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Carolyn Cline Posts: 10
2/16/2020
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Teaching students with disabilities, especially severely emotionally disturbed students, can be productive and rewarding to these students when introducing the drums. These students enjoy playing the Jimbe Drums. I introduce each section individually so they understand what it is that I want them to master. Having students understand the differences between a quarter note and two eighth notes by playing them a specific way on the Jimbe Drums is important. Show students how to use the palm of their hand for the quarter notes. Show the students how to use the tips of their fingers, index and middle, when playing the eighth notes on the edge of the drum. Teach the students the nursery rhyme of "Peas Porridge Hot" by saying "Peas" for the quarter notes and "Porridge" for the eighth notes. The word "Hot" will be the half note that gets two beats. Students should be able to play and hear the quarter notes played with the palm of their hand, and the eighth notes played with the tips of their fingers. So the rhythm pattern is one quarter note for "Peas" two eighth notes for "Porridge" and one half note for "Hot". Then repeat the same rhythm pattern for "Peas" but use the tips of their fingers for four eighth notes for "Porridge In the" and the word "Pot" will be played with the palm of your hand for a quarter note. The part that goes “Nine Days Old” would be two quarter notes and one half note for the word “Old”. The entire exercise goes, “Peas Porridge Hot, Peas Porridge Cold. Peas Porridge in the Pot, Nine Days Old. Some like it hot, some like it cold, some like it in the pot, Nine days old. Have the students first echo the teacher, and then have them play the rhythm pattern on their own. And once mastered, have the students play the exercise much faster. This is a very positive lesson for students with disabilities, as well as, everyone in the classroom because students are working cooperatively and within a g
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Nathan Johnston Posts: 4
2/18/2020
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I had a student who had a significant hearing impairment and was also wheelchair bound. Hearing assistive technology helped a little but didn't help the student quite enough to understand lyrics or pitches to our songs. That student became out steady beat helper. It was a job that all of the other students fought over. His job was to use one of several different percussion instruments and keep the beat with the song. I had some wonderful help from our schools ESE teacher during class to make sure he was staying with us.
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Nathan Johnston Posts: 4
2/18/2020
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I love using scarfs for my students who need a little more space. I love the conductor idea. Thank you! ursula von bargen-seitz fortner wrote:
In the elementary Orff music environment, my young autistic student would be the 'conductor', standing at a distance, while we practiced with the Orff instruments as a whole group, rather than play an instrument in the whole group setting. She would create her own melodies and play them on the xylophone while the other students worked quietly with materials. Similarly, this student enjoyed dancing, one scarf in each hand, in front of the group, at a distance. Having this personal space away from the group and doing something singular and repetitive on her own reduced the need to hide or rock in the face of sensory overload and/or inundation of personal space by people.
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Bryana Wescott Posts: 3
2/19/2020
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Think of a student with a disability you have now or in the past. Describe ways in which their disability affected their learning in your class.
I had a student with Orthopedic Impairments. She could not raise her hands/arms above her waist. Her arms were also very stiff and would not bend very well at the elbows. This affected her learning in my music class because it was difficult (but not impossible) for her to play instruments. It was also difficult for her to do movement above the waist during any choreography or dances were worked on in class. Her movements for dance and technic for playing instruments was modified to help her be successful in music class. She loved music so she was willing to do her best and was happy with the modifications. During partner dances the other students would want to be her partner because she got the "cool" movements with her hips, legs, and feet.
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Beth Zerkowski Posts: 3
2/20/2020
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I have several students throughout my classes that experience significant issues with attention and anxiety. In fact, my own son has great struggles with both issues. Foremost, I find that the lower school music room is a safe space for many of these students. I attempt to keep the activities varied and interactive. The challenge with this is to not let the atmosphere become chaotic - only creative!
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Grace Gibbs Posts: 3
2/26/2020
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I currently teach several students who (I suspect) have Autism, but who are still undiagnosed due to various reasons. They will participate in music class when I provide headphones for them to wear which block out louder sounds. They are still able to sing, answer questions, and play Orff instruments with the headphones on. Last week, I asked one of the students (1st grade) if they would like to try class without the headphones, and she was willing. However, when she appeared anxious after a few minutes of singing, I quickly offered the headphones back to her, and she was able to calm herself down and participate again. I am currently working with the homeroom teacher to see if there are other accommodations to help these students with (suspected) Autism.
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Grace Gibbs Posts: 3
2/26/2020
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"Describe one way you have used technology in the classroom for a student with disabilities:"
Several years ago, I taught a self contained class of students with Autism. One of the students used an iPad to help communicate with me. I played a music example, and the student was able to use his iPad to tell me "louder," "softer," "faster," "slower," and numerous other responses to what he heard. He would have not been able to participate in many of our activities without the use of technology.
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Erika Winter Posts: 3
2/27/2020
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Administrator wrote:
Think of a music student with a disability you have now, or have had in the past. Identify their disability. Describe the way in which their disability affected their music learning. Describe at least one or more ways you successfully accommodated or modified instruction for this student. Share your response in the threaded discussion.
I have two twins in first grade who have apparent IND or Intellectual Disabilities. They are both on the lowest end of the spectrum as far as their ability to meet tasks and understand. They are not able to make sense in conversations and often stare blankly if asked to do a task in music. Although their behavior is not an obstacle to overcome, it is their lack of communication and inability to participate like the others that is a challenge to overcome. Often times I will get next to them and show them how to play the rhythm if I see they are not doing it like the other students, or I will use them as an example to demonstrate the right way to do something, by coaching them along in a step by step process. I try to avoid any length of communication, and rather show them by example what the activity is. I also allow them some freedoms to watch until they are ready to join in and show ability to do the activity correctly.
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Katherine Seman Posts: 3
3/3/2020
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I have a student with Orthopedic Impairment. This child's right arm stops just after the elbow. She has a prosthetic arm but has outgrown it. When we play violin in class, it can be a challenge for her. We restrung the violin, and flipped the bridge so it could be played from her right side. Her right arm can hold the violin while she practices pizzicato using her left hand. She was delighted we could accommodate her so that she could experience beginning violin skills with her peers.
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Marissa Colon Posts: 3
3/3/2020
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Fine Arts educators: Think of a student with a disability you have now or in the past. Describe ways in which their disability affected their learning in your class.
A few years ago, I had students from an ASD unit attend class with general population. Their disability affected their learning in class in different ways. Some students were over stimulated from listening/playing music. Other students could not be in the room when playing loud instruments, not due to over stimulation but they could not handle loud sounds in general. Students also struggled during free movement because many rely on structure to get through class/day. My main frustration that affected their learning was that I could not spend as much time with my students in the ASD unit to make them more successful in music because I had an entire general population class that I also had to work with.
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Amanda Terry Posts: 3
3/12/2020
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Several years ago, I had a student with a visual impairment. That student had a camera that would magnify what was on the board. I made sure that that student was sitting in the front of the classroom. In addition, anything that was on the board, I would have a personal copy that was enlarged made for them to use personally. They also utilized their magnifier to see handouts. I had to make sure that the room was clear of obstacles. Many times I would have to modify instruction or activities to accommodate that student so that they would be safe.
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Timothy Trese Posts: 3
3/12/2020
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This year our school became a hub for the visually impaired. Most of the students have some vision and can be served with preferential seating and enlarged print. We do have one student who is totally blind who has a dedicated assistant. He is young and has not yet mastered Braille. He is also an English Language learner so his understanding of lyrics is hampered. He has informed us that he does not like singing. I still have him sing solfege syllables with his classmates. We have begun to teach him the keyboard concept with a glockenspiel. The biggest problem is that he still does not know all his letters. I have approached his vision teacher and her knowledge of music is very limited. So this is definitely a work in progress.
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Owen Willingham Posts: 3
3/12/2020
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I currently have a student with SLD and currently to a motorized wheel chair. We do a lot of movement in music class and I'm constantly aware of how this may be frustrating for him. He's only been using a motorized wheel chair for a few months and has become quite independent while using it. I told him it would be acceptable to make the chair move to the music. It was a bit of a gamble as I only see him once a week for 50 minutes and wasn't sure how much control he had over the chair and he has difficulty communicating, it's mostly through smiles. I was so impressed at his interpretation of movement to the music. Even after his assistant mentioned it was time to leave ( he has to leave 5 minutes early to get where he's going) he continued to move to the music the whole way out. It was eye opening and suggests that often times the student knows how to incorporate the activity to their ability if given the freedom.
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Matthew Stone Posts: 3
3/12/2020
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I currently have a 1st grade student who is on the Autism spectrum. He has been provided with head phones to wear due to a hyper-sensitivity to sound. He has been provided with an aid worker to assist him in his work at school. The first half of the year was difficult finding ways to keep him engaged in learning, as strategies that may work a few times, may not work others. He also displays occasional defiance, if he does not wish to participate in a given activity.
One strategy or modification that has recently worked is placing him next to a strong singer in class. This allows him to hear a voice in his range model the desired activity. This has resulted in the student displaying a greater enjoyment in singing, so much so that he was able to sing a solo in a recent grade level concert.
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jamie keaton Posts: 3
3/16/2020
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i have a student who has physical impairment with his hands and his feet. this makes it very difficult for him to play instruments or to do dances. i try to find other ways he can demonstrate the knowledge by completing other tasks.
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Laura Montgomery Posts: 3
3/17/2020
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I have a student with a physical disability. His arms are short and his hands cannot grasp well. I use an adaptive instrument holder for using a triangle and hand drum. He likes to try to play instruments on his own, but will ask for help when needed or sometimes modify his playing style on his own. He is now playing guitar by putting his left hand on top of the guitar neck instead of under and around it to play simple modified chords. He strums the guitar with his whole hand instead of his thumb or a pick.
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Lisa Mauro Posts: 3
3/18/2020
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I taught a student with severe physical disabilities and speech disabilities (non-verbal). He was in 4th grade.His disability affected his learning when we began playing the recorder because he was not able to use the fine motor skills needed to move his fingers. I was able to adapt his instruction and found he was able to hold a mallet and would play the notes on the glockenspiel with the other students on recorder. I also adapted his instruction in movement since he was in a wheelchair and would have him play an instrument part on the drum to keep him involved in a way that reached his needs.
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Hannah Bergstrom Posts: 4
3/19/2020
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I have a 4th grade student who seems to have some disabilities with fine motor skills and has difficulty playing recorder and understanding how it works. I have tried multiple strategies to help him either grasp he concept better or at least be more successful and less frustrated. First I tried to allow him to just play one note (A, for example) every time it came up during the piece of music. I even circled them on the board so he could see them coming. Then I purchased a Nuvo Recorder+ in hopes that the physical feeling of pushing buttons down might help more than just covering a hole. It helped relieve his stress for a couple of weeks, but then he went back to frustration. Finally I tried giving him a different job altogether. Instead of having him play recorder, I let him play a steady ostinato on the bass xylophone, and he seemed to be much more successful and happy to be participating.
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Hannah Bergstrom Posts: 4
3/19/2020
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I love this idea! I will keep this in mind if I ever have a student with sever impairments such as these. Nathan Johnston wrote:
I had a student who had a significant hearing impairment and was also wheelchair bound. Hearing assistive technology helped a little but didn't help the student quite enough to understand lyrics or pitches to our songs. That student became out steady beat helper. It was a job that all of the other students fought over. His job was to use one of several different percussion instruments and keep the beat with the song. I had some wonderful help from our schools ESE teacher during class to make sure he was staying with us.
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Joanne Kambouris Posts: 1
3/21/2020
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My student Josh is visually impaired. He can see a very limited amount through a pin-hole sized opening of his vision in his left eye. We are working on notation in class, and I've created a three dimensional service of the 5-lined staff, and he's learning his notes on the lines and spaces using tiddly wink pieces. Also, he can notate rhythms using wikky sticks (waxed pieces of string) that he places in stick notation indicating quarter, eighth, sixteenth notes, and rests. He is extremely musical and is very accomplished with larger Orff instruments, and my best player with any unpitched instrument in his class. He's a joy to teach, and has taken up drum lessons at home...
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