5/6/2018
Topic:
Students with Disabilities
Carlos Silva
|
A student with a speech impairment gets pulled from my Guitar class almost every Tuesday for speech therapy. In order for him to stay on track, we discuss the topics that will be covered ahead of time and I check up on him individually throughout the week to make sure he understands what he missed. The disability itself is not an issue in the classroom. The other students are very respectful and he is not shy about his speech. The speech therapist is understanding and tells me that elective classes are preferred when they have to pull students. |
5/8/2018
Topic:
Tools and Strategies
Carlos Silva
|
In October, there was a UNITY concert with the theme of anti-bullying at my middle school. My guitar students performed alongside some singers/rappers, jazz band students, and orchestra students the song 1-800-273-8255 by the rapper Logic. The theme of the song is suicide prevention. The day after the performance, the students used the Self-Evaluation and Reflection strategy to write about their performance at the concert. Most students, including some with Emotional/Behavioral disabilities, quietly expressed some powerful statements in their writing. Some felt that they hopefully reached out to some depressed students, while others wrote about their own emotions and life problems. It was a very powerful assignment that connected the musical skills they learned with strong emotions and motivation to continue developing those skills.
When teaching a new piece of music in my guitar classroom, I combine the strategies of Chaining and Peer Partners. First, I model the right hand rhythmic pattern and the students imitate in unison. That gets broken down into smaller chunks for more difficult rhythms. I am constantly making informal assessments as I walk around the classroom. Then they play the rhythmic pattern on open strings for their partner, who evaluates and assists the player. Then they switch. Second, I have the students silently shadow play (left hand only) the melody or chord progression on their guitar as I play it out loud. Again, informal assessments are going on and I am assisting any students with special needs individually. Third, we play the melody or chord progression as a class. Then they play it for their partner. As I walk around, I make sure that every student can accomplish the required task before moving to the next part of the chain. |
5/20/2018
Topic:
Assessment of Learning
Carlos Silva
|
For students on the autism spectrum, I use different tactile forms of assessment. In my class, we use individual dry erase boards to write down answers to questions, note/rest values, and rhythmic dictation. Students can perform a rhythm by clapping or playing it on their instrument. They also have a choice of performing it in front of the class or playing it just for me at my desk. |