5/6/2020
Topic:
Students with Disabilities
Mary Wester
|
I have a student with Down's Syndrome. She started in Kindergarten and now is in the 2nd grade. During her Kindergarten year, my class was the last one of the day. She did not have a one on one paraprofessional yet so her parents had agreed to come to all her resource classes. After one class, they started picking her up early so she rarely attended any of the resource classes. In first grade, a wonderful para was assigned to her and has been with her since. In first grade, she would come in, walk on the "line up" tape back and forth while I was teaching, sometimes sitting where she was supposed to. In the spring, we did a first grade show where all the children were on the stage on risers singing. During one of the last rehearsals, she got up in front of them and started waving her arms around imitating me! That was the first "sign" to me that she had connected to music somehow. This year, during the second grade show, she participated in the dance her class did though sometimes doing her own thing. She sang very loudly sometimes but I could tell she knew the words and the melodies. She also would come into my class with her doll and tell me I needed to be quiet because the doll was sleeping and I understood what she said. She is surrounded by classmates, teachers and staff that love and know her. Her classmates are always bending over backwards to help her along. It is exciting to see how far she has come but I am concerned what will happen as she gets older. |
5/7/2020
Topic:
Tools and Strategies
Mary Wester
|
One strategy I use in the music classroom is peer partners. In grades 3-5, I write a familiar melody on large index cards by phrases (Twinkle, Funga Alafia, Frere Jacques). Then I pair up the students according to ability level to put the melody together sharing an Orff instrument. I check the order of the melody and once they have put it together correctly, the pair comes up with a way to play it for the class. Sometimes it is phrase by phrase, sometimes half/half or either they play the whole thing by themselves or together. It gives the struggling student a chance to perform without the burden of doing the entire melody. Then it gives the opportunity for the more advanced student to also perform and have a moment to "shine". If there are musically gifted students and the song is a round, I give them the chance to work together and play it as a round.
Another strategy is using graphic organizers. The one I have used the most is the Venn diagram with The Sorcerer's Apprentice. First I read the book that I got as a child. It is quite involved and has lots of expressive words and vivid pictures. Then we watch the Disney Fantasia version with Mickey Mouse and compare/contrast the stories. This is a great way for students with disabilities to organize their thoughts and discuss details from both versions of the story. This activity also has the potential to be done as a tiered lesson using the cubing idea that would promote interaction with groups of students. |
5/8/2020
Topic:
Assessment of Learning
Mary Wester
|
For a rhythm assessment, I gave the students cards with 8 different rhythms on them. They spread them out, then after I clapped one, they put the correct one in an envelope. With the inclusion class, the rhythm cards had just the notation on it for the general ed kids and for the students with the disabilities their cards had the notation with the rhythm syllables on it too. I then showed them the correct rhythm so they could also visually check their answer. |