4/3/2019
Topic:
Students with Disabilities
Julie Warren
|
My first year of teaching, I had a student in 6th grade chorus with a visual impairment. She loved singing and was excited to be in chorus, but was worried about being able to see the music. It was suggested by her ESE teacher to enlarge her music, which I tried and luckily helped her to see the music notes and words. I also highlighted using bring colors to show what line her part was on. She stayed in chorus for all three years of middle school. This student was a not only a strong contributor musically to the group, but also a role model in the importance of having a positive attitude and good work ethic. Seeing the music notes and reading the words was so much more work for her than anyone else in the chorus, yet her enthusiasm for singing and commitment to the group never wavered. |
5/26/2019
Topic:
Tools and Strategies
Julie Warren
|
As an elementary music teacher in a large elementary school, many of my music classes are combined groups of on grade-level students and ESE students needing accommodations. Two strategies I could implement in these classes to maximize learning would be Small Group Instruction and Tiered Lessons.
Small Group Instruction would be a great way to incorporate a recorder playing lesson. Students would be arranged by ability and their lesson for the day would be adjusted to the appropriate level. On grade-level students would work on mastering skips, a new note, or intonation. ESE groups would be focused on holding the recorder correctly, using correct finger placement, and/or playing notes in sequence. Students with ADD or ADHD would particularly benefit from the small group instruction as it allows them a closer proximity to the teacher and therefore more likely to remain on-task. Each group would spend time with me for instruction and then have time to practice their new skills while I moved to a new group. Happily, this method eliminates the concern of drawing the attention of the whole class to any one student or group of students who are moving at a slower pace.
Tiered Lessons provide a practical plan for teaching the same lesson to multiple groups of students, all with varying needs and abilities. A third grade class with ESE inclusion students learning a new song may need to hear the melody slowly a few more times than another third grade class did. The teacher providing the Tiered Lesson could quickly assess the group to know if a slower pace of instruction or another strategy is needed. The teacher might try showing the music on the projection screen while pointing to the verses to help the students who are "getting lost" in the music. The teacher could teach the song using echo singing to help students with reading impairments. A student who is non-verbal could be given a percussion instrument to play in lieu of singing the words. In contrast, another third grade class classified as accelerated might learn the same melody in less time, and the teacher could add a new level of complex skill to the lesson, such as learning the counter melody or adding a xylophone part. All of these third grade classes are learning the same song, and achieving the same learning goal, but at a pace appropriate to their abilities |