6/21/2018
Topic:
Students with Disabilities
Kristen Franzen
|
I had a student with cerebral palsy in my chorus class. She did not have any difficulty intellectually. However, her body position due to her condition, as well as limited movement within her wheel chair, made good posture quite difficult. This led to difficulty with breath support. We worked to have her push up with her elbows on the wheel chair arms to lift her ribs as much as possible. This resulted in a well produced sound. She could not increase volume the way other students could, but she was able to sing in tune. Her physical impairment also made jaw movement more difficult. The need for a dropped jaw actually reiforced exercise that were being done by her therapist and, therefore, supported an IEP goal. |
6/21/2018
Topic:
Tools and Strategies
Kristen Franzen
|
Middle School Piano:
- Semantic Maps can be used to create visual concepts for students that are over-whelmed with body and hand positions. Example: CENTER CIRCLE = posture at the keyboard, OUTER CIRCLES = sit tall, knees slightly under edge of keyboard, wrist above keys, elbows out, feet flat on the floor, right foot slightly in front of left, lean sligthly toward the keyboard
- Chaining is especially helpful for students who learn piano pieces slowly. Slower learners can learn one line of an example at a time. Each line can be assessed as its own assignment. The lines can eventually be combined for performance of the entire example. |
6/21/2018
Topic:
Assessment of Learning
Kristen Franzen
|
I have several piano students a year break or strain parts of their hands. I modify their practicing and performing to simply omit the broken finger or impaired hand’s notes. When the rest of the fingers on the hand are functioning, I have them simply not play the notes for that finger. It actually adds a element of audiation and concentration that they wouldn’t normally use. I have mostly beginners, so omitting a hand does not usually affect difficulty. If needed, I have the student speak the note names in rhythm for the missing hand. |