Embedded Files
Mdm Ameerah Sharainee Zain Bte Sha, Riverside Primary School
Mdm Ameerah Sharainee Zain Bte Sha, Riverside Primary School
It is my belief that as a music teacher, every child should be given the opportunity to learn and make music.
However, increasingly in our classrooms, there are students with additional needs who may require a different and/or additional approach to learning. To support these students, I frequently collaborate and consult with more experienced colleagues such as the AED (LBS) and teachers who are trained in special needs. Consulting with my colleagues allows me to have a better understanding of the child’s needs. I am able to better identify the barriers to the child’s learning and address the barriers through providing accommodations or modifications to my lesson design to support the child in his/her learning. By doing so, there is a greater chance for the child to achieve success when it comes to the summative assessment of learning. I will share three instances of how I support my students with additional needs.
Marcus (pseudonym) is a Primary 6 student who has a positive disposition in learning music. Unfortunately, due to an operation, this has affected the mobility of his left hand. As a result, he has difficulty playing the ukulele since he is unable to press the chords on the fretboard using his left hand. Marcus is aware that he is unable to press the chords on the left hand so he suggested if he could use his right hand to press on the fretboard and strum using his left hand with a ukulele pick instead. I appreciated his problem solving skill and allowed him to play with that modification. I also explained to the students in his class why he was holding the ukulele differently from the rest of them.
Marcus holding the ukulele
After learning the module for a term, the summative assessment of ukulele comprised two sections. The first was to show the ukulele chords with different strumming pattern and the second was to play a verse of a song with fluent chord transitioning. Overall, Marcus could show the correct chords on the ukulele and was able to strum using the pick. However, in his self-assessment, he felt that he could have done better in chord transitioning for his performance if he was able to use his left hand to press the fret. Overall, he was glad to be able to play the instrument.
Marcus's self assessment
Paige (pseudonym) is a Primary 2 student with Down syndrome. I taught Paige since she was in Primary 1 and she is my first encounter of a Down syndrome student. Fortunately, Paige enjoys singing and dancing especially to Disney music thus, she looks forward to music lessons. Some barriers to Paige's learning includes difficulty in reading and writing, difficulty in verbal communication and requiring more time to process new skills before moving on to others. I supported Paige by assigning her a buddy who she can closely imitate, providing visually stimulating information for instance large colour-coded notation, breaking down directions into small steps and providing appropriate mini breaks during the lesson as a reward for following tasks such as listening to Disney music. Doing these allows Paige to focus during the lesson and thus allows her to grasp the learning intention of the lesson.
When she was in Primary One, one of the learning outcomes for the summative assessment task was to perform the song ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ using the handbell in groups. To prepare Paige for the assessment, when teaching the song, the music score given to her was a colour-coded notation of the handbell. After she became more familiar with the song, she did not need the notation as she had memorised the song. During the assessment performance, her group supported her by saying out the note that she was supposed to play on the handbell. As such, her group could perform the song accurately with a steady tempo. For the written assessment, which involves listening skills, Paige would sit beside me and I will read the questions to her, as she is unable to read text fluently. This accommodation allows her to have a better chance of success during her written assessment tasks.
Visual score for Paige
Written assessment for Paige
Ethan (pseudonym), who is a classmate of Paige, is a high-functioning student with ASD. Though he is high functioning, he needs a lot of structure in his learning. Having a checklist of the flow of the lesson helps Ethan to stay focused and on task during the lesson. Ethan has to be challenged and engaged throughout the lesson. If he gets bored, he will be disruptive. Preparing additional activities before every lesson is necessary to prevent this from happening. Ethan enjoys music lessons especially when there is use of technology i.e. iPad as well as playing of instruments. Frequent communication with his mother is also essential to allow her to pre-empt the lesson flow with Ethan the day before and to update Ethan's progress during music lesson.
Communication with Ethan's mother through WhatsApp
During the handbell module last year, the lesson was modified for him such that he learnt the songs by watching the YouTube tutorial and having his own set of handbells to practice. The modification kept him engaged during the lesson as there was sufficient challenge for him to learn. During the handbell assessment, instead of playing a note and playing as a group ensemble, the assessment was modified such that he played the whole song individually by himself using all the seven notes on the handbell. For the mid-year summative music assessment this year, students have to listen to the music of Peter and the Wolf and identify the correct instrument family. In addition, students were also tested on the musical concept of tempo and rhythms. To better prepare Ethan for the written assessment, the class played a Kahoot! game and reviewed the concepts on using the SLS platform the week before. During the written assessment, Ethan requires prompting to keep him on task and stay focused. He also needs reminders such as to be quiet and to stay seated during the assessment so as not to disturb the rest of his classmates.
By understanding the needs of my students, I am better able to adapt my classroom practice to ensure that all students are supported in their learning. With this, I hope that all of my students achieve success in my class and stay motivated to learn.
Ethan's written assessment (Note: I allowed Ethan to doodle on his paper to keep himself busy while waiting for the next question to be played).
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse