Last night I (and Jason!) took the time to mix some tracks with some songs from the Essential Elements Book II. Using GarageBand I was able to record in the melody (that the students play) and add some backround beats and such to spice things up. My 7th graders came in today unmotivated to play (as they usually do) and I said to them "I've got something fun planned for you today, but in order to do it, I need you to have some faith in me!" Of course, their first instinct was to scream out "TELL US! WE WANT TO KNOW!!" I just kept telling them to trust me and have some faith. So we started with scales and such as always and got into a song we've been working on all week. After reviewing each part I pressed the play button and this is what they heard:
They got so excited and started dancing to it. I let them have their fun the first go around, then the second time they all played without me having to say a word! Moving onto the next song I wanted to do it in sections without the track (maybe I should make some practice tracks) and then they were all like, "CAN WE PLAY IT WITH THE TRACK?!" They were all really excited when they left class today.
6th grade (while a little chatty) is doing so much better! It's truly amazing how far a little positivity and encouragement will take a young child. At the end of the class I thanked the students for working so hard today and getting so much accomplished and one student said to me "Ms. McHugh, we work hard all the time now!"
Just as an amusing side note, my students still haven't mastered the "raise your hand, without calling out my name, and wait to be called on" technique. Today a student kept calling out my name while I was talking with another student and so finally I was just started calling out the student's name. The student laughed and was like "oh...I get it." Of course then a few students in the area started calling out my name just to get me to do it to them.
Things I love:
-students stopping by my classroom (that never have before) just to say hi.
-a student in the hallway (not even my student) stating "she seems like she's a nice teacher," all because I told the student to have a great afternoon during dismissal.
-student success. It truly is the best reward of all.
Today was a little trickier than the last few. The positive: I'm actually starting to feel like I know what I'm talking about! Students are starting to work together more instead of against each other; encouraging each other to pay attention and listen so they can play more!
Something about a rainy day causes middle school brains to seep out their ears. Although a talkative day, we were still able to get things accomplished, and the students and I left with a smile on our faces! Definitely progress!
Something about a rainy day causes middle school brains to seep out their ears. Although a talkative day, we were still able to get things accomplished, and the students and I left with a smile on our faces! Definitely progress!
What you put in is what you get out. You put in negative, you get negative. You put in positive, you get positive. It's a simple statement. Today I saw this come true in my classroom. Yesterday with every instruction I said it with a smile; "let's play number 78," "Please don't talk," all with a smile. My students were completely confused as to why I was smiling the whole time instead of yelling (like they were used to). I could even look at a student, while we were playing, smile and motion with my eyes at the feet on top of the case. The student knew exactly what I was asking and I didn't have to say a word or stop the entire class from playing.
I have to admit, last week I had no control in my classroom. I would scream and yell and expect that students would listen. They don't. I realized after sitting in sessions at GMEA that really being positive, and staying true to it, will in fact yield the desired results.
In 8th grade today I was able to get my student's attention just by simply raising my bow in the air. Several students who had been refusing to participate actually played today. Students left with a smile and I left with a smile. It was a win-win. The best part is that their tone made some great strides today!
In 7th grade we played the whole class (a HUGE improvement from before! I used to have to barter, if you give me 45 good minutes of practice then I'll give you 5 minutes of free time). The bell rang while we were playing and unlike before (when students would rush to get out of the class), several students actually finished the song before packing up their instruments.
6th grade made me the happiest of all today. After calling several parents yesterday, some I couldn't even get a hold of, those students came in to day and were incredible leaders. Many encouraging "hey guys, let's get quiet so we can play!" without me even saying a word. A simple raising of the bow showed the students I was ready to start, most mimicked my motions, and then we were off! Students left class with a smile on their face and I could tell they felt like they accomplished something.
To let Oprah close this out,
“Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough”
I have to admit, last week I had no control in my classroom. I would scream and yell and expect that students would listen. They don't. I realized after sitting in sessions at GMEA that really being positive, and staying true to it, will in fact yield the desired results.
In 8th grade today I was able to get my student's attention just by simply raising my bow in the air. Several students who had been refusing to participate actually played today. Students left with a smile and I left with a smile. It was a win-win. The best part is that their tone made some great strides today!
In 7th grade we played the whole class (a HUGE improvement from before! I used to have to barter, if you give me 45 good minutes of practice then I'll give you 5 minutes of free time). The bell rang while we were playing and unlike before (when students would rush to get out of the class), several students actually finished the song before packing up their instruments.
6th grade made me the happiest of all today. After calling several parents yesterday, some I couldn't even get a hold of, those students came in to day and were incredible leaders. Many encouraging "hey guys, let's get quiet so we can play!" without me even saying a word. A simple raising of the bow showed the students I was ready to start, most mimicked my motions, and then we were off! Students left class with a smile on their face and I could tell they felt like they accomplished something.
To let Oprah close this out,
“Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough”
Post GMEA:
At GMEA I realized several things. Each pertaining to a different group of my students. In 8th grade I realized that they don't use near enough of their bow and they lack in dexterity of lows and highs (fingers that is). Today I changed the percentage of time I talked vs the amount of time the students play. We worked on listening and matching, lows and highs, and using more bow....ALL AT THE SAME TIME! And all I had to do was play! In 7th grade, positive, kind affirmation and questioning had almost the whole class (including students who don't usually want to participate) playing the entire class! A HUGE change from last week! In 6th grade I've decided that I'm not going to get mad. I will simply smile, repeat my instructions, and move on. The students who can't follow instructions will stay after class so we can call their parents (they saw today that I was serious). Ended up having 6 or 7 students stay after class with me. The more I smiled, the more students I had asking me why I was smiling (because they knew they weren't getting to me with their disruptive inability to follow directions). IT WAS AWESOME. Over all, a super duper successful day. Can't wait to try again tomorrow! So excited for all the information I collected the last few days and I can't wait to try it all out in class!
