4/19/2016
Topic:
Students with Disabilities
Judith Kelley
|
In a fourth grade music class, I have four mainstreamed ESE boys, two with autism. They like coming to music and the other students in the class are encouraging and helpful to them. Students are learning to play the recorder and are now playing five-note songs. One thing I do to help all students is to color code the notes and display the songs on large chart paper. This week's new note was orange D. Students were asked to only play the new note D as I sang and pointed to each note in the song. Next, I divided the class into groups, assigning each group a specific note in the song to play. After playing the song, I reassigned each group a different note. Lastly, students played all the notes as I pointed to each note on the chart. One autistic student used to get very frustrated. I believe this strategy is helping him and I see him gaining confidence in his ability to play a song successfully. |
4/21/2016
Topic:
Tools and Strategies
Judith Kelley
|
One strategy I currently use for recorder instruction is Task Analysis. For each new song, we clap the rhythm, sing the note names in rhythm, finger the notes on the recorder as we sing, and then play the song. The students know what to expect and this set procedure helps them concentrate on the new information in the lesson. I also use colors for notes on the lines and spaces. This helps all my students, including ESE. Recently, my students were getting stuck on a song. I came up with the idea to have them only play the new note as I sang and pointed to the notes on the chart. Then I picked a different note, one they already knew, and had them play only that note. Next, I divided the students into groups and assigned each group only one note to play in the song. Each time we repeated the song, I gave each group a new note to play. Finally, we all played the entire song. This method of breaking down the piece worked. Almost all the students can now play that song.
A strategy I would like to implement more is Peer Partners. Students who have successfully played a piece enjoy helping others who need help and students learn quickly when I use this strategy. This strategy would be helpful at the keyboards, Orff instruments, or when learning a new dance. I would also like to use more graphic organizers, such as Venn Diagrams and Semantic Maps. I can see how this would be visually helpful for teaching listening pieces, instruments, songs, new concepts, etc. |
4/21/2016
Topic:
Assessment of Learning
Judith Kelley
|
A few years ago, I taught a class of hearing impaired students. It was very challenging for me but I did come up with some strategies and alternative assessments. When assessing, I would write down instructions or demonstrate what they were expected to do. I would pat on their shoulder or hand the steady beat or rhythm of words. Through using visuals, words or pictures, they would play rhythms on classroom instruments. I bought beach balls for the children to hold so they could feel the beat of the music. I had to turn the music up a bit, but they could feel the vibrations through the balls and I could assess steady beat. When playing Orff instruments, I color-coded notes on the music staff and then used matching colored dots on the bars. When assessing movement, I took the students to the stage and turned the music up so they could feel the vibrations in the hardwood flooring. edited by Judith Kelley on 4/21/2016 |
4/21/2016
Topic:
Tools and Strategies
Judith Kelley
|
One strategy I currently use for recorder instruction is Task Analysis. For each new song, we clap the rhythm, sing the note names in rhythm, finger the notes on the recorder as we sing, and then play the song. The students know what to expect and this set procedure helps them concentrate on the new information in the lesson. I also use colors for notes on the lines and spaces. This helps all my students, including ESE. Recently, my students were getting stuck on a song. I came up with the idea to have them only play the new note as I sang and pointed to the notes on the chart. Then I picked a different note, one they already knew, and had them play only that note. Next, I divided the students into groups and assigned each group only one note to play in the song. Each time we repeated the song, I gave each group a new note to play. Finally, we all played the entire song. This method of breaking down the piece worked. Almost all the students can now play that song.
A strategy I would like to implement more is Peer Partners. Students who have successfully played a piece enjoy helping others who need help and students learn quickly when I use this strategy. This strategy would be helpful at the keyboards, Orff instruments, or when learning a new dance. I would also like to use more graphic organizers, such as Venn Diagrams and Semantic Maps. I can see how this would be visually helpful for teaching listening pieces, instruments, songs, new concepts, etc. |