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ANISSA RUIZ Posts: 7
6/10/2018
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Option 1: Provide/Describe one or more examples of adapted or alternative assessments you have successfully used in the music classroom for students with disabilities. Be sure to identify the student's disability. Share your response in the threaded discussion.
I had a student with orthopedic disability which made it difficult for them to play the recorder. The entire grade level was doing Recorder Karate and because this student was unable to function with a recorder, I let the student use the xylophone in order to accomplish what everyone else was. So this student was able to earn the "belts" by playing the same songs that everyone else was playing, but on the recorder. It was so nice to see this student get so excited that they could still be on level with the rest of the class.
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Andrew Toth Posts: 4
6/11/2018
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Option 1
When I first started teaching there was a 5th grade student who only had one arm. We had stared playing violin, and he was able to perform the open string song I taught the class by placing the violin in his lap, rather performing in standing play position. He was unable to change pitches by placing his fingers on the fingerboard without my help, or the help of another classmate. When it came time for me to assess his ability to read music, I allowed him to play the songs on the xylophone using one mallet instead of performing on the violin.
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Barbara Sullivan Posts: 3
6/23/2018
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I have a student with a speech disability (and we thought low cognitive function) who is currently in a self-contained class. His vocabulary is very limited, but he is able to answer short one word phrases with "yes" or "no." This student has attended my music classroom for the past 4 years. One day I was teaching students how to read music notation with "Ta" for quarter note, Ti-Ti for 2 eighth notes and to say the "rest" for quarter rest. I have encouraged him each time he came to music to read the notation from my music flash cards. To accommodate him I held up the flash card and pointed to each note. After much practice (about 2 years later) he is able to read music notation. His favorite part was saying, "Rest." One day his mother was visiting the class when he came to music. I was able to show her how well he could read the music notation. She was shocked.
This simple assessment was successful because it used:
1. Oral Expression. It is easier for students to use a syllable like "Ta" rather than saying "Quarter note."
2. Visual Representations: I used rhythm flash cards that showed the actual music notation
3. Visual cues: I pointed to each note (beat) on the rhythm flash card as he recited the rhythm aloud.
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Kathy Shepler Posts: 3
6/24/2018
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I have a student who has learning disabilities in processing and is on the autism spectrum. This past year when we were learning recorders, I allowed extra time to read the music, mark the music, practice without playing so allowing time to process, then he was much more successful in playing. He was paired with another student who assisted him.
He was also given extended time in taking a test, had him sit by himself so there was less distractions, allowed to take breaks, and I checked with him periodically for understanding. He finished with much less frustration and was able to complete the test with high marks.
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Kathy Shepler
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Jane Plank Posts: 3
7/15/2018
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In my self-contained autistic class, I always try to use visuals to support concepts and behaviors. Using a solid, step-by-by step video introduction to drumming techniques, followed by student imitation/practice was key to a successful classroom participation. Several students were able to quickly and joyously transfer the observed techniques to a subsequent musical example.
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Mary Holway Posts: 2
8/16/2018
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I had a student with a disability in my music class for several years, K - 5. He had an emotional/behavioral disability which manifested itself in extreme anger issues. He had very little tolerance for mistakes (his or his classmates) and would severely melt down if he could not master something immediately. I accommodated for his melt downs with a small space in my instrument closet where he would go to calm down when angry or upset. He began to return to class after less and less time in his space as he got older and needed the space less and less. He did not have an aid to help him with the transition back to class and so I couldn't always go and talk with him, but when I could leave the class I would go to him to calmly discuss what happened. I always gave him more time to accomplish tasks and learn music but he only needed it because he was leaving class and instruction to calm down. He realized this after awhile and would stay to learn. By fifth grade he was learning to handle his issues better and became a very good student in most ways....still with a few outbursts but way less. His classmates, who had been with him from day one, learned to deal with the interruptions and a few could even help. The classroom teacher would frequently stay if he was having a bad day and occasionally keep him with her instead of sending him to music. I used all the strategies as the years went on....visual maps/writing on board/color coding/putting notes on music, peer support, hands-on teaching, allowing him to choose (in a limited way). Every year something else would work better. We found what he was particularly good at and were able to highlight that for him during music class at least once a period.
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Christopher Edwards Posts: 3
8/20/2018
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I love having my students notate. Sometimes with my students with disabilities, I found that they have a hard time drawing the note. So what I have done in the past is provide a tablet with a notation program such as noteflight and allow the student to touch on the staff where they want the note. I also provided popcycle sticks so they can build the notation in a not so tradition way, and I also provide sheets with velcro that allow the students to velcro the note or rhythm they want in their composition. The student is able to participate and I am also able to assess their skill.
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Rosemarie A Fernburg Posts: 4
9/17/2018
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My student is blind and 50% deaf. Although much of my assessment is conducted through performance, I have found when teaching beginning concepts of notation that it can be best assessed in a more concrete paper and pencil way. For my student. I took advice from her general music teacher and created a tactile board from hot glue, so she can feel the staff and clef. I use felt circles to represent the note heads and popsicle sticks to represent rhythmic stems. (At this point I have not assessed for pitch and rhythm simultaneously as in true dictation) We are only working within 1 octave right now. I find this way I can quiz her with the other students instead of only one on one.
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Jill Law Posts: 3
9/25/2018
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Several of the students with disabilities in my music class are autistic with difficulty in verbal communication. I have used a lot of the games and visual tools on my Quaver Music live streaming curriculum. There are games that let you show the steady beat with your body or hands as the music plays, games that let you point to identify high sounds or low sounds, interactives that have pictures to chose from to show loud and soft, etc. These are great ways to assess comprehension and skills using a nonverbal response for these students.
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Connie Edmond Posts: 3
10/17/2018
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In the past, I had to teach students who were hearing impaired. To assess steady beat I would tap the rhythms on their shoulders and have them repeat them back to me using body percussion of some form.(this helps the students internalize the music) I would also use individual dry erase boards to help them write notation that we were covering at the time so they could see what we were practicing. Giving students extra time to respond and encouraging feedback was always a useful strategy employed to hep with assessment.
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NIKKI KEMP Posts: 3
10/19/2018
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Option 1. I had a student with limited use of his hands. When doing rhythmic notation, I allowed him to use manipulatives to iconically represent the written rhythms. He was able to correctly indicate his understanding of the rhythms through both aural and visual means.
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Keith Marks Posts: 3
11/13/2018
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I have a few students with autism, all high-functioning. One of the ways we help them, as well as other students, is to group them into teams. Each team has a color and a representative composer. When we use rhythm sticks, the sticks themselves, as well as the containers they are in, match the colors of each group. This helps them maintain consistency. While the lessons are usually different, the order and process of doing each lessons follows the same routine each time.
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Michael Boehlein Posts: 2
11/20/2018
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I teach in a small high school band program. I had a student with dyslexia, which also caused him to have a difficult time with reading rhythms, or basic melodies in general. We began to mark his music parts with large marks that coorisponded to my motions as a director. He was able to visualize to see the motion of my hands and where that cooresponded to the notes on the page. over time, we marked his pages less and less. He eventually was able to sight-read music with-out marking his music. He still struggled without a director, but overtime was even able to ostly overcome that.
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Letonia Shingles Posts: 2
11/28/2018
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One of my 5th grade Recorder students has Nystagmus which casues her to have uncontrollable movements of her eyes. This also causes her to have trouble focusing in on the sheet music and playing her notes at the appropriate time. She has to hold her music up very close to her face and when she plays her recorder, her time is delayed. This causes her to be behind when playing collectively with the other students. I normally use an accompaniment CD with the background parts on it to assess the songs they are playing for Recorder belts. Knowing her disability, I will enlarge her music to a bigger print size and accompany her on the keyboard with a slower tempo. This gives her time to focus in on the notes and it gives her a more comfortable tempo to play with. She seems to be much more confident and focused when I give her these accomodations!
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Jason Thomashefsky Posts: 3
12/5/2018
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As a form assessing students aptitude for music I administer the Primary Measures of Student Aptitude for my K-4 students. This test is given at a fast-paced by design. This does not give a student who needs additional think time to have a chance to show what they truly know. to give students with a general intellectual disability an opportunity I made to modifications to the assessment. In addition to giving the assessment in small groups, I played each pattern on a keyboard to slow down the presentation of the assessment.
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Robin McDonald Posts: 3
12/12/2018
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An adaption I use for my students with ADD is assigning one of my more musically advanced students to assist and be a music peer. My kids jump at the opportunity to be a peer helper, a "mini-teacher" if you will. Peer helpers are most often better received by my ADD students , than with me hovering all of the time! Another adaption is with a student who has CP and has motor difficulties (i.e. writing) For notation, I offer her cards with notation examples written out. She lifts the one that matches the example. Kind of like a visual multiple choice quiz.
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Karenna Holt Posts: 4
12/18/2018
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An adaptation I used for one of my students who had Fragile X was to write the letter names of the notes in color on the paper underneath the notes. He was then able to somewhat successfully play the notes on the Orff instrument along with the other students. I also paired him with another student to reinforce the letter names written on the Orff bells. It still took lots of practice, but all the students were practicing sightreading the notes. He felt successful.
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Gary Murch Posts: 3
12/21/2018
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I teach many ESE children. One of the challenges I have is a boy that has autism. He has difficulty with transitions. He finds it difficult to participate in music games that have a sequence of several movements. For example part of a song will have the children walking, then sitting down for a bit, then stand up and walk in a circle. He likes to stay on the ground which results in becoming an obstacle for the other children. Through motivational accommodations such as providing encouragement of the student's efforts and by encouraging him to remain on task this may help with his behavior. Another way is to break the assessment down into smaller chunks. If he completes one part of the movement he could be rewarded with a treat. I also can make accommodation by playing soft calming music during the transitions entering and leaving the classroom and between activities.
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Madison Roach Posts: 3
12/24/2018
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When I do assessments related to rhythm notation, I will give my students who can't write the answers index cards to choose from with rhythms written on them instead of having them write the answers out on their own.
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Kathleen Pendas Posts: 3
1/18/2019
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I had a student who had a difficult time in writing, so I would let him notate by using music note & rest manipulatives. He was able to use them well and felt good about being able to participate. I was able to see how he was learning our material.
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