3/3/2019
Topic:
Students with Disabilities
Mary Papit
|
I have a 1st grade student who comes to music class in a wheelchair. She has a paraprofessional who comes with her. The student can stand, but cannot walk. My 1st grade students sit on the rug, so she comes in, gets herself out of her wheel chair and crawls a very short distance to her assigned seat in the front row on the end of the row, where I or the paraprofessional can easily assist her. Her seat is easily accessible for her. She does not need any accommodations for most of what we do in class. She can sit on the rug to play any of the instruments we use. Movement is the only area where she needs accommodations. I usually have the students do movement that she can do either sitting or standing. If we are doing locomotor movement, the paraprofessional will push her in her wheel chair. We often use scarves when we do locomotor movement, so she can use her arms and hands to move the scarf while the paraprofessional moves her chair. Her disability does not really affect her music learning. She was very shy and quiet at the beginning of the school year. Now she eagerly raises her hand to ask and answer questions. |
4/1/2019
Topic:
Tools and Strategies
Mary Papit
|
I have used technology to assist ESE students who have difficulty remembering the letter names of the lines and spaces of the music staff. The Staff Wars Notes of the Staff game is a fun way to reinforce the notes of the staff. They can play it on a laptop or on a tablet. I usually have the student's paraprofessional assist them or have a student buddy play with them (the other student loves getting to do this!). This is an especially fun way to reinforce the notes for student's who love to play video games. It is not, however, good for student's who are easily frustrated. The notes are shown faster and faster as the student succeeds. This is fun competition for some students, but can be frustrating to others. The student may keep track of their score so they can see their progress. |
4/1/2019
Topic:
Assessment of Learning
Mary Papit
|
I like to use Plickers for assessment. Each student gets a card with their own specific number on it. Each side of the card has a letter - A,B,C, or D. Multiple choice questions are shown on the screen. The students hold up their card with their answer at the top, ie. if they feel the correct answer is A, they would put the A side of the card at the top. I scan the cards with my phone app.This is a great assessment tool for students who have difficulty writing or speaking. It also shows me immediately which students got the answer correct or incorrect. It graphs the responses of the class and scores each individual student. |