9/30/2022
Topic:
Students with Disabilities
Andrea Clemens
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I currently teach elementary music, but for the last two years I taught middle school chorus. I had a student in advanced chorus both years with cerebral palsy who was bound to a wheelchair. He came to chorus as his only general education class during the day. He could verbally communicate fairly well. He could match pitch, he could harmonize, he could read moderately, and he had a LOVE for musicals and a love for singing with others. His positive attitude in chorus was infectious! Even though he had limitations physically, he never let that stop him fro trying harder to do his best to contribute to the vocal ensemble as a baritone. Treating him equally was important to him. He wanted to be a helpful team member, not a burden. I modified the rubric used when it came to grading him on the physical and cognitive expectations in chorus. Some of the areas modified included: correct posture for singing, correct diction, correct choreography, correct reading of musical score, and writing of musical notation. |
10/3/2022
Topic:
Tools and Strategies
Andrea Clemens
|
The first strategy that comes to mind in which I incorporate for upper elementary students is using mnemonic devices to memorize the letter names of the lines and spaces on the treble and bass clef. This strategy helps students with learning disabilities to have a methodical and FUN way of retaining important information needed to read a musical score.
The second strategy I incorporate frequently when playing instruments is small group instruction. I am able to tier instruction based on the student's varying ability levels. The individual students feel more successful when the challenge they are given is achievable! My students with disabilities can be groups with students who are achieving goals at a similar level.
I currently have a class set of IPADS that allow for students to work at their own individualized pace to achieve the goal at hand. More students are able to have a greater sense of accomplishment when the pressure of "time" is taken away when working towards a learning goal. |
10/3/2022
Topic:
Assessment of Learning
Andrea Clemens
|
I have had students with learning disabilities; including students who have difficulty with reading comprehension. I use color-coding or highlighting to make key points or important vocabulary stand out on written quizzes. I also read questions out loud to students who have an attention disorder and struggle with focus while reading questions during tests. |