First Day Activity - Demo
Real Life Footage of My First Class
The first few classes are SO important to my approach. Establishing routines for movement, setting good habits and expectations, these things are critical to a successful year. One of the things that can sometimes be invisible when you watch someone teach is to know the way they set up these routines and how they introduce these to the students. I thought I would share this footage from the FIRST DAY of one of my Kinder classes. This is about 15 minutes into class, and you can see how I use the song “Walk With Me And STOP” to practice some good habits for movement and address some potential behavior issues. Enjoy the video! But first…
Housekeeping:
In this TEAMM event TOMORROW (Tuesday, 8/27/24 at 7 PM EASTERN) we’re going to de-mystify Dalcroze training and talk about the various experiences people have with summer programs! I’ve invited TEAMM All-Stars Kayla and Olivia to the meeting to share their unique perspective from their experiences this summer, and we’re going to all talk about how Dalcroze training might differ from other pedagogies, and how the various training centers differ as well. It will be a ton of useful info, reflecting right after the summer when the memories are fresh! See you there! If you want to come learn about this subject and you AREN’T on the TEAMM, then you should upgrade today!
From the Archive:
One of the concerns I have about offering Demo Lesson observations is that often the temptation is to prepare the students for a “performance” in which the students are on their best behavior, executing movement activities that might appear impressive. While there is some value in preparing students for such a moment (this is what my end-of-year performances look like) it is not very helpful for other teachers to learn from. I have found that in some ways, this approach makes the work look inaccessible and even more mysterious. Perhaps the other teachers might think highly of me and my capabilities, but I’m not sure it invites them to embrace this approach.
In most of my Demo Lesson situations, I try to strike a balance between activities with which I am confident that they will be successful and demonstrate their learning, and activities in which the students will struggle, giving me the opportunity to show how we overcome such struggles. I want to show teachers “how the sausage is made” so to speak, even if it is sometimes not the prettiest thing.
It doesn’t get any more “sausage-y” than the FIRST DAY OF CLASS! Very few people would record themselves on the first day of class with brand new kids that they just met and post it on the internet, but lucky for you I am one of those people. This video is of the FIRST DAY OF CLASS with a group that is brand new to me. Before this activity I introduced my rules, did a short name game, and reviewed some procedures, including “finding space,” sitting down, standing up, and being still.