1/25/2021
Topic:
Tools and Strategies
susan winslow
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Most strategies I implement tend to be towards adapting instruments to fit the needs of the students. For example, in guitar class I teach only partial chords and have students only use the three highest strings of the guitar and only one or two fingers when playing. I have also put rubber bands or a clip on the strings that we are not using so that they don’t play make sound if the student accidently strums strings we are not using. I also have had students go down to one finger and two strings. If students are still having trouble, I assign them only one chord to play throughout the song.
When listening to music I try to implement a lot of movement strategies to help students with adhd and cognitive developments. One method I use includes an arm movement, moving up and down, matching the rhythms we say. To display a whole note we would start with our arm at our side and sing a continuous note as we raise a straightened arm up to our head, ending with a straight arm next to our ears (shape is similar to a half circle). When we sing half notes we sing till our arm reaches mid body. Quarter notes would be a shorter distance and eighth notes even shorter. Another method I think is helpful is that I also like to announce when I make mistakes. This helps the class know with that mistakes are okay. I think that some students will not participate because they are too scared of making mistakes. When I share that a botched a note or said a “ta” on a quarter rest that creates an atmosphere that is conducive to trying. |
1/26/2021
Topic:
Assessment of Learning
susan winslow
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I used to teach in a school that had a "communicative disorder" special education classroom that housed students from throughout the nearby counties. Most of these students required help with note taking because their fine motor skill were not fast enough to write out the definitions we would sometimes copy from the board in our general music 7th grade classroom. The students were provided with an aide so the aide and I discussed different strategies to help the students learn the concepts. First we would provide tests where they would circle answers instead of having to write multiple words down. We would also provide notes for the students but would also make them try to write some words down so they could have a little practice with their writing skill that would benefit them in the core curriculum We would also provide rulers to keep them in the correct passage on the assessments, and sometimes highlighted passages words to help them visually find things faster. |