I believe these 6 artifacts demonstrate my ability and willingness to be a well-rounded teacher and my commitment to the Teacher Quality Standards. I also believe they demonstrate the complexity of teaching. My expertise in music, understanding of policies, professional development, organizational skills or inclusive strategies are not enough individually to make me a good teacher. I believe the TQS highlights how crucial it is that we understand how all of these components are essential to our practice.
1. Fostering Effective Relationships
Musicopoly:
This is a game I used in my first weeks teaching independently in my practicum. The games was a fun way to engage with many curricular concepts (including composers, note lengths, styles of music, etc) to support student learning. The game created a relaxed environment where students had many opportunities to express their feelings about the music they were listening to and provided an opportunity for me to show that I respect the students’ opinions. I adjusted several of the squares to reflect important women composers, black composers and Latin American composers to honour cultural diversity and promote intercultural understanding. The game allowed me to quickly learn names, to laugh and interact with the students while exposing them to a wide range of classical music. I think this was a great way to let my students get to know me quickly and begin building relationships right away. Please check out “Music with Paige” on Teachers Pay Teachers if you are interested in purchasing the interactive game board!
Musicopoly:
This is a game I used in my first weeks teaching independently in my practicum. The games was a fun way to engage with many curricular concepts (including composers, note lengths, styles of music, etc) to support student learning. The game created a relaxed environment where students had many opportunities to express their feelings about the music they were listening to and provided an opportunity for me to show that I respect the students’ opinions. I adjusted several of the squares to reflect important women composers, black composers and Latin American composers to honour cultural diversity and promote intercultural understanding. The game allowed me to quickly learn names, to laugh and interact with the students while exposing them to a wide range of classical music. I think this was a great way to let my students get to know me quickly and begin building relationships right away. Please check out “Music with Paige” on Teachers Pay Teachers if you are interested in purchasing the interactive game board!
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2. Engaging in Career- Long Learning
Orff and Kodaly Memberships I am a member of several music education and general education organizations. Two that have particularly helped me recently were the Orff Canada and Kodaly Society of Canada Memberships. As a secondary specialist, Orff and Kodaly did not come up a lot in my formal training in University and I found myself teaching K-3 in my first practicum. I joined these great organizations and began to gather resources and materials seeking to improve my practice. I was able to attend a Professional Development opportunity with an Albertan Indigenous woman who shared many lesson plans and resources through Orff Canada, enhancing my understanding of her cultural beliefs, languages and values. Both organizations provide resources and advice pertaining to supporting student success in inclusive environments. They have both also been extremely helpful during the pandemic, aiding to navigate the many restrictions on the music classroom. I believe these resources will be extremely helpful throughout my career and I intend to remain a member and continue to participate in their professional development opportunities. |
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3. Demonstrating a Foundational Body of Knowledge
Kindergarten Annotated Lesson Plan My Field instructor required us to complete an annotated lesson plan whenever she was observing us. It ended up being a fantastic learning opportunity for me. The lesson plan required us to ask, “Why?” over and over again. After many years of private teaching, it was challenging for me to ask myself why I did the things I did. It required me to apply my knowledge from experience with my academic knowledge in a succinct way. This lesson plan demonstrates how I am able to take many elements from the Program of Studies and use them in the Music classroom. There are very few outcomes directly related to music in the Program of Studies for kindergarten, however, I was also able teach literacy and numeracy in my music class, while also developing fine motor skills. The lesson also demonstrates my ability to consider student variables and differentiate for the diverse learners in my class, including strategies for English Language Learners. In addition, the lesson plan demonstrates my ability to incorporate digital technology and resources in order to build capacity for acquiring, applying and creating new knowledge. The up-beat, fun environment of my music class illustrates how important I believe it is to use Music and movement as another opportunity to tend to the mental and physical health of students. Please click on the link above the image to see the full plan. | ||
4. Establishing Inclusive Learning Environments
I designed this felt schedule board as a targeted approach to help me serve the diverse learners in my practicum classrooms. I noticed that many young students constantly wanted to know what were going to do next. In order to help these students focus on the task at hand, I wanted them to be able to visually see what was coming up. This also worked well as a classroom management strategy as students were able to regulate themselves, knowing that another activity was coming up. I also had several ELL’s in my classrooms, and therefore attached images to the activities we were doing to help them learn the vocabulary visually and ease their stress, attending to the specific learning needs of my students. I travelled on a cart from class to class, so the felt was a great way to take the schedule with me. In non-Covid times, I will use this schedule to provide leadership opportunities to students in the class, where students can take turns arranging the schedule at the front of the class. If I ever forgot to put up the schedule, there was always a student who noticed. This demonstrated to me that they were using and relying on the schedule and proved its effectiveness.
I designed this felt schedule board as a targeted approach to help me serve the diverse learners in my practicum classrooms. I noticed that many young students constantly wanted to know what were going to do next. In order to help these students focus on the task at hand, I wanted them to be able to visually see what was coming up. This also worked well as a classroom management strategy as students were able to regulate themselves, knowing that another activity was coming up. I also had several ELL’s in my classrooms, and therefore attached images to the activities we were doing to help them learn the vocabulary visually and ease their stress, attending to the specific learning needs of my students. I travelled on a cart from class to class, so the felt was a great way to take the schedule with me. In non-Covid times, I will use this schedule to provide leadership opportunities to students in the class, where students can take turns arranging the schedule at the front of the class. If I ever forgot to put up the schedule, there was always a student who noticed. This demonstrated to me that they were using and relying on the schedule and proved its effectiveness.
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5. Applying Foundational Knowledge about First Nations, Metis and Inuit
Music Alive Lesson Plan
This is a lesson plan I developed for elementary music classes. The program , “Music Alive” is funded by the National Arts Center and has many great resources for incorporating Indigenous music and language into the Music classroom. This resource supports learning experiences of all student by using resources that accurately respect the strength and diversity of First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples. The beauty of the Program of Studies for elementary music is that there is a lot of flexibility in what resources and songs are used to teach the outcomes. Therefore, it is possible to use this song, Music Alive, to teach many outcomes including singing, note reading and rhythm literacy while providing opportunities for all students to develop a knowledge and understanding for First Nations, Metis and Inuit cultures and traditions. The song can be sung in Cree, French or English and was written by Sherryl Sewepagaham. Please click on the link above the image to view the whole lesson.
Music Alive Lesson Plan
This is a lesson plan I developed for elementary music classes. The program , “Music Alive” is funded by the National Arts Center and has many great resources for incorporating Indigenous music and language into the Music classroom. This resource supports learning experiences of all student by using resources that accurately respect the strength and diversity of First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples. The beauty of the Program of Studies for elementary music is that there is a lot of flexibility in what resources and songs are used to teach the outcomes. Therefore, it is possible to use this song, Music Alive, to teach many outcomes including singing, note reading and rhythm literacy while providing opportunities for all students to develop a knowledge and understanding for First Nations, Metis and Inuit cultures and traditions. The song can be sung in Cree, French or English and was written by Sherryl Sewepagaham. Please click on the link above the image to view the whole lesson.
6. Adhering to Legal Frameworks and Policies
Fine Arts Covid Plan
I had the “Fine Arts Covid Plan” on hand at all times during my practicum, maintaining an awareness of relevant legislation. As we navigated the many restrictions placed on music programs, it was so crucial to constantly be consulting the Plan. The research results provided and rules are necessary to keep the students in our care safe. Every time I planned a lesson, I needed to ensure that what I planned to do was going to be safe and engage in practices consistent with policies and procedures establish by the school authority. For instance, I wrapped the small Orff instruments in saran wrap. By doing this, I was able to follow to sanitation guidelines, while preserving the integrity of the wooden instruments. We also used this guide to help create instrument masks for the band students. When they return to band, the masks will be ready and will keep the students safe from the aerosols wind instruments can distribute. Although I feel that I could recite the guidelines by heart, I will continually reference them throughout my next practicum, recognizing that I am entrusted with the custody, care and education of students.
Fine Arts Covid Plan
I had the “Fine Arts Covid Plan” on hand at all times during my practicum, maintaining an awareness of relevant legislation. As we navigated the many restrictions placed on music programs, it was so crucial to constantly be consulting the Plan. The research results provided and rules are necessary to keep the students in our care safe. Every time I planned a lesson, I needed to ensure that what I planned to do was going to be safe and engage in practices consistent with policies and procedures establish by the school authority. For instance, I wrapped the small Orff instruments in saran wrap. By doing this, I was able to follow to sanitation guidelines, while preserving the integrity of the wooden instruments. We also used this guide to help create instrument masks for the band students. When they return to band, the masks will be ready and will keep the students safe from the aerosols wind instruments can distribute. Although I feel that I could recite the guidelines by heart, I will continually reference them throughout my next practicum, recognizing that I am entrusted with the custody, care and education of students.
