I started this fifth grade band class like I always do-with a breathing warm up.

When I

first started doing breathing, all of the students were very reluctant to participate, but now (at the

end of my placement) they expect to do this exercise at the beginning of class. A few resist, but

usually jump in before it’s over. I can tell the difference it has made in their endurance since I

began using the breathing exercise and many of them have vocalized that they see a difference,

too. The rest of our warm up consists of playing the concert B-flat scale with different rhythms. I

usually start with four quarter notes per scale degree and then ask a student to provide a different

rhythm. The student have begun combining rhythmic values to use rhythms they see in their

music. It is very exciting to see them form these ideas on their own. One student is very excited

to suggest using four eighth notes per scale degree and the class performs this rhythm very

cleanly. Sometimes I struggle with time management during warm ups because I want to give as

many students as possible the opportunity to contribute their rhythmic warm up ideas. If I’m not

careful, this warm up can take over a large chunk of the class time.

After warmups, the woodwinds move to the stage to work with my cooperating teacher

while I work with the brass section on “America the Beautiful.” Before playing, I asked the

students who felt confident enough to play from beginning to end without stopping. We have not

done this before, but every one of the students was excited and confident that they could make it

through. There was a section in the middle that my teacher had decided only the seventh grade

students would play, so excluding that section we did make it all the way through the piece. I had

the students practice counting the rests in their music so they would remember where to come

back in. I gave each of the students high-fives when we finished and congratulated them on their

hard work. Creating a comfortable and encouraging environment is very important to me and
after watching this video, I feel confident that I have created such an environment when I teach.

There were moments where the class got a little off topic and silly, but when I asked the students

to re-focus, each of them did exactly as I asked and we got back to work immediately. Having

those moments to goof of with each other seems very important to building relationships with

students, especially at the middle school level. When I let things get off topic, I always set the

expectation that we will get back to work and I feel like I have gained the students’ respect for

that. There was a moment where the students were getting a little too distracted, so I told them I

needed their best attention for the next ten minutes and then we could relax again. By telling

them the expectation was to focus and work hard for a set amount of time, I was able to regain

focus of the class. For the next ten minutes the students were quiet, respectful, and focused, so

when the ten minutes were up, I relaxed just as promised.

As my last class with the fifth grade band, I feel very pleased with how my rehearsal

went. I can see from comparing my first teaching video to my last that I have improved on all of

my goals including classroom management and doing more than saying. I will continue to work

on these goals throughout my teaching career, but feel very confident in what I have learned

from my student teaching experience.