PGCE student Valentina Buzeta overcame her nervousness about singing in front of her peers and now has her own students singing in the classroom!
Singing to start the day
As part of their induction week, PGCE students at Oxford Brookes University had an introduction to Sing Up session, where they spent the whole morning singing. But this came as a shock to some!
“We have to sing?!?” was the almost universal reaction amongst students as they prepared for their first lecture of the course. Could they overcome their shyness at having to sing in public to become future singing leaders in the classroom?
Valentina recalls: “We barely knew each other and yet we were going to go into the lecture theatre and spend the morning singing. What if I’m tone deaf? What if I keep rhythm like a one-legged spider? What if my course mates laugh at me?”
Have a laugh; have fun!
Their fears were soon quelled, when they realised how relaxed and fun singing with peers can be. While for some, singing can be an intimidating experience, Valerie says Sing Up could not be more different:
“It’s ok to make mistakes, to stumble and, dare I say it, to laugh. Even better, it’s memorable and often funny - you’re having far too much fun chewing the words, or trying to figure out whether you should be singing ‘ping’ or ‘pong’.”
Braving the classroom
For many teachers, singing with students is a very daunting experience.
“Singing with friends…well, that’s alright, but singing in front of the class? The key is to enjoy it as much as they do. It is funny and you will enjoy it immensely if you let yourself, and so will they.
“If a group of adults can take pleasure in singing games and sharing and teaching rhymes and rhythm, why can’t we take it into the classroom? Sing Up has that very much covered if you just take a peek at their Song Bank”. The Sing Up resource base offered her the support she needed to make this transition from the university lecture halls to the classroom.
Singing in the curriculum
Valentina found that the most valuable aspect of Sing Up is that it allows her to bring singing into everyday class routine: “I have used the site several times to source ideas for lesson activities. I have found the songs for end of the day quite useful and have also been shown some other activities such as the ‘singing register’”.
Having just begun a new placement with a Year 2 class, she is now finding all sorts of ways to incorporate singing into the curriculum, to get her students singing all day long!
Tips to take away
- Register with Sing Up - PGCE students can register as freelancers and put our excellent resources to good use.
- HAVE FUN. Singing is never boring when you’re using songs we know kids love. Try out one of our suggested playlists to get you started!
- Be brave and confident in the classroom with one of our specially designed lesson plans.
- Need help getting started? Find out all you need to know here!
Paul DeAngelis Report this comment
Posted 27th Mar 2012 06:26
I think these story's are great!