Mock Lesson Reflection

On February 22th, I gave the beginning of a mock flute lesson! This was supposed to be the very first lesson with a fifth grade band student. We focused upon getting to know each other, getting to know safe ways to put our flutes together, and learning the terminology for the three parts of a flute. In retrospect, I believe the teacher's objective matched what the student believed the objective was. This was achieved by verbally stating, "We will ______...so that you can ______." I know that I was speaking a little faster than I normally would have in a real lesson, but I was nervous because we only had five minutes in front of the class. After giving the lesson, I thought of creating a sheet that students could keep in their folder. The sheet would be given to them at the first lesson, and would contain what to bring to every lesson (flute, folder, pencil,) how to put the flute together safely (1. Sit on the floor 2. See the sticker on the top of the case etc,) and also the names of the joints and tips for remembering them (BIG piece = Body, head joint doesn't have any buttons and goes on top, just like your head, foot joint is the smallest joint and goes on the bottom the same way that your feet go below your body.)

As I watched other people give lessons, I learned that my getting to know you questions should have had more clear intentions and links to music. While my questions eventually transitioned to music, I had to think on my feet a lot to direct the conversation and transition into flute playing. Some of my classmates had thought of questions that naturally moved towards music or enthusiasm. If I had thought more about my questions ahead of time, I probably could have made the getting to know you process more efficient.