11/21/2016
Topic:
Students with Disabilities
Jennifer Jones
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I used to teach a self contained class of autistic students, ages 5-7. They came to my music class with two paras. Most were non-vocal. I followed the same routine for every class: Hello song, singing, playing instruments, movement and good-bye song. I create a board with each element of the class listed. I (or a student) would put a "happy face" after we had completed each element. I noticed after several months of class that some students started to participate in the Hello song; they would be able to sing back to me "My name is ......" That was great! Most could play simple rhythm instruments...some with help. Most would not sing, but we kept trying! Most would also move to music with scarves. A few students "came to life" during movement time. They loved responding to music with movement. A lot of the time it felt like we were taking such baby steps, but each new engagement was extremely rewarding. |
11/22/2016
Topic:
Tools and Strategies
Jennifer Jones
|
Two strategies that I would like to implement in my classroom are learning centers and cubing.
I would like to implement more lessons using learning centers. I think it would give my students more time to practice a skill that we have learned about in class. I was thinking that once a nine weeks, each grade could have a learning centers lesson where the students are practicing the skills learned in that nine weeks. One center could focus on rhythm (writing or reading), another on expressive characteristics (describing what they hear), another on melody (figuring out patterns, notes), etc. It would give me time to walk around and observe which students are progressing and which ones are still struggling. I would be able to observe my students with disabilities to see how they are doing without calling attention to them.
I would also like to implement the strategy of cubing. I like the idea of using the cube to reflect on a piece of music that we've just listened to. I can see it being used to discuss "Carnival of the Animals" or "Peter and the Wolf." I can see this being beneficial for my students with disabilities because they can choose the level of complexity of a question that they want to answer. |
11/22/2016
Topic:
Assessment of Learning
Jennifer Jones
|
Students of various disabilities can almost always benefit from extended time on an assessment. To accommodate one of my autistic students, I provide extra time for him to complete his assessment. To do this, I provide a quiet "filler " activity for my other students when they finish early. For example, I tell them to turn over their test paper when they're finished and draw or write about something we learned in class today. This keeps the other students quiet and engaged while this student completes his assessment. |