is not a pointless exercise during the foundation phase, but rather a useful tool that can help learners build self-esteem, as well as promote communication, teamwork, and cooperation among learners. Learners can identify their own strengths and weaknesses.

What did you find interesting?

I find it fascinating that learners can learn outside of the traditional teaching and learning environment, which art integration provides. Learners could use found instruments to learn, as well as music, drama, and drawing. I found it amusing because, based on the videos I've seen, when learners are introduced to new things and ways of learning, they become more active than when they sit and watch the teacher teach all day.

What was the most difficult for you?

The only challenge I've encountered is incorporating art into a setswana class. I just couldn't try figuring out how to do or come up with ideas for incorporating art into a math lesson, but I believe that watching more videos will help me understand better.

What possibly made some learners uncomfortable during these activities?

Because the teacher's focus was on playing the game and teaching the song to pupils without considering their cultural backgrounds, religious beliefs, or native languages, some students felt uneasy during these activities. Other students should not be taught Ndebele songs because it is not their first language, making it difficult for them to pronounce words correctly.

They have no idea what the music is about, and it's difficult for them to figure out how to perform it. They believe they are being discriminated against because other people's native languages are preferred over theirs. They are also wary of taking part in these activities because they are expected to.

Why were some learners uncomfortable?

Some students were concerned because they were being taught a Ndebele song in a language they didn't understand, and they came from a variety of backgrounds, making it difficult for them to understand both the song and the game. They may have felt discriminated against because they spoke different languages.

The teacher failed to fulfill the needs of all students and to treat them fairly. The teacher did not make any accommodations in their practice because of their cultural background and religion. As a result, these students will not be disadvantaged.

Can you think of ways to address these issues in the future? what will change?

To initiate, teachers must consider the needs of all learners, make accommodations in their practice, and use one language, English, as a minimum language stipulated in the curriculum for all learners. In terms of song and game activities, teachers must use one language, English, as the minimum language required by the curriculum for all students. Alternatively, the teacher could have used the switch mode (translation) for other students who didn't understand the language.

How can we accommodate diverse learners' profiles in our classroom?

Bring diversity into the classroom.

Providing for all learners' academic, emotional, social, and communication needs by ensuring that all learners understand or translate the language used. When inclusion is done correctly, everyone in the classroom benefits. Practice cultural sensitivity in the classroom, as well as acknowledging and respecting all students.

Music is the repetition, variation, and contrast of patterns of melody, rhythm, harmony, tempo/dynamics, and timbre. We create music using these patterns, and we respond emotionally and intellectually to our perceptions and interpretations of these musical patterns.

The six musical concepts

• Pitch

• Dynamic and Expressive Techniques

• Tone Color

• Texture

• Structure

Duration Time signatures are how beats are organized.

The fundamental elements of music are texture, intensity, quality, and pitch.

 Music is experienced and learned by the students through various types of songs, movements, and games that include music. The learners' musical experience is based on their knowledge of various types of music. Finally, they apply their knowledge to identify various types of musical elements. They can demonstrate the music concept they heard by using either non-locomotor or locomotor movements.

Learners can demonstrate the melodic contour by simply using their hands, and they can progress through movements by using the meter and rhythm separately.

How do music concepts relate to life skills, mathematics, and language education:

The most obvious parallel between music and math is the use of patterns in both. Repeating choruses and sections of songs are found in music, and patterns are used in math to explain and predict the unknown. Mathematics is the study of patterns, and everything in music can be studied mathematically, including geometry, number theory, trigonometry, differential calculus, and signal processing.

Music and singing allow people to speak English in a more relaxed and non-threatening environment. The use of song picture books allows the learner to see, sing, and learn the language all at the same time. Music facilitates the acquisition of language structures and words, thereby improving conversational and social communication abilities.

Music can aid in the development of mathematical skills. Your child can learn basic fractions, pattern recognition, and problem-solving by listening to musical beats. Children who study music have improved spatial intelligence and the ability to form mental pictures of objects, which are important skills for more advanced mathematics.

I feel grateful that am doing this  Module because it is valuable to my studies towards becoming a teacher at my optimum level. My week has been so proactive by going through the study unit to get an understanding regarding LSKM 221  and other Modules. There was nothing that inhibited me as I made it a point that I do not want to lose focus, regarding the shortness of this semester. 

I became aware that if learners do not experience encouragement and praise for their success during this stage ( industry vs. inferiority ) which is their development, they might consequently experience self-doubt and low self-esteem in their early schooling.

Physical development made me realize that for learners to develop balance, coordination gross, motor skills, and bodily awareness as dancing to music must be there for learners to develop the above-mentioned development (physical development).

The content of this study unit gives me the knowledge and understanding of the value of music in the holistic development of foundation phase learners, Furthermore engagement in music activity also has an opportunity for Cognitive development.