Spring 2019

Elementary Placement
Background Project: Student A
From the moment I stepped into the classroom at my Elementary school placement, it
was apparent to me that there was a wide range of musical abilities present. While there
were some students that exceeded musically, took private lessons, and had the drive to
practice at home, there were just as many students who struggled musically and did not seem
to be able to practice at home regularly. Because of this wide range of skill levels, it
presented a number of challenges to me as the teacher.
The 5th grade student (Student A) I decided to observe closely was unique in that he
was musically adept and could play any melody he heard on the bells but because of his
conditions, he faced some uncommon struggles in the band room.
While his IEP was very vague and I could not find his exact diagnosis, there were
several pages of notes and plans from his parents and his assistant teacher that was very
helpful in documenting his strengths and his needs. According to his IEP, he requires frequent
breaks (never more than 10mins), needs a prompt to engage in discussions, and also
intermittently speaks out. His IEP also noted that he responds well to visual signs, is strong at
math skills, and works diligently on assignments but often needs the directions repeated to
him directly after it was given to the class.
From my observations and as I previously noted before, Student A has incredible ears
and can play any melody that he hears on his bell kit. Student A is also very aware of his
surroundings (i.g. can hear the distant orchestra rehearsing) but does not seem to be aware
of how his actions affect others. Student A occasionally bangs his sticks against the legs of his
chair and occasionally he will disruptively blurt out as instructions were being given.
Knowing what I know now, there are several accommodations I can begin to
implement to not only help Student A behave better in class and understand the materials/
content presented to him, but to also help me, the teacher, assess the student’s learning to
help me plan for the next lesson. To help Student A understand when it is disruptive to speak,
I can hold a piece of paper of a bright color to signify that I am giving instructions and that
the students should not be talking. This would be a good strategy since Student A responds
well to visual signs. Since Student A’s IEP notes that the teacher often has to repeat the
instructions to him after it was given to the class, I can begin to repeat my instructions as well.
In general, this is a good idea anyways since there is always a handful of students who may
not have heard me the first time. Lastly, I can use Student A’s incredibly good ear to my
advantage. If needed, I can have Student A play the melody on his bell kit while the students
fingered along on their part so that they can begin to hear the melody (or the harmony) as
they reinforce good finger/slide technique.