8/10/2020
Topic:
Students with Disabilities
Christine Barrette
|
I am a vocal director at a local middle school. I recently discovered a student of mine is hard of hearing. There was no IEP, no information provided by the family, and no word from any other teachers. This particular student struggled to match pitch when singing solo but sang out and blended in well within the choir. She was eager to audition for solos but struggled performing with accompaniment once she was on her own. Alone, her pitch would swing wildly above and below the intended pitch but she almost always stayed in tune when singing with her alto section. I decided she wasn't tone deaf, she just needed some one-on-one instruction. In a tutoring session I faced her, sang short phrases, and asked her to sing them back to me. As she got the hang of our exercise I lengthened the phrases. We worked on tongue placement, breathing, and articulation. Her tone improved drastically but her pitch did not improve as quickly. Every time I sang a new phrase she tilted her head to the right and stared at me intently. It suddenly struck me. She was leaning in every time I sang or spoke! I asked her if there was a particular reason she was doing this and she shared with me that she was hard of hearing due to an illness in infancy. This changed everything. I usually play a soloist's accompaniment softly in the background while I work with them so that I can hear their voice clearly above the music. She could not hear her accompaniment and therefore could not sing in the correct key. I started placing her strategically closer to the piano and the stereo. Whenever she performed solo I raised the volume of the music during the intro and lowered it slightly once she got her pitch and began singing. Her performances changed drastically and she was much happier. |
8/11/2020
Topic:
Students with Disabilities
Christine Barrette
|
Describe how two of the strategies discussed could potentially be implemented in your classroom. Be sure to identify the two strategies by name and describe how they could be used to address the needs of a student with a disability.
I use graphic organizers to teach note values at the start of the school year. The thinking map I use is a brace/whole-part map with the whole note at the top and sixteenth notes at the bottom. I also use pneumonic devises to help students memorize the note names of the lines and spaces of the treble and bass clef. My students especially like Fat Cats Get Drowsy After Eating Birds, the pneumonic device we use for memorizing the order of sharps. I allow the students to write their own and share their favorites so from time to time students would use their own creations more than the ones I would provide. |
8/11/2020
Topic:
Tools and Strategies
Christine Barrette
|
Describe how two of the strategies discussed could potentially be implemented in your classroom. Be sure to identify the two strategies by name and describe how they could be used to address the needs of a student with a disability.
I use graphic organizers to teach note values at the start of the school year. The thinking map I use is a brace/whole-part map with the whole note at the top and sixteenth notes at the bottom. I also use pneumonic devises to help students memorize the note names of the lines and spaces of the treble and bass clef. My students especially like Fat Cats Get Drowsy After Eating Birds, the pneumonic device we use for memorizing the order of sharps. I allow the students to write their own and share their favorites so from time to time students would use their own creations more than the ones I would provide. |
8/11/2020
Topic:
Assessment of Learning
Christine Barrette
|
Option 2: Think of a music student with a disability you have now (or have had in the past). Identify their disability. Review the Alternative Assessment Checklist and select two or more options that could potentially benefit this student in assessing his or her music learning. Share your response in the threaded discussion.
I recently taught a student undergoing chemotherapy for leukemia. She had a 504 plan and was often hospitalized and unable to come to school. To help her stay on track I created sight reading assignments for her using a website I could upload and use as an app in Canvas. Whenever she was absent, lessons were posted for her on Canvas. She was able to make recordings of her sight reading exercises, rhythm exercises, and solo work then upload her video submissions. |