Attendance for today : Me & Wen Ye.
Oh by the way, this is Benedict writing the post again T.T
Isaac & Benjamin were forced to go for the C div match support, can't be helped.
Left RI at 1.45, arrived at ~3pm. Left at 5.15.
1st, a summary of the day's happenings, then going more into the detailed stuff.
A few of the choir members were absent today. Namely, Phyllis & Noelle. For those of you who can't remember, Phyllis is the one who was spamming "I love you!" throughout our last observation. Noelle is the rather noisy one; Mrs. Tan (the older teacher) is always sitting next to.
Today's Choir lesson was observation again. Though, we did our own little bit of teaching as well.
We revised Grace Orchard's school song, and learn something new called "Bugles' Calling".
Short song, three lines. Quite suitable I guess for our choir.
Ms. Phoon tried to get the choir to do a canon, but wasn't very successful.
Discussed our Proposal with her after the choir lessons - and left GOS before they started singing the National Anthem.
Okay, now for the fully detailed stuff. I'll try to write as much as possible so Isaac & Benjamin will catch up on what they've missed.
Our warmups today were very short. We did the "candle-blowing" thing, from 5 to 10, with varying speeds. After that, we did "Laughing is Contagious" a few times, from E5 up till D6 (that's the D above high C). Also did the "ma mi mu me mo" exercise.
Oh, and the "Hello, how are you?" warm-up too.
We did something new today, our first "teaching" element. I suppose this kick-starts our actual teaching stuff. Simple warm-up, we moved our hands up and down and followed it with our voices. Also, we did a "copying" warm-up.
Meaning, Ms. Phoon would clap a rhythm, or sing a tune - and the children would imitate her. It seems to be quite effective in teaching them some stuff. For instance, Ms. Phoon would clap the rhythm of a part of the Grace Orchard song. The kids wouldn't realize it, but I observed that she was using it to lead them into the later part of the lesson (singing).
Anyway, we moved on to the Grace Orchard song after that. Ms. Phoon drilled the lyrics into them first; by the use of some memory exercises. Since the choir is comprised of kids, this would seem to work well.
She (or someone else) had written the lyrics to the school song on the whiteboard. Ms. Phoon then erased a few words (for example, "a happy place, a joyful place" became "a _____ place, a ______ place". The kids then had to fill in the blanks. Most of them were quite successful.
A key point to note here is something about the school song. It's quite simple, just 1 melody line and that's all. We're going to have to do something about it - writing a harmony or bass line, or something. I guess it'll be either Wen Ye's or my job - I think I can get my sister help me write it, she used to do MEP in secondary school =/
Next, we did "Bugles' Calling".
Can't really remember the lyrics... the tune was quite simple, but our choir was a little slow at grasping it at first.
Ms. Phoon told us that we'd probably need at least one month to teach them such a simple song. I know the song only has 3 lines, but well... I'm sure we all know the condition our choir is in.
We'll really need to put in a lot of effort into planning our lessons...
Well, next Friday we have been forced to take up the roles of teachers.
Wen Ye & Isaac, you guys better do your job. =/
Since I'm expecting the choir would have ~full attendance next week, then I think we can start them on rhythm classes already. Anyway, if we're doing purely rhythm then we have no need for warmups. Please take note that they have short attention spans... so we'll need to vary our activities as such.
Well, I've got nothing much to say - Wen Ye, if you can think of anything then please tell me and I'll add on to this post. kthxbai ~
Edit 1: Oh ya, forgot to add this point. Today the guy who was kept saying "Phyllis shut up!" last week (Shawn, was his name? can't remember) was singing Michael Jackson's Billy Jean throughout the three breaks that we had =.=
Well, apparently his father bought a MJ DVD and he listened to it. Apparently he's trying to imitate the moonwalk etc now... Ms. Phoon told him to sing something else, like the Jackson 5's "We are the children" (can't remember the title =.=!)
I think we'll infer from his actions and Phyllis' "I love you!"s last week that our children are rather impressionable. So, two things I'd like to point out.
1 - We can actually use this to our advantage. Repeating something that they (may be able to) relate with may help them learn a lot better. Put it this way, they will remember stuff much better, no? =.=
2 - We'd better watch our language. Lol. You wouldn't like our choir to be like "**** **** ****" etc during our practices would you? =.= it'd be rather... erm... not ideal.
*reserves space for any edits if I have to*
Friday, February 26, 2010
Friday, February 19, 2010
"Observation" 19/2
I'm Benedict, and I'll be writing today's 'report' thingy.
Full attendance today.
First, we travelled from RI to GOS. We left at 1340h, and reached GOS at 1500h sharp.
Luckily, it didn't rain. As such, our travelling time was reduced a little.
As it was our second time here, we signed in using the file for student volunteers.
Moved to the choir room, where we had this week's choir lesson.
We had a new choir teacher today, replacing Ms. Kwan. She seemed like a nice person, asking us to address her by her given name. Don't think we should do that though, since after all, she's more senior than we are.
Today was *mostly* observation again, like the last time.
Ms. Phoon didn't look as if she was prepared for today's lesson though, so @Wen Ye & Isaac, please make sure you guys come up with something for our next trip. Somehow.
We started teaching the choir their school song. Simple song really, 6 lines - but it will take some time for them to learn it fully.
I suppose today's meeting has started us on our project timeline - the first of which being teaching the choir their school song.
Oh, and GOS has bought a new piano.
If I'm not mistaken, this is the one which can record stuff played on it.
We left at 5.20, after obtaining Ms. Phoon's contact details.
That's all for today.
Full attendance today.
First, we travelled from RI to GOS. We left at 1340h, and reached GOS at 1500h sharp.
Luckily, it didn't rain. As such, our travelling time was reduced a little.
As it was our second time here, we signed in using the file for student volunteers.
Moved to the choir room, where we had this week's choir lesson.
We had a new choir teacher today, replacing Ms. Kwan. She seemed like a nice person, asking us to address her by her given name. Don't think we should do that though, since after all, she's more senior than we are.
Today was *mostly* observation again, like the last time.
Ms. Phoon didn't look as if she was prepared for today's lesson though, so @Wen Ye & Isaac, please make sure you guys come up with something for our next trip. Somehow.
We started teaching the choir their school song. Simple song really, 6 lines - but it will take some time for them to learn it fully.
I suppose today's meeting has started us on our project timeline - the first of which being teaching the choir their school song.
Oh, and GOS has bought a new piano.
If I'm not mistaken, this is the one which can record stuff played on it.
We left at 5.20, after obtaining Ms. Phoon's contact details.
That's all for today.
Friday, February 5, 2010
February Orientation/Observation 05/02/2010
Hi readers,
This is Benwong posting. Have fun reading the post ahead.
Before that, Wenye, Benedict and myself attended this meeting. Isaac was at merit CCA trail. We clocked 2.5 hours in this visit (2.30pm to 5pm)
We set out for Grace Orchard School (GOS) at around 1pm today, skipped lunch and took a train ride all the way to Raffles Place before going up to Lakeside Station. Train ride took us about an hour or so, and we arrived at the station around 2.05pm to grab a quick bite before walking to GOS.
Took a walk through the HDB and found the school thanks to the wonderful guidance of Wenye.
We met Miss Kwan in the meeting room at GOS (we felt like VIPs) and basically we went through our group's objectives and ideas for this project. The response was okay, and we basically had our direction pointed out and the group objectives clarified. Our current purpose is to help along with the school choir, and if possible, organise internal activities for the choir (suggested were GOS School Song, Choir Camp etc) for the exposure and for the confidence boost.
We went on to observe the choir in action, and it was a group of 15 to 16 people, age range 10 to 15 years. Mostly girls in the choir, but a few boys in the midst as well.
We noticed that the students were interested in learning. Really enthusiastic and open. The teaching methods were also observed, and we picked up a few ideas on how we should go about teaching the students in the future. Of course, we joined the students in their Choir practice, and they were practising for Chinese New Year, the song called "He Xin Nian".
We spent most of the rainy afternoon in the room practising the same song many times over, and we heard the voices of he students. As a whole, they sounded pleasant even though it was not in unison. We'll have to work on this if we're going to make them perform.
So we more or less spent the day there observing and participating, and it was basically an orientation and familiarisation session with the school choir and practices.
For the month of February, we'll be continuing the observation of Choir sessions and craft out lesson plans for the students there. Next week is Chinese New Year celebrations, so we will not be going down for RES-L.
Before I end this post, I'll upload the remainder of the photos we took today.
The nice little tags we got to enter the building.
The room door.
The school building.
That's about all for today's gathering.
Stay tuned for more updates on the progress of our RES-L project.
Till then,
Benjamin Wong
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
RE Meeting 03/02/10
Attendance
Wen Ye : 12.35pm - 3.15pm
Benjamin Wong: 12.35pm - 1.15pm
Benedict Lee: 12.35pm - 3.15pm
Isaac Teo: 12.35pm - 3.15pm
Today we discussed about our objectives of doing RE-SL with GOS.
Objectives for GOS
1. Learn singing techniques
2. Learn new songs
3. Learn new methods to teach future members
4. Perform at a concert/ Release a single
1. One Song
2. Flying Free
We also came up with a list of warm-ups to teach the children.
Warm Ups (taken from http://www.brighthub.com/education/k-12/articles/7451.aspx and http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=1006032412485)
1. Breathing exercises
a. These are great for getting students to use their diaphragms and warm up their vocal chords. I have my students breath in through their nose, hold for 4 counts, and then let out through their mouths saying SSS (like a snake) I have them do this both as loudly and as quietly as possible. I just tell them to imagine they are a huge anaconda and then the smallest rattlesnake. They enjoy this. They all look silly and they have so much fun that they forget they are warming up. This exercise will help them to warm-up their vocal cords, open nasal passages and open their throats.
b. Breath in through nose, hold for 4 counts, let out through their mouth saying SSS, but stagger breathing with rhythm. (eg. SS-S-S-S-SSSS)
2. Tuning exercises
a. Do-Re-Mi-Fa-Mi-Re-Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So-Fa-Mi-Re-Do
3. Vocal Slides
a. Ask how an object drops from a high point to the ground. (Weee------)Then, put a hand up high and pretend to throw something to the ground with a long, slow "loo" until their voices cannot go lower. Then we quietly say, "Splat." The great thing about it is that I can kick them into higher voices by saying, "You didn’t throw it that high!"
b. Mr. Glissando (mentioned on a recent posting)--toss/bounce a stuffed animal and children follow it with their voices. Bring a toy.
4. Voice Flexing Cards
a. They are cards with line drawings on them that the children follow with their voices. They are wonderful for vocal experimentation and range expansion. I gave them a piece of heavy white paper and they drew their own with pencil and then traced it with marker. When they finished, we vocalized each one.
We did research on autistic children. (Taken from http://www.ehow.com/how_2052077_teach-autistic-child.html and http://www.autism.com/families/therapy/teaching_tips.htm)
Autistic children often learn faster with visual aids, rather than words.
Autistic children need a set routine, as they feel safe with a specific schedule. To introduce something new to their schedule, changes must be made slowly and carefully.
Autistic children react negatively to loud noises, and can be distracted by loud sounds. Speak softly to them.
Autistic children learn better through hands on methods(tactile simulation).
Autistic children will modify their behavior if they are rewarded for good behaviour(positive reinforcement)
We will be visiting Grace Orchard School Choir this Friday from 3pm - 5pm.
We will also be discussing with the teacher-in-charge about our objectives. We really look forward to Friday as this will be our first meeting with our community partners! :)
That's all for now,
Wen Ye
Wen Ye : 12.35pm - 3.15pm
Benjamin Wong: 12.35pm - 1.15pm
Benedict Lee: 12.35pm - 3.15pm
Isaac Teo: 12.35pm - 3.15pm
Today we discussed about our objectives of doing RE-SL with GOS.
Objectives for GOS
1. Learn singing techniques
2. Learn new songs
3. Learn new methods to teach future members
4. Perform at a concert/ Release a single
Objectives for RE-SL
1. Learn teaching skills
2. Learn leadership skills
3. Learn organizational skills
4. Learn time management skills
5. Contribute to GOS through fund raising
6. Come up with a final product to raise funds
a. Organize a concert
OR
b. Release a single
7. Learn logistics and planning skills
8. Coordinate between RI and GOS, establish ties
9. Learn interaction skills
10. Create teaching materials for current and future use
a. Score Sheets
b. Pictorial aids
c. Vocal techniques
1. One Song
2. Flying Free
We also came up with a list of warm-ups to teach the children.
Warm Ups (taken from http://www.brighthub.com/education/k-12/articles/7451.aspx and http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=1006032412485)
1. Breathing exercises
a. These are great for getting students to use their diaphragms and warm up their vocal chords. I have my students breath in through their nose, hold for 4 counts, and then let out through their mouths saying SSS (like a snake) I have them do this both as loudly and as quietly as possible. I just tell them to imagine they are a huge anaconda and then the smallest rattlesnake. They enjoy this. They all look silly and they have so much fun that they forget they are warming up. This exercise will help them to warm-up their vocal cords, open nasal passages and open their throats.
b. Breath in through nose, hold for 4 counts, let out through their mouth saying SSS, but stagger breathing with rhythm. (eg. SS-S-S-S-SSSS)
2. Tuning exercises
a. Do-Re-Mi-Fa-Mi-Re-Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So-Fa-Mi-Re-Do
3. Vocal Slides
a. Ask how an object drops from a high point to the ground. (Weee------)Then, put a hand up high and pretend to throw something to the ground with a long, slow "loo" until their voices cannot go lower. Then we quietly say, "Splat." The great thing about it is that I can kick them into higher voices by saying, "You didn’t throw it that high!"
b. Mr. Glissando (mentioned on a recent posting)--toss/bounce a stuffed animal and children follow it with their voices. Bring a toy.
4. Voice Flexing Cards
a. They are cards with line drawings on them that the children follow with their voices. They are wonderful for vocal experimentation and range expansion. I gave them a piece of heavy white paper and they drew their own with pencil and then traced it with marker. When they finished, we vocalized each one.
We did research on autistic children. (Taken from http://www.ehow.com/how_2052077_teach-autistic-child.html and http://www.autism.com/families/therapy/teaching_tips.htm)
Autistic children often learn faster with visual aids, rather than words.
Autistic children need a set routine, as they feel safe with a specific schedule. To introduce something new to their schedule, changes must be made slowly and carefully.
Autistic children react negatively to loud noises, and can be distracted by loud sounds. Speak softly to them.
Autistic children learn better through hands on methods(tactile simulation).
Autistic children will modify their behavior if they are rewarded for good behaviour(positive reinforcement)
We will be visiting Grace Orchard School Choir this Friday from 3pm - 5pm.
We will also be discussing with the teacher-in-charge about our objectives. We really look forward to Friday as this will be our first meeting with our community partners! :)
That's all for now,
Wen Ye
Singing the Dream @ GOS
Hello everyone,
We are a group from Raffles Institution. We consist of Wen Ye (Leader), Benjamin Wong, Benedict Lee and Isaac Teo. For our RE-SL Project this year, we are working with the Grace Orchard School Choir. Throughout the year, we will be using this blog to record our progress and developments.
That's all for now,
Wen Ye
We are a group from Raffles Institution. We consist of Wen Ye (Leader), Benjamin Wong, Benedict Lee and Isaac Teo. For our RE-SL Project this year, we are working with the Grace Orchard School Choir. Throughout the year, we will be using this blog to record our progress and developments.
That's all for now,
Wen Ye
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