For the lesson plan that I was a part of, we taught music and math.

In our lesson, we incorporated the First Peoples Principles of Learning by focusing on the fact that “Learning is holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential and relational (focused on connectedness, on reciprocal relationships, and sense of space).” We incorporated this principle by practicing the lyrics and dance moves with the students altogether, ensuring everyone sung the song together even if they were not at the front dancing, and by emphasizing safety and a safe environment amongst the students in the classroom so that everyone felt comfortable participating.

In terms of how the lesson plan actually went I believe that we did a fairly good job of implementing our lesson plan into the classroom. We tried to get all of the students engaged and moving so that they could enjoy and participate in the lesson to their level of comfort. I believe that we explained the lesson quite well at the start and that the goals of the lesson were clear throughout (counting to 10 and engagement in the content through singing and dancing). One thing I would have liked to do better was had better coordination between my partners in our instruction, but that also comes with us being extremely nervous and unsure if our lesson plan would work with our class. I thought we did a good job of repeating everything we did several times so that the students knew what they were doing and felt fairly confident in both the song and the dance moves. I would also like to point out that if the students had not have caught on so quickly to the lyrics and dance moves, then we could have also slowed the music down so that they were going slower until they could do it better. We also demonstrated everything and put ourselves out there to do the dance moves and sing in front of our peers, to help show them that it was a safe environment for everyone to learn and play. This is something I never would have done at the start of the year. Getting me to sing or dance in front of the class like that would never have happened before I knew that I was in a safe and non-judgemental environment.

I believe that I contributed a fair amount to the lesson plan. If I was not the one coming up with ideas, I was usually typing them out. I did a decent amount of work on the 3-part goals and the assessment for those, as well as typing out the big ideas, competencies, and content that was covered during our lesson. Overall, I believe that I contributed a sufficient amount during the planning process and during the implementation of our lesson in class.

One thing I would like to point out is that we did add music to our lesson plan. This was a change that we made thirty minutes prior to class, so we were unable to put it on the lesson plan as it was already printed out. We thought that it would add an extra element of excitement and liveliness to the song and class. I have provided the instrumental song link at the bottom that we used.

One, two, buckle my shoe instrumental song link: https://youtu.be/79wviRwJFhQ

Photo by Julia Jin on Unsplash

Swan Lake Theme- Tchaikovsky (Three-quarter speed). I played this song with both hands at three-quarter speed. There are a couple mistakes, but I did my best.

https:// youtu.be/NshoYg94qz4

Demons- Imagine Dragons (Three-quarter speed). This song was easier for me to learn than Swan Lake, but the video is not super great as I got super nervous while videotaping and it hindered my performance.

https://youtu.be/WUa6r2UX0NY

All of Me- John Legend (half speed). This song was the hardest for me to learn. The hardest part for me is when I have to play with 3 fingers on my left hand, as my hand does not quite reach that far so it is difficult for me to reach. I also apologize in advance for the length of the video, but I assumed you would want to see me attempt to play the whole song.

https://youtu.be/65EHgJC-RXI

Photo by Julia Jin on Unsplash

Overall, I am now able to play two songs at three-quarter speed; Swan Lake Theme- Tchaikovsky and Demons- Imagine Dragons. All of Me is still a work in progress, but I am able to play it to the ability that I predicted I would be able to awhile ago (somewhat accurately at half-speed). Three-quarter speed is still a challenge with All of Me. There was a lot going on outside the practice room while I was trying to record All of Me so it was very difficult to focus and play in time with a bunch of loud noises outside.  Learning piano was both harder than I thought and easier. Some of my greatest challenges were being able to watch the music on my screen while playing at the same time, as well as knowing where my hands were on the keys as I moved them back and forth. The hardest song for me to learn was All of Me. I think this because the parts where I had to play with 3 fingers on my left hand were very difficult, and the right hand was also more mobile throughout the song than in either of the other two songs. A couple of things that I found easier than I thought would be was learning the bass clef which keys were which. Another thing that I found surprisingly easy was my ability to be able to hear what notes were right or wrong on one hand by how they sounded with the notes of the other. As a band student, I learned how to identify when notes did not sound right, but on the piano, it was difficult at first and later became quite easy. I also learned how to be able to fix my hands if I played a wrong note without having to start and stop the video all the time. By only being able to practice for two hours a week (the maximum I was allowed to book a practice room), it was very difficult to get these pieces together to the best of my ability. I am very proud of myself for how far I have come in this process and even if I did not quite entirely accomplish my stretch of a goal for All of Me, I completed what I was hoping that I would be able to by around this time. I would definitely like to keep working on my piano skills after the term is over, as I quite enjoyed it and it was a way for me to just relax and forget about the other things going on in my courses.

Photo by Julia Jin on Unsplash

After successfully videoing myself playing Swan Lake I have moved on to playing Demons. This song is easier for me to play then All of Me which is why I decided that I would get it done first so that I can solely focus on All of Me after. This song is also a lot easier for me to play than Swan Lake. I believe it is easier for me to play this song than Swan Lake because I know the lyrics by heart so when I am playing it is easier to accurately play the rhythms as I can sing them in my head. Knowing the lyrics helps me to not have to look up at the screen so much as well. This enables me to be able to look at the keys more so that I know if my hands are in the right place or not. I am now able to play Demons at three-quarter speed accurately. I have been working really hard on some of the timing aspects of the song since the hands do not always line up. Overall, my awareness of where my hands are on the keys has greatly improved. I can generally know where they are without having to stop the video that I am following and look down constantly. This is something that I really struggled with at the beginning, so now that I am able to do this it makes it a lot easier and less time consuming to learn and play the songs.

Photo by Julia Jin on Unsplash