3.0 Justification on the lesson plan3.1.1 Introduction

The lesson plan I had constructed uses the three major elements in arts in education which are

music, arts and kinesthetic elements. These three elements are divided in each section or

stages of the lesson and will be elaborated further here. The stages in the lesson plan consist of

5 stages which are set induction, presentation, practice, production and closure.

3.1.2 Prior knowledge utilization

At the start of the lesson which started off with the set induction, pupils are asked questions

by me on the topic which is going to be taught. This is intended to prepare the pupils on the

topic they are about to learn and also to arouse their interest on the topic. Furthermore, it helps

pupils to construct knowledge based on their experience. At this stage, the constructivist theory

can be seen in practice as its core principle is relating past knowledge or experience to

construct meaning and knowledge. "Constructivism is the philosophical and scientific position

that knowledge arises through a process of active construction."(Mascolol & Fischer, 2005)

When I asked the questions, the pupil’s answers them with different answers and they will try to

relate their answers especially, about the pets with the pets that they already have. This

indicates that the pupils are using their tacid knowledge or past experience to comprehend the

questions and also respond to them.

3.1.3 Integration of musical activity

Next is the presentation stage. In this stage, the teacher conducts a musical activity

which is a sing-a-long activity. Here, the teacher as in myself would first shows them the lyrics of

the song. This here coincide with the behaviorist theory which states that before learning or

mimicking a behavior a proper model should first be introduced. The lyrics served as a guide to

help the pupils familiarize themselves with the model. After showing the lyrics, I as a guide first

need to sing the song myself before the pupils learn to sing it. My guidance here also acts as a

model for the pupils because by demonstrating first how to sing the song with the correct tone,

pronunciation and rhythm, the pupils then will try to do the same. Utilizing song as an activity is

also useful in terms that it can address the pupils who are more towards musical intelligence.

Pupils with this kind of intelligence might be good particularly in certain areas. Moreover,

individuals who possess this kind of intelligence might be strong in verbal, musical and

naturalistic intelligence. After the singing activity, the pupils are shown seven words which are

not so familiar to them. I as the teacher then explain to them the meaning of the words and the

correct pronunciation.

3.1.4 Integration of arts and crafts activity

In the next stage of the lesson plan which is the practice stage, the pupils are divided

into groups of five and are given masks template. The activity the teacher conducts would be

the mask making activity. In this activity, each group of pupils cooperates together and makes a

mask based on the mask template given. Other than that, the group can discuss how to modify

and make the mask more creative. In this activity, the division of group is the first move of the

communicative approach which place importance in working in a group in order to

communicate. Having pupils in group can initiate communication thus make it an active teaching

and learning session. The usage of the communicative approach in this activity can also

encourage pupils to exchange ideas and also initiate group learning. Furthermore, the mask

making activity needs the pupils to be creative and also derive their past knowledge in

constructing the mask. This is how I utilize the constructivist theory. I had the pupils to seek their

knowledge on how to create the mask and also made them recall any lesson or experience they

had in creating any creative works. In constructivist theory as I had elaborated in the

introduction section, this theory concludes that construction of meaning and knowledge depends

on whether the learner can relate their own experiences or past knowledge in understanding

what they are learning.

3.1.5 Integration of kinesthetic or bodily-movement activity

Next is the production stage. In this stage, acting out is the activity that the pupils needed to

do. The acting out activity is based on the animals for which they had learnt through the song

and also through the masks they had created. This acting out activity is also done in groups and

involves a lot of bodily-gesture. This activity is done group by group. For this activity, it

addresses a lot of pupils because this activity is suitable for kinesthetic learners. Most young

learners are kinesthetic learners (Restak, 1979), this means that this activity is not just suitable

but will also be fun and enjoyable for the pupils. Furthermore, incorporating bodily-gesture can

actively get the pupils to be active in the classroom. Besides that, kinesthetic movement or

bodily-gestures are always associated with reinforcement of the memory. Therefore, this activity

can strengthen what the pupils had learned that day. As elaborated earlier on the mask making

activity where communicative approach is utilized, this activity also use the same approach.

This is because the pupils will need to discuss and prepare their acting out activity first before

presenting them. The discussion and preparation requires the pupils to communicate and make

decisions together to achieve the final word of what they are going to act out. In this stage, I

also prepare animal pictures as visual aids for the pupils. In this case, this activity not just

addresses the kinesthetic learners but also the visual spatial which the animal pictures are

intended for. Howard Gardner (1983) had stated that visual learners learn best by drawing or

visualizing things using their imagination. Visual people learn most from pictures, diagrams, and

other visual aids. By using the animal pictures as visual aids, I didn’t just help my pupils to

visualize the animals but also guide them by reinforcing the visualization to help them to create

the mask during the practice stage. The cooperation the pupils gives to each other by

discussing what to be done together for the acting out activity is intentionally done so that the

pupils can develop decision making skill. This corresponds with the constructivist theory as the

pupils learn to make their own decision by relating it to their prior knowledge or experience.

The last stage of the lesson is the closure. In this stage, I had the pupils to sound out how

the animals sound would be. The pupils are also instructed to recall the names of the animals

with the correct pronunciation. The behaviorist model or to be specific, the operant conditioning

theory by B.F Skinner states that by giving positive or negative reinforcement, the learners can

response the way the teacher wants them to. Here, giving the pupils a chance to sound out the

animals and recall back the names of the animals, I had successfully integrated positive

reinforcement which I had done throughout the lesson before this stage. This lesson concluded

by making sure the pupil can recall back the names of the animals taught which is the result of

using the behaviorist and constructivist theory in the lesson.

4.0 Conclusion

In the lesson, the integration of arts in education seems to be something simple. However,

to execute this successfully, the planning must be good and also the activities must run

smoothly. If not, the teacher needs to be ready to improvise. The theories elaborated in the

lesson can be a guide for the teacher but must not be the importance of the lesson. This is

because the true objective of a lesson is not achieving the academic objectives but making sure

the pupils enjoy the learning process.

Reflection

In the making of this assignment, I had discovered that there were some strengths and

weaknesses worth mentioning in the making of this coursework. Besides that, I also prepare

some suggestion for improvement to my weaknesses.

I had realized that when making the lesson plan, I had mastered the skills enough to make

the lesson plan in a short period of time. Furthermore, I had also mastered the skills and

techniques of making my own lesson plan in detail. This helps as there are no ambiguities

throughout my lesson plan. Furthermore, the justification I wrote for my lesson plan was written

based on a number of techniques and strategies. This means that I know how to strengthen my

work with proof and also theories and ideas from any number of reliable sources.

However, as much strengths I have, there were also some weaknesses I had realized

during the course of finishing my work. One of the most frustrating weaknesses I had when

completing this coursework was procrastination. I had delayed many times before I had

managed to finally complete this coursework. It was very annoying because I had always been

disciplined enough not to delay my work all this time. Another weakness is that I was not

resourceful enough as I had search for my references only from the internet. This is because it

was easier and less time consuming. However, it does however reflect how lazy I was.

To address these weaknesses of mine, I had come up with some suggestions to improve

on it. To prevent me from procrastinating, I need to be more discipline. This means I need to

reorganize my time and make a schedule so that I can save time and my work can be finished

on time. For the lack of resources, I can improve on it by regularly going to the library and

making it my priority to read so that any time I need something to refer, I can remember which

books have the information I want.