Sometimes you just need to do it!  Sometimes you just need to stray from your plans and do what you feel is right in your gut!  That’s what happened to me yesterday after my students and I listened to Vivaldi’s Siciliano during our regular listening time at snack.

We started listening on Tuesday and their first impressions were varied.  I asked them to write them on the white board as they transitioned from snack to math:

Today we listened again and as an activity during our listening time, we brainstormed 10+ words or phrases that came to mind as they listened.  Their ideas and interpretations were not only varied and insightful, but were so well thought out.  They really were thinking about the music and what it meant to them.

So, after cleaning up from snack, I decided to fore go the writing lesson I had planned to help them better prepare for THE TEST, and go with what was real in that moment – the music!

The students drew their interpretations, shared them in groups, created main idea statements about them and wrote paragraphs based on their main ideas.  They were involved, interested, dare I say excited…ok, maybe not, but they were certainly invested in what they were doing because the experience was real to them.

I really believe that teachers need to do this when the time is right.  We need to Grasp the Opportunities when they arise.  This is what the learning process is all about.  If you are excited about doing something, do it.  If you are interested in digging deeper, grab a shovel!  Give yourself the permission to every so often Grasp the Opportunity!

What opportunities have you grasped in your teaching lately?

~EMP

Why the Arts?
True Arts Integration