7/7/2017
Topic:
Students with Disabilities
Heather Hatfield
|
I am a music teacher in an elementary school and I had a student last year who had trouble with staying on task, impulse control, and appropriate behavior. She often shouted out in class which distracted other students. After speaking with her mother to help figure out a strategy to help the child, I tried giving her a ball that she could squeeze during class while she sang. Her mother told me that she needs to be moving or doing something with her hands in order to pay attention and focus. This strategy helped tremendously. The child participated well and sang with enthusiasm. |
8/8/2017
Topic:
Tools and Strategies
Heather Hatfield
|
Two strategies that would work well for students with disabilities in my classroom are chaining and graphic organizers. Any student, but especially those with disabilities sometimes feel overwhelmed with their assignments. Chaining and graphic organizers help to break the big concept or assignment into manageable pieces that can easily be worked with.
Chaining breaks the overall process of learning a particular concept or skill down very simply allowing the student to focus on just one step at a time and slowly piecing it all together. This strategy enables the student to be successful quickly by mastering one piece, then two pieces, and so on.
Graphic organizers are helpful for students who have trouble organizing their thoughts. There are many organizers out there, but the ones I use are called Thinking Maps. Each one has a specific use that be applied to any subject area. Whenever I have used the maps myself, I'm surprised by the depth of information the maps can elicit from me. Students with disabilities can learn to use Thinking Maps to help them recall what they already know and figure out the gaps in their knowledge about whatever subject is being studied. They can then take the information from a completed map and write about what they have learned. This prevents the "brain freeze" that sometimes happens when you tell students to write about a particular composer or piece of music. |
8/21/2017
Topic:
Assessment of Learning
Heather Hatfield
|
In my classroom, I have used preferential seating for students who have trouble seeing clearly and also read each question on the assessment aloud. These strategies help all of my students to do their best work whether or not they have disabilities. In addition, I monitor their work as they complete each question. Each question is posted on the screen to enable everyone to answer the same question at the same time. Students give me a "thumbs-up" sign when they are ready to proceed to the next question. This gives all students, especially those who have trouble concentrating and processing information, a little extra time to respond. For those who need even more time at the end of the assessment, I allow students to ask for particular questions to be repeated, if needed. |