Week 2: First Lesson!

I was very happy with how things went with practicum this week. I was able to teach my first lesson to the Period 2 class, which is mostly brass and percussion, with a few woodwinds. I taught exercises 15 and 16 in the Essential Elements Book, both of which focused on the introduction of half notes and half rests.  Exercise 15 was a clapping exercise, and I asked the students questions about their general knowledge of half notes, before having them repeat after me in the clapping. Exercise 16 had the same exact rhythm, but included the first five notes that the students had learned. They all caught on very quickly to the similarity and were eager to play, volunteer, and "finger and sizzle" when one section played alone.

I was nervous that my lesson did not go very well, and I was surprised to find out that it went better than expected. Although I did have a set lesson plan and a basic outline, a lot of what I did in front of the class kind of felt like improvisation.  I would play my flute with/for the students, not play, ask for individual and sectional volunteers, and then sometimes just have everyone play together. I basically just wanted to reinforce the exercise and make sure the students were sure of notes and rhythms.

For next week, I want to work on observing the whole group at once while conducting, and not playing my flute as much with the students. I also want to see if I can move around the room more, just to survey everything and to see the students as individuals and not just instrument sections. Something else to go along with this: I have to study my seating chart and start learning names!