Critical Thinker

During my elementary student teaching placement in the spring of 2021, my students and I explored music that was originally in films and movies. We talked about the process of creating music for a motion picture and discussed different themes or musical motives that best describe the characters within the film, movie, and motion picture. The link below has lesson plans and materials that were used in the classroom for each lesson.

As a critical thinker in the classroom, I look to develop new and fresh ways to understand the music that goes beyond traditionally accepted practice. In this lesson, students are responding to a movement, The Nutcracker Suite, of the ballet The Nutcracker but experience musical dimensions and prior knowledge to help students create movements that best represent what they hear in the music. I find it very important to establish the context in the classroom, and base all learning on previous knowledge and experiences. When students use prior understandings to refer back to, the process of making music becomes more inviting and assessable. By establishing the context and making learning personal, students learn the clear musical dimensions of this piece by playing games and creating new knowledge.