1/19/2020
Topic:
Students With Disabilities
Karen Epstein
|
I currently have a student in theatre who has Autism. He speaks very softly to the point of a whisper and does not have inflection when he speaks. Since projection is a part of theatre we developed a special goal in class and I have him work with a peer. He had his first performance at Barnes and Noble and everyone could hear him. He worked really hard to increase the volume of his voice. He is a member of our class, troupe, and ensemble. He is included in everything even our upcoming musical. Working with a peer, sending materials home to rehearse, breaking down movements with video, rehearsing in small and large groups, and celebrating his successes is just a part of regular theatre life. We are so happy to have such a hardworking and kid student in our class. |
1/19/2020
Topic:
Students With Disabilities
Karen Epstein
|
KAREN ROMINE wrote:
I have a couple of students who are hearing impaired and I teach Chorus. It affects the class in that if the student is unable to hear the music, it makes pitch matching, improvising harmonies and many other elements of this performance based class difficult for all concerned. One thing I always do is make sure that they are close to the source of the music...whether that be an instrument, a person or a speaker. Another thing I do is surround them with strong singers so that they are encompassed by the sound. Finally, I have worked with students privately after school to help them with pitch matching and recognition incorporating hand signs to communicate pitch directionality and specific interval sizes. I also provide recordings of their voice part, the accompaniment and the voice parts of all the other singers to allow them to practice at home.
I am a hearing impaired adult who was in chorus throughout my schooling, so thank you for being so accommodating and inclusive. I loved singing and being with chorus. I like that you surround them with strong singers and help them privately. Do you use Google Classroom for your recordings or email them to the student? |
1/19/2020
Topic:
Students With Disabilities
Karen Epstein
|
Tiffany Demps wrote:
I have a student in my theatre class that is on the autism spectrum. She struggles with social interactions and is extremely fixated on her specific likes and interests. This can make group projects very difficult. It can also be difficult to keep her engaged if she is not interested in the current topic, which can lead to behaviors that are very distracting to the class. One way that I successfully accomodated for this student is to use one of her favorite TV shows as a source for monologues and group acting scenes. Because of her extreme interest in the characters and plot, she was engaged and focused, eagerly learning lines, talking about characterization, even going as far as to create a costume for the project.
I also teach theatre but when I was a language arts teacher and we did a unit on characterization I ended up having the student pick from favorite TV shows or movies instead of literature. One student performed the Evil Queen monologue from Once Upon A Time, when the Charmings were about to get married. It blew me away, he had ever nuance down! I started watching the show because of him. Anytime I see that scene it reminds me of him. |
1/19/2020
Topic:
Assessment of Learning
Karen Epstein
|
Option 1: Provide/Describe one or more examples of adapted or alternative assessments you have successfully used in the classroom for students with disabilities. Be sure to identify the student's disability. Share your response in the threaded discussion.
I teach theatre, musical theatre, and TV production:
In theatre:
I have a student who has ASD he receives shorter monologues to memorize and we work on one element, such as projection. He has greatly improved now and we are working on speech patter now.
I have a DHH student and I use my classroom microphone to ensure he hears the direction for the assessment and has the opportunity to ask clarifying questions before we begin.
Another student has severe anxiety and stage fright. Last semester we worked our way from group discussions, to drama games on the floor, to drama games on the stage, to one minute monologues in small group, to class performance. Last nine weeks she competed in District Festival and took home a Excellent! We continue to work on her anxiety with prompting before performing, visualization, stress management, and positive praise. |
1/19/2020
Topic:
Assessment of Learning
Karen Epstein
|
I love how you found a way to include your student through her own strengths!
Theatre is special because we inherently embrace differences as strengths and support each other.
The joy of her growth through your supportive environment is very inspiring.
Thank you for sharing!
Karen Monroe wrote:
One of my students in my Theatre class has multiple disabilities; her primary exceptionality is IND and her additional exceptionality is LI. An adapted assessment I have been using for her is giving her the option to draw a visual representation of her responses to questions. She loves to draw and is quite talented at it and she asked me if she could draw a response on a recent study guide I gave the students. I discussed with her that as long as she answers the question being asked, drawings would definitely be an appropriate response. This student has grown as a theatre student by leaps and bounds since the beginning of the year and I truly believe it is largely due to the accommodations, alternative assessments and support she receives while in my class, not only from me but from her classmates. |