InTASC 2 - Table of Contents

Standard #2 - Learning Differences

In general music class, students may choose from an array of music to perform according to grade level, learning domains, and personal interest. However, there are times when a song is appropriate for all grade levels and students understand the strength and unity that comes from singing together. In this way, students are part of an instructional activity that values many differences and showcases how they can work in harmony.

I included a learning video for an all-school (K-5) sing, Artifact 2.1 link, to support struggling readers, ELL, disabled and all students. The song, We Are the World was co-written by Michael Jackson and his friend Lionel Richie in the 1980s. In class, I facilitated a student discussion about the context of the song and how our struggle with the global pandemic is both similar and different from the original premise of alleviating world hunger in Africa. By learning the American Sign Language in small sections, many of the students were able to memorize the hand movements. Other students, including those with motor-skill disabilities, could sing and move to the music during the song. Each student is unique. This activity exhibits varied student strengths including ASL, vocal singing, body movement, and artistic expression while highlighting the value of learner differences.

In Artifact 2.2, I present screenshots that display my distance-learning shared screens. During class, one particular student enjoys knowing the learning targets before and after the lesson; they and other students thrive when the structure of the lessons is routine. Each week I tried to follow the same lesson format including a screen with the lesson targets, the school PBIS expectations, a recap of the lesson objectives, and a goodbye song. I also included screenshots of graphic organizers, see Student Sample 2a, that I created especially for struggling readers in the classroom to help them categorize elements of music and compare different musical genres. I designed the graphic organizers with pictures of words and places for students to draw or type; the second graphic organizer I modified with the pictures already drawn in for students to simply circle what they heard.

I selected an extension assignment to include, see Student Sample 2b, that I shared on Schoology as a Google document specifically geared toward gifted learners in grade three. This assignment allows students to listen to the musical tempo of sections of the Carnival of the Animals by Saint Saens that they choose, and then create a picture detailing the tempo. Each learner has different abilities and these artifacts display my ability to support diverse learners in the classroom by offering opportunities for them to think critically and share their gifts with digital and audio media.

Student Sample 2c is my reflection of ELL students working in class. These students were able to use a non-verbal gesture to remember forte and piano, two Italian words in music meaning loud and soft, and demonstrate their meaning in a song. Karten (2017) advocates for teachers to use hand-signs and non-verbal gestures to create a kinetic memory tag or association for students. I can also break tasks into smaller chunks or steps for different learners; one example of this is for ASD students, or more literal learners, who enjoys seeing the learning objectives before the lessons. Using smaller steps provides an opportunity to “make abstract concepts concrete by breaking them down into pieces” (Chapter 8, para. 22).  Vaiouli, P., & Ogle, L. (2014). Music educators and researchers call this chunking or “child-initiated learning” and “systematic delivery of instruction” (p. 22) which is an effective way to modify lessons and promote student achievement for different learners. 

Artifact 2.1 - ASL We Are the World Video Link

Artifact 2.2 - Structured Lesson Screenshots

Each lesson begins with the objectives and school PBIS expectations, and ends with the accomplished objectives and a goodbye song.

Student Sample 2a - Graphic Organizer Screenshots

Struggling readers and all students compared and contrasted the same song within two genres of music.

Student Sample 2b - Gifted Learner Extension Assignment

Student Sample 2c - ELL Student Reflection