Blog 10

My MGP "Music Memoir"

I remember the summer before my sixth grade year. It was an exceptional time period. I was going to start Bradley Middle School in the fall and be in the school's band. Fortunately, Bradley offered summer band. Summer band focused on teaching about your chosen instrument and worked on reading music. I was excited to be able to learn the flute during summer band.
My teacher for summer band was Mrs. Gurwitz. Mrs. Gurwitz taught the woodwinds section. The woodwind instruments include the flutes, clarinets, base clarinets, oboes, saxophones, and bassoons. Our class was fairly large. We had people for all of the woodwind instruments except base clarinet and saxophones. The flute members had quite a few students. I had one particular friend who was close to me form elementary school. She was also learning how to play the flute. Her name was Nadia. Nadia made summer band a blast! Mrs. Gurwitz focused on our ombishier the first few days of summer band. When playing the flute, a person has to blow into the mouth piece correctly. She had us practice blowing into a straw and then use the head joint to blow. I found it easier to use the straw to know what it feels like to create a small hole with the lips.
Mrs. Gurwitz would have chair tests. Chair tests are Minnie tests that assess a person's musical skills. I remember Mrs. Gurwitz assigned Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star from the Division of Beat Book 1A. We had to practice that song thoroughly through and then play before her and our classmates. Who ever played the best with the correct notation and sound became first chair. The higher a person is in chairs, the more privileges you get in band. When there is concert pieces that require certain instruments to play higher parts or solos, the first couple of chairs in an instrument section receive those parts and the bottom chairs play the lower notes. However, Mrs. Gurwitz had chair tests all the time. The more a person practices, it is easier to play in front of the teacher and classmates. Playing becomes like second nature. When I played Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, I did okay. I did not get first chair, yet did not get last chair. I just played the best I could. I recall spending hours and hours a day practicing the flute. At some moments, I felt like my hands and mouth were going to fall off me. The pain was tremendous. My body was getting broken in to holding the flute just right, blowing correctly, and learning to read music with the flute fingerings. I do think the summer band with other people around me made the experience enjoyable.
Towards the end of summer band, we received two songs to play for a band concert. The songs were When the Saints go Marching In, and Old McDonald Had a Farm. I recall practicing them daily. In Mrs. Gurwitz class, we spent time on counting the songs and the flow of the rhythm. When all of the students were ready, we came together to play the songs during practice. We had the brass section, percussion, and the woodwinds. The brass section instruments are Tubas, Baritones, Trombones, French horns, and Trumpets. The day we did practice the songs, I recall the brass section sounding so powerful. The brass section was awesome! Mr. Gehimer the headband director spent time working on every section's sound.
The final day arrived for the end of summer band concert! I was ready to perform with the whole band. All of us worked really hard on our two songs. We had rehearsals and section classes working on both pieces. My parents were coming to the concert. When we arrived at the concert hall, I said bye to Mom and Dad. They sat in the audience chairs. I went to find Mrs. Gurwitz and the rest of my classmates. We all walked up to the stage to sit down in our seats for the songs. I recall Mr. Gehimer placed his hands up in the air to conduct the song of When the Saints go Marching In. The percussion started the song, and then the trumpets came in followed by the woodwinds with the rest of the brass section. We played that song without any mistakes. Then Mr. Gehimer placed his hands up for Old McDonald Had a Farm song. From this song, the brass started the song, followed by the percussion and woodwinds. The music made me feel happy, so I taped my foot through the second song. When our band was finished with both songs, the audience clapped. What was neat about the concert was the recognition. I was voted as a great flutist from my classmates. Mr. Gehimer gave me trophy that said my name. I was not expecting such a reward. As my parents took me home from the concert that day, I remember being grateful to have been in summer band and be given the opportunity to play the flute.

Blog # 9

How To

Learning how to play the Recorder Instrument

1) Buy a Yamaha recorder student book 1 by: Sand Feldstein from the store

2) Buy a recorder instrument from the store

3) Take the recorder instrument and hold it in your hand vertically with the mouthpiece up.

4) Take your left hand and cover the first, second and third hole with pointer, middle, and ring finger.

5) Take the right hand and cover the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh hole with the pointer, middle, ring and pinky finger.

6) With the mouthpiece, blow into the mouthpiece with an inch into your mouth. Blow gently.

7) Blow with “Tu” syllable in mind to create it with your blow.

8) The Yamaha recorder student book has a process of directions for each page on which you need to read and follow.

9) Read and practice each page through the whole book.

10) Sit up when playing the recorder.

11) Enjoy playing your instrument

12) Wipe down the recorder after playing with a bandana

13) Put the recorder back into the case and place it in a safe spot until next time you practice.

Poetry

How Do I Love Thee?

-Elizabeth Barrett Browning

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love with a passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

I could use POETRY help students practice expressions. I could assign each student a stanza to read while acting out what they are reading about. We could have a Student Stage in our classroom that is geared to all types of fine arts. Poetry could be one of them, music like singing or instruments the students play, drama with plays, and even having the students share their work from numerous of assignments. This particular poem by Elizabeth Browning could be used to show students that it is possible to have so much love in your heart for an individual. I could use this poem during February for Valentines Day. The students then could write their own type of Love Poem for their parents/grandparents/siblings/animals/or friends.

Blog #8

Blog #8

1.) What is Narrative Writing, explain the components?

Narrative Writing tells a story that may be fiction or non-fiction. The writing shows a sequence of events over a period of time. The time may be years, months, weeks, days, or shorter like hours. Narrative writing has a beginning, middle, and end. The middle part tells about the events that occur in detail. Usually the narrative writing is written for a certain audience other than the writer of the story.

2.) Explain Writers Workshop experience & discuss the process along with Sandwich Theory by (SBH 2007).

This past Wednesday of April 1, we did writers workshop in class. Each of our home team members met and discussed one piece of our MGP. The writer’s workshop was a positive experience for me. It allowed for comments from other classmates.

Directions for Writers Workshop Experience

1.) Get into groups 3-5 students

2.) 1 person reads their paper with everyone else listening

3.) After reader, members in the groups comment on the paper

4.) Then the students go back to their seats to individualize rewrite from suggestions and such

5.) When the revise is finished, edit is the next step to accomplish

The Sandwich Theory by (SBH 2007)

Members will say what they liked, ask a question or give a suggestion, then close it by a positive idea. Approaching peers in this manner will help people feel comfortable to share their work.

Blog # 7

What is my topic, TEKS, and parts for the MGP?

My topic is on Learning an Instrument.

ONE OF MY TEKS:  

 §117.6. Music, Grade 1

(2) Creative expression/performance. The student performs a varied repertoire of music. The student is expected to:

A) Sing or play a classroom instrument independently or in groups; 

ALSO ANOTHER TEKS:

§110.3. English Language Arts and Reading, Grade 1

(b) Knowledge and skills.

(1) Listening/speaking/purposes. The student listens attentively and engages actively in a variety of oral language experiences. The student is expected to:

(A) Determine the purpose(s) for listening such as to get information, to solve problems, and to enjoy and appreciate (K-3);

(C) Participate in rhymes, songs, conversations, and discussions (K-3);

(D) Listen critically to interpret and evaluate (K-3);

(F) Identify the musical elements of literary language such as its rhymes or repeated sounds (K-1).

(10) Reading/literary response. The student responds to various texts. The student is expected to:

(C) Respond through talk, movement, music, art, drama, and writing to a variety of stories and poems in ways that reflect understanding and interpretation (K-1);

My Multi-Genre Project

Narrative: Story about the summer before my 6^th grade year.

Expository: A Magical Music Poem

Descriptive: A How to on the Recorder Instrument

Persuasive: An interview on various musicians with a tape that records them.

Blog # 6

What is the Definition of talk?

Talking is to communicate, express ideas and to establish relationships among other peers.

Aesthetic talk- is a way to gather information from talking. It can be used for comprehension, class conversations, or even small groups. In our L.A. class, we do this type of talking weekly. We get in our teams and discuss what we are learning about.

Efferent talk- is a way to persuade others through talking. It may involve sharing the following: personal items, projects, debates or even results from interviews, and creating a K W L chart. The other class period we did efferent talk when we debated what candy was better for the consumer, Reese's or Hershey.

Why is talking beneficial in the classroom?

Talking is a way for learning to occur inside the classroom. When students are communicating with one another, they share their own stories or information about the subject material being taught. As a teacher, it helps you know where your students are with their understanding in school. Students can also learn how to verbalize effectively with practice from peers.

Give an example of talk in the classroom.

An example of talk in the classroom is kind of like what all of us did on the Wednesday, March 18th dramatic reading. We all read a farm story about clicking cows and a different version of the three little pigs. All of use used talk through literature. We each had parts by sharing the stories.

Another instance of talk that could take place is having small groups of three to five students. The small groups can be hetero or homogeneous. The students' talk is aimed to be meaningful. Learning can take place through others' points of views. As a teacher, you could give roles in order for students to have a purpose for talking and staying on task.

# 5 Blog

Definition of Listening, the types and personal examples

Listening is an intricate event that requires interactive thinking by a way of spoken/unspoken language that develops meaning. To hear is part of the biological make up of humans. However, listening deals with the cognitive aspect that is internal. A person can hear but not listen. In order for listening to occur, a person must be open to the process. There are four types of listening that takes place. The first type is discriminative. Discriminative listening is picking and choosing what to listen to depending on interest. At times, I find myself tuned out when people talk about scientific subjects like physics or chemistry. I tend to listen to what I find interesting about the subject material or what might be important for me in later use. The next type of listening is aesthetic. Aesthetic listening has to do with enjoyment. This type of listening is like hearing a book read out loud on tape when driving on a long trip. Aesthetic listening gives a chance for prediction, visualization, connections, revise meaning, playing with language, and summarizing for the listeners. One way of aesthetic listening I do is with music. I enjoy hearing others play instruments such as the violin or flute, and I try to make connections from their playing. It makes me feel wonderful. Listening to music is a fun past time activity to participate in. Another type of listening is efferent. Efferent listening deals with listening for information. This type of listening occurs when people are trying to organize patterns so it is easier to remember the information. They can summarize what was heard, note take, monitoring themselves at school by asking questions, apply strategies for understanding, and even get clues from the speaker by body language. I find I use efferent listening daily at school. I do think taking notes helps me stay active with the subject materials teachers are speaking about. With my parents, I listen efferent. When they tell me things I want to recall later, I will write it down for safe keeping. The last type of listening is critical. Critical is careful listening to instructions or debates. It requires full attention of the mind. It is used in persuasion and propaganda on a daily basis in society. I use critical listening when I am with my parents. When they tell me to do something, I listen to their instructions. Also critical thinking happens at school. When I am in classes, I find myself critically thinking of what different teachers say about assignments on what they require and when they are due.

What was the most challenging part of the debate? Why? What aspects of listening did you use? Explain with details.

The most challenging part of the debate was trying to convince others our candy was the best. People have their own feelings towards their favorite candies. If a person does not like a certain candy for whatever reason, it is difficult to enlighten their mind to change. People have taste preferences and certain candies may not taste that good. It was difficult to change their point of view to favor our candy as the best. Our group’s candy was Chocolate Peanut Butter Reeses pieces bite size. The other group’s candy was Chocolate Hershey Kisses. Both groups voiced strong reasons why their candy was the absolute best ever. I used aesthetical and critical listening. The activity was much different than most things we do during class. I enjoyed getting in groups and talking about reasons to buy Reeses. I enjoy observing others. I was able to sit and watch the class communicate with one another. It made me smile. I think it was fun. Personality came out from each classmate. I also listened critically to see what candy I liked the best. Why buy reeses or hershey kisses? I found that both sides made me think carefully on what each treat had to offer to its consumers. Now from the debate, I think it has changed by views towards both Reeses & Hershey Kisses candies.

Finish reading chapter 2 of Writers Choice. Which teacher talk is most important and why?

The teacher talk was the one from page 14 that said, "Remember the first week when we had to really work at walking quietly? Now you guys do it automatically"
(Johnston p. 14). I like this quote because it helps students feel that improvement has been accomplished. There is growth. It lets students realize that where they were in the past and where they are now is different. I myself liked it when my past teachers found something that as a class improved on and gave a positive comment to us. A feeling of accomplishment flows through you. As a student, it makes you want to continue learning and improving not just for the teacher's sake, but for yourself as well. You realize okay, I can do this task and I have done this task successfully.

Blog #4

RAFT

Role: Earth

Audience: Sun

Format: Thank You Note

Topic: Sun’s Role in Earth’s function

Strong Verb: Thank

Dear Sammy - Sun,

I’m grateful for you sharing your light with the people on my planet. We all would not exist without you. I need you so I can provide a place for others to live. Do you know what our distance is from each other? We are separated by a maximum of 94.5 million miles and a minimum of 91 million miles. That is a little far. I guess that may be a reason we do not visit for the holidays. We both have to keep working for our fellow people. Eighty-two (82) days is too long to travel to reach you for a vacation! I feel your light travels faster than all the voices I hear inside me. The speed of light is 186,000 per second. Which means it takes at least 8 minutes of your light rays to reach me. My orbit is elliptical around you. I get to rotate a period of 24 hours and my revolution period is 365 days & 5 hours. I have a chance to always see you. That is wonderful. It makes me feel not so lonely. During the summer months, you shine even brighter. You and I are a team do you know that? The people from my planet like going outside to see you. At times they will wear sun block since they believe you have mighty rays which may burn them. Sun, you are so strong! You help plants grow. They use you for photosynthesis. Even other creatures are thankful for your friendship. The reptiles enjoy sitting outside to rest under you for warmth. I just want you to know I appreciate everything you do for me in regards to helping my world to be a better place in which to live. Thank you. Take care and hope to hear from you soon. I know I will see you in the morning.

Your Friend,

Earle – Earth

Capable Writers Importance, & What they are

It is important to become a capable writer so communication can take place with others. Communication is essential to all people. Capable writers know who their audience is and realize their purpose of writing using correct form. Like knowing if they are writing their paper for other students, parents, or their teacher. When they write they have a topic sentence, grabber, details, detail, and conclusion. Capable writers draft, revise, edit, and then publish their works. They give themselves plenty of time to complete a task. That means that effective writers do not wait for the last minute to finish assignments. Once a paper is completed, if the writer has two to three more days, they can edit their paper. Usually, the editing is a positive experience. Taking a break and allowing your mind to think from the subconscious helps with writing. Good writers focus on a goal when they write. For example, one goal may be to write a fictional story by placing possible occurrences that could take place in the real world. Another example could be, writing with end rhymes when doing poetry. That way poems can have a music form applied. Capable writers are not afraid to use other peer responses to strengthen their writing skills. Peers can teach other peers. Learning is not just an individual experience. It is also a sociable one.

Even more, capable writers have self-assessment skills in order to stay on correct topic. In writing, numerous genres are possible to create and read. Capable writers can differentiate between genres. For instance, a capable writer can write expository, descriptive, persuasive, and narrative. One of my favorite ways of writing is descriptive. I like to write poetry. It reminds me of music with words. I also find narrative writing interesting. It is neat how stories can be made from using inner thoughts. Our minds are amazing tools. Strategies occur for capable writers. They can come up with beneficial strategies in order to find what they reading or coming up with what to write. Most capable writers wait to edit until they have gone through each process. Capable writers can identify quality works of writing. Good writing can be done and felt by other great writers.