Teaching Portfolio

Timothy Storm

820 Lynhaven Court

Rochester Hills, Michigan 48307

248-462-0079

tstorm@rc.edu

Timothy Ray Storm 820 Lynhaven Court, Rochester Hills, MI 48307 Contact Information (248)-462-0079, tstorm@rc.edu Career Summary

Seeking a position as a Vocal Music Education Instructor for grades sixth through twelfth, in which a fun yet academic atmosphere can provided through the knowledge, energy, and passion of the applicant.

Education

Bachelor of Science in Secondary and Primary Music Education April 2013

Rochester College, Rochester Hills, MI

Major Instrument: Voice Minor Instrument: Piano

Teaching Experience Student Teacher January 2013 to April 2013 Rochester High School, Rochester Hills MI

Developed and implemented lessons and rehearsals for varying degree of musicians Managed classes in both a normal classroom and a technology centered environment Conducted and prepared choirs for District Choir Festival and Pre-Festival Concert Attended professional development meetings that aided in technology use Provided private lessons to students in preparation for Solo & Ensemble Festival

Rochester High School: Rochester Hills, MI • Observed and taught the RHS Choirs under the direction and supervision of Jolene Plotzke • Planned and conducted a warm-up and rehearsal for • Headed sectionals on a regular basis for all levels of choir • Performed for the High School's Spring Concert "Cabaret" on guitar

Delta Kelly Elementary School: Lake Orion, MI • Observed and taught Elementary School music curriculum under the supervision of Tim Palmer • Prepared multiple lessons regarding improvisation and the Blues progression for grades 3 and 4 • Organized a small percussion ensemble to play for the 5th Grade musical • Co-directed the 5th Grade Holiday themed musical

Van Hoosen Middle School: Rochester Hills, MI • Co-directed the Van Hoosen spring musical Seussical under the supervision of Mrs. Betsy Marsh • Aided students in preparations with individual solo work and ensemble rehearsals • Prepared and played the instrumental backtracks during the show • Assisted in the casting process

Musson Elementary School: Rochester Hills, MI • Observed and taught various lessons with Mrs. Fischer at Musson Elementary • Prepared multiple lessons for all grades • Played guitar for the Spring concert on Petoskey

Professional Experience University Presbyterian Church August 2012 to April 2013 Director of Children’s Musical and Co-Director of Youth Choirs Rochester Hills, Mi

Directed rehearsals with choirs ranging from elementary to high school Performed with the Adult chancel choir for services and public events Created blocking, choreography, and casting decisions for the children’s music “Oh, Jonah” Acted as a hired soloist for services when needed

Quality Choice Home Health Care December 2011 to January 2013 Health Care Provider Varying locations

• Cared and mentored mentally handicapped individuals so as to help them function in society • Aided clients in aspects including reading comprehension, encouraging social skills, and

performing everyday household chores • Participated in social events that promoted businesses and services run by others with special

needs by setting up and helping sell cookies with a client • Help train clients to prepare for the Special Olympics

Rochester Church Preschool September 2009 to April 2012

Preschool Music Teacher Rochester Hills, MI • Taught preschool students from ages 3-5 music basics • Prepared the lessons and curriculum involving Steady beat, Loud and Quiet, Fast and Slow, High and

Low, and Ascending and Descending in pitch • Provided extra hands on opportunities for students to learn about musical instruments • Organized, choreographed, and conducted the end of the year Music Program

Heritage Church of Christ June 2011 to August 2011 Youth and Worship Ministry Intern Clawson, MI

• Prepared lessons for teen class for both Sunday morning and Wednesday night • Planned and chaperoned creative Wednesday activities • Chaperoned Youth Mission Trip to Cincinnati • Planned and led worship for Sunday morning services

Blockbuster Media June 2009 to March 2011 Customer Service Representative Rochester Hills, MI.

• Worked at a cash register and providing customer service to those in search for a movie, game, or recommendation

• Organized and cleaned the work area and sales floor • Took inventory of all rental items quarterly

Private Teaching February 2010 to Present Rochester Hills, MI

• Taught beginning fundamentals for Piano, Guitar, and Voice for multiple students • Created a curriculum suited to the particular student's progress, needs, and age level • Provided music theory training and song writing organization ideas for an aspiring artist

Rochester College September 2007 to November 2009 Student Caller Rochester Hills, MI.

• Called and emailed prospective students of Rochester College and asked about college plans Organized and filed student records within the online records system

Achievements Rochester College Outstanding Music Major 2011-2012 & 2012-2013 Who’s Who Among Students in America’s Universities and Colleges 2013 Dean’s List 2007, 2008, & 2012 Rochester College A Cappella Chorus President 2011-2012 Rochester College A Cappella Chorus Vice President 2009-2011 Vice President of Epsilon Theta Chi 2009-2010 Rochester College Freshman Music Major of the Year 2007-2008 Rochester Adams High School Drum Major 2005-2007

References • Savanah Allison Quality Choice Health Care Cell: 1 (248) 854-1933 • Justin Remsing Heritage Church of Christ Cell: 1 (248) 840-6343 • Stephanie Corp Rochester Church of Christ Preschool Cell: 1(586) 291-3667 • Mary Irvine Voice Teacher Cell: 1 (248) 705-4815 • Dr. Joe Bentley College Professor and Advisor Office: 1 (248) 218-2141

About

Me

How would you assess student learning?

Written Assignments: This includes written evaluations of performance

recordings, sight-reading worksheets, written marks in scores, and a

music theory quiz

Aural Assignments: Students will be required to sing their choral music in

small ensembles of different parts (quartets/trios). This will determine

the progress each student is making on developing quality choral tone

and matching pitch.

Participation: All students will be graded on participation everyday in

rehearsal. This grade keeps track of attendance to rehearsals and

performances, preparation of materials, actual singing involvement, and

posture throughout the rehearsal or performance

Why did you decide to become a teacher?

When I was younger, I had no direction as to what

I wanted to be or do. By 7th grade I had no

personal identity in terms of interests; I had liked

simply what my friends liked. That was until I met

a friend named Scott who challenged me unlike

anyone I had ever met. Scott changed my view of

school from a place for social interaction to a

place for gathering of knowledge. This encounter

drove me to search for what I believed in,

whether my interests were truly mine, and a

passion and love for music. I realized that the

greatest gift that can be given to someone is a

purpose. For me, Scott helped shape a purpose

involving music, and I hope to instill that same

drive and love to others as they grow and

understand more about themselves.

I grew up in Rochester Hills, Michigan

into a family with generations of

musicians. I have a heart for mission

work and have experienced working

with people all across the nation and

world spreading my love of music

everywhere I go. I also have a great

passion for the sport Ultimate Frisbee

and play it whenever possible.

Sight-reading in any music class is an essential

part of cultivating quality musicians, whether in an

instrumental program or vocal. Students who learn how

to sight-read have a deeper understanding of how to

read music because they need to activate many different

processes all while thinking about the correlation of a

pitch heard to one audiated (or thought internally), and

then made audible through voice or instrument.

In choir I use the solfege movable “do” method

for sight-reading. This process is well-known enough

that many feeder schools would use it, and yet is simple

enough that new-comers to the choral experience can

pick it up quickly. At Rochester High, we had a good

number of new choir members at the turn of the

marking period. Many of these new students, though

talented, did not know how to use the solfege method.

Despite this set-back, these students were able to learn

quickly and be prepared to use their newly discovered

skills at District Choir Festival.

Sight-reading requires students to make

relationships between intervals, understand important

terms (i.e. key signature, time signature, treble clef, bass

clef, syncopation, etc…), and be able to problem solve on

their own. Analyzing the music examples in both a

rhythmic and tonal sense separately helps the students

to scaffold the thought process into manageable

portions and then combine them together to sing a

complete melody.

As students gain confidence in certain levels of

sight-reading, I would continue to push challenges their

way by either giving a more advanced piece, or taking

away a scaffold like writing in notes on the paper. At

Rochester High School, the eventual goal for Concert

Choir and Treble Choir is to simply master Primary Sight-

reading, but for Chamber Choir and Advanced Women’s

Chorale the challenge should enter into advanced

literature such as melodic minor.

In my student teaching experience, I was challenged to head a Music Appreciation

class in the Distance Learning Lab at Rochester High School. I had to not only think about

how I was going to teach the curriculum to the students in the classroom, but also outside

of the classroom at a different school. I was motivated to learn about and understand the

technology used in the DL lab to help with this course. This included

LanSchool

Moodle resource for online learning

Google Sites

Various projectors

Multiple web cameras

Distance Teaching software

This structure of the class led to many classroom management situations I had never

experienced or even considered possible before. In addition to management, I also had to

accommodate the lessons so that students at both schools could freely participate, and

that students with IEP’s were also involved. These accommodations included an activity

where students had to work in groups to create a webpage describing different genres in

music. The information that the students needed to study would be posted by the

different experts in each genre (classical, traditional, and popular), and then each student

could access the other groups’ page to research the information. This group jigsaw puzzle,

provided students with the tools they needed to learn the material without direct

instruction.

Click or copy the

following link to view a

student group website:

https://sites.google.co

m/site/musicappreciati

onstorm/classical-music

In my experience, I have directed/co-

directed 2 musicals. The first of which

was at my placement at Van Hoosen

Middle School. The Spring musical

was a Junior Version of Seussical and

my particular role was a vocal/music

director. I aided students in

perfecting their solos and chorus

numbers during rehearsal and kept

the musical on track by playing the

accompaniment recordings at the

appropriate time during the show.

One particular student that I worked

with had troubles getting into

character because it was outside his

comfort zone, so I worked with him

specifically to work through some of

those issues.

The second musical experience I’ve

had directing, involved a children’s

musical “Oh! Jonah” at University

Presbyterian Church in Rochester

Hills Michigan. In this production, I

wrote blocking and choreography,

designed the set and costumes, and

conducted vocal and regular

rehearsals. The ages of the actors

spanned from 1st grade to 8th grade,

and the dances were specifically

tailored for the corresponding age

groups. This experience was a great

challenge that turned out to be a

fantastic success.

I worked as a preschool Music Teacher for three years at Rochester Church Preschool in

Michigan. In order to present the class an age-appropriate curriculum, I needed to set the

standards for the learning goals in the class. Using a textbook for a Kindergarten music class I

was able to develop five learning goals and implement them through techniques and songs I

had learned through observing Mrs. Maryanne Fischer at Musson Elementary. I wanted to

make sure the students had a memorable and influential experience in the music class, and so

I organized a musical instrument day. In this lesson, I invited several musicians to come and

show the students the different parts of the instruments, how they sounded, and to give the

students an opportunity to be able to physically touch and handle the instrument. I personally

was inclined to learn more about each instrument in order to answer questions students may

have had in the following days. I was able to grow as a musician because this lesson was

exciting and educational for both my students and me.

Dance Friday!

While student teaching, one of

the activities used to promote

positive interactions in the

classroom was the inclusion of

“Dance Friday”. This activity got

students out of their chairs,

learning dance moves

coordinated with the music,

and helping others when they

have a difficulty learning the

steps. Not only did this activity

help students engage

themselves in class, but it also

provided opportunities for

positive interactions with

special needs students in the

class. The ladies in Treble choir

really show compassion and

caring for those with special

needs by, helping them learn

the dance moves, or just

providing encouragement

during the activity. Many

students end up begging for

more songs and dances, while

others think of possibilities to

bring to class for the next week.

Another reason why dance

Friday is beneficial for the

students is because it

provides a stepping stone to

aid in the dancing portion of

Cabaret, Rochester High

School’s choreographed

spring concert. Many of the

students in choir have never

danced before and

immediately feel

uncomfortable when the

choreographer comes to the

class. This Dance Friday,

breaks down that initial

barrier and allows a fun, safe,

and inclusive scaffold to the

dancing to come in the

Spring.

Quality Choice Home Healthcare is a company that promotes the betterment of the standard of living for people

with special needs. While working for Quality Choice, I mentored several different clients with varying degrees of

disabilities. Some clients needed help with bathing, while others simply needed to be reminded to cook and clean. Alex,

one client I had, wanted to improve his communication skills so that he could interact with customers and co-workers

more efficiently. We read various books to increase his vocabulary and improve the context of understanding to use the

words. I would engage in “practice” conversations so that he could understand when certain words were appropriate and

how to place them grammatically in a sentence.

One resource that I helped him create to aid his learning when I wasn’t there was a self-made “glossary”. This was

a spiral notebook that included definitions that made the most meaning to Alex. When he mastered a word’s definition,

he would underline the word. Vice versa when a word was too difficult to understand or explain, Alex would box the word

and we would find a new way to approach that word. For example, concrete words like “glanced” would be easily

mastered when explained in simpler terms, but more abstract words like “influence” would stump Alex and would have to

be approached in a different way. I had to be careful that Alex would not confuse an example of “influence” as the

definition. This process took a long time to execute, which taught me much about patience and understanding. This

experience gave me a better insight on how struggling learners might need to be accommodated and the patience it takes

to nurture the correct procedure of learning.

In December of 2011, the Rochester College (RC) A Cappella Chorus was invited to

sing at a local Korean Methodist Christmas Concert. This involved many churches

within the Metro-Detroit area raising money to donate to worthy causes within the

community. The RC Chorus was the minority in terms of ethnicity, but enjoyed a

fantastic night of song and performance from all the attending congregations.

Certain times throughout the evening hymns were sung with both Korean and

English translations on the screen, and many performances featured Korean

instruments or texts as well as traditional Christmas music. After the concert, a small

reception took place with many traditional Korean recipes for snacking. This

experience helped me understand how the arts are so heavily focused on in Korean

culture. The quality of music in this festival compared to others the RC Chorus

normally attends was astronomical. Experiencing the service with prayers being

translated into English and a majority in attendance singing in Korean for the hymns

was very immersive into the culture and community. The willingness, but more so

duty, to give to community causes at a substantial financial amount was also a very

apparent trait within the community. In the end, we all joined together in singing

the Hallelujah Chorus and our differences melted away.

In the summer of 2011, I worked as an intern

at Heritage Church of Christ, and had the

opportunity to go to Cincinnati on a mission

trip. While there we spent a great deal of

time catering to the physical and emotional

needs of the children in the community. We

played, sang songs, and then shared a meal

with the residents and their children at the

community center located in the middle of

Government housing. The teens in the youth

group learned many valuable lessons on

caring for others in spite our differences and

became much more aware of the state of our

country. They organized games and dances

for the children of the town, and came back

with heart full of pride and hope to come

back soon.

Filling Hearts and

Stomachs Standard 6.e: Design learning activities for students

that involve volunteer groups, civic and social organizations, and relevant public service agencies

This experience gave me a lot of insight on

urban culture and being able to break

through the barrier placed by the differing

culture. Teaching for the children in the

community as well as the teens in the youth

group widened my abilities as an educator

into a well-rounded individual who dealt

with crossing cultures. I also learned that

adding a small amount of fun can overcome

many obstacles, and that community really

is heightened around a meal. When asked to

help, older students can really be motivated

to aid the younger generation.

In the summer of 2008 I took an

exciting course in the field of Earth

Science that provided first-hand

experience with the geology and nature

that we were studying. This course was

taught in the “Maymester” as a study

abroad program to various national parks

spanning from Michigan to Utah to

Colorado. The class would set up tents at

campsites in the midst of the geological

wonders in which we studied, and explore

hands-on the different stones, sediments,

and landmarks in the context of its

natural location. We would cook our

meals, go hiking through trails to further

study rock formations like Utah’s Arches

National Park, and discuss how erosion

and other factors played into the

formation of such astounding natural

phenomena. Many of these thoughts and

experiences I wrote in my

notebook/journal that we kept our notes

in so I could share them with the class

during discussion time.

The location that I was most

intrigued by was the Great Dunes

National Park. The reason I found this

location so outstanding was because of a

combination of the surrounding scenery

of the nearby mountains and the idea

that the sand dunes never keep the same

shape consistently. This idea of the wind

constantly carving into giant mounds of

sand and shaping new heights boggled my

mind when I stared into the vast expanse

of hills and valleys. Needless to say, this

experience impacted me greatly in my

appreciation of the world and

understanding of the Earth Sciences.

During the summer of 2012, I traveled with a small group of students to Jinja, Uganda in an effort to better understand the effect of culture on communication and religion. We studied how East African culture has influenced Christianity, and how the communication differed from the Western world. Through my experience there I was constantly bombarded with a new outlook of community and its importance over the individual. Everyone needed to work together for the good of the village, because no one had the resources to succeed by themselves. The organization we worked with, Kibo Group International, supported the community’s efforts by encouraging self-sustaining programs. Kibo would front a kick-start of resources like 40% of the cost of a water pump, but the village would have to collectively pay the rest. This thought process provided the community ownership of the pump, and instill greater care for such things. I feel this approach to achievement is directly relatable to the classroom, and can help foster a better sense of community. There is a sense of pride when an entire community has a common goal, and achieves it through equal partnership.