Norris,+Jessica,+Inclusion+Strategies+in+Music

Hello everyone!

My name is Jessica Norris. I am a mother of two adorable children. My daughter is Natalie, she is 7 years old, and my son is Nolan, he is 3 years old. I am married to my high school sweetheart, Casey. We have been together for 9 years. I am so grateful to have such a supportive family as I take this journey in college to obtain a degree in my dream career, teaching!

I am currently a full time student at Southern Oregon University going for my bachelors degree with initial licensure in Elementary Education. I have been going to school for 3 years now and feel it has been a wonderful experience that has taught me so much about myself and the career field I will be entering. My goal is to get into the licensure program my senior year so that I may be able to start student teaching, and look for work in the public schools after SOU.

Many things in life bring me joy. I love the sound of children laughing and having fun. Being a mother is wonderful and rewarding experience. I learn so much through my own children. They remind me to take time and enjoy the simplest of things. I love to travel and visit new places, even though there isn't always a lot of time to do so. Another thing that really brings me great joy is working with students, helping them learn, explore, and discover new things. There is nothing more rewarding then helping a child succeed and make it to the next stage of development. Watching a child's eyes light up when they learn something new, and they understand is a beautiful thing.

My greatest fear about teaching is maintaining a classroom environment that allows for exploration and discovery, but losing control and having chaos break loose. I really need work on classroom and behavioral management as it isn't my strongest area. I have a quiet and kind demeanor and feel like sometimes that can be taken advantage of, so this is an area that I worry about when I do start teaching. Learning techniques of control and finding a balance will definitely be an area that I need to learn more about.

I have had many times where something has been extremely hard to learn. I moved around a lot when I was younger and missed a lot of school because of that. This made literacy a difficult subject for me through elementary all the way through High school. It wasn't until I asked a teacher in ninth grade to be put in an after school program to help with grammar/punctuation, did I start to understand about commas, verbs, nouns, adjectives, and so on. Struggling in this area also made it hard for me to comprehend books and reading materials which is something I still struggle with today as a student. Sometimes I need to read materials a few times and take notes to even make sense of what I just read. Literacy has been a subject that I can do rather well, but it has also been a subject that has been really frustrating for me too.

My experience with the frustration in literacy/reading will help me as a future teacher to reach out to other students who may be struggling in this area also. Through that experience I can relate and see that I was not an average learner in this subject area, and they may not be either. I will be able to think of alternative ways for students to connect to the material, and find different methods to teach literacy in my own classroom someday.

I am excited to learn more in this course. I have not had a lot of experience with students with special needs, and have to be honest that area makes me feel a little uncomfortable because it is unknown to me. I think the most useful thing to me will be learning proper terms for special needs, and proper techniques that can be used in a classroom setting. Also learning about IEP's and how to go about creating them for students who need them the most. I can already tell I am going to like this class, and I am very excited to begin this term and learn more about about inclusion.


 * __Introduction to Inclusions Strategies in Music __**

I chose to do this subject because I feel like music is one of those areas that is often neglected and unused in elementary education settings, most often due to budget issues. Music can help students to express emotion, learn math, act out literature, and is in every aspect of our lives that we live in today. Most everyone can tie a happy, sad, angry emotion to a song. They can be taken back to a memory they haven't thought of in a long time, or create new memories with a song. I feel strongly about incorporating music into the classroom setting, so I wanted to learn more about inclusions strategies with Music for all students.


 * __Top 5 things I've learned __**

1. Collaboration with music teachers, special education teachers, and general education teachers is key to success with music education experience. " When music teachers make decisions concerning adaptations to meet students’ diverse learning needs in their music classrooms, the following strategies can be used for planning instruction: (a) behavioral strategies, (b) curricular strategies, (c) environmental strategies, (d) motivational strategies, (e) organizational strategies, and (f) presentational strategies," (from the top resource article).

2. Music education and therapy is beneficial for all students, especially those who may have specific disabilities, such as Autism, Down Syndrome, and cognitive disabilities.

3. Music provides a new means of communication for some students with disabilities.

<span style="color: #860abd; font-family: Georgia,serif;">4. Music therapists may be in schools to assist with students with disabilities. Programs that use the assistance of music therapist to input music activities to help students benefit academically. You need a special degree to be considered a music therapist. ( [])

<span style="color: #860abd; font-family: Georgia,serif;">5. Music therapy has been shown to help children with Autism improve focus, attention span, behavior, and give students a voice. ( [])

__**<span style="color: #860abd; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%; line-height: 21px;">Top Resource **__

<span style="color: #860abd; font-family: Georgia,serif;">McDowell, C. (2010, February). An Adaptation Tool Kit for Teaching Music. TEACHING Exceptional Children Plus, 6(3). Retrieved May 17, 2012, from []

__<span style="color: #860abd; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Rating: 5 out of 5 stars __ <span style="color: #860abd; font-family: Georgia,serif;">This is a great article! It really talks about the importance of the collaboration and communication between the music specialist, special education staff, and general ed teachers. It also list inclusive music strategies and adaptations for the multiple types of disabilities. This is a formal article that has a lot of valid information about music education and including all students in the classroom. I definitely think this is a great resource for all teachers to read, and learn more about music strategies in the inclusive classroom.


 * __<span style="color: #860abd; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">Additional Resources __**

<span style="color: #860abd; font-family: Georgia,serif;">1. []

<span style="color: #860abd; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Rating: 5 out of 5 stars <span style="color: #860abd; font-family: Georgia,serif;">This is an article from November 26, 2010 by Linton Weeks, titled "Enabling The Disabled To Play Sweet Music." The interPLAY company works with adults who have cognitive disabilities, and some adults who do not have disabilities. They perform publicly 3 times a year. This article is inspiring for us as future teachers.

<span style="color: #860abd; font-family: Georgia,serif;">2. Hammel, A. M. (2004, May). Inclusion Strategies That Work. Music Educators Journal, 90(5), 33-37. Retrieved May 17, 2012, from []

__<span style="color: #860abd; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Rating: 4 out of 5 stars __

<span style="color: #860abd; font-family: Georgia,serif;">This article was good. It reminds me of the ones that we read in our formal education classes at SOU. There is a whole section of the article that talks about "Adapting Instructional Methods and Materials for Special Learners." This section talks about how to adapt the music classroom/education program for students with disabilities. It also talks about the inclusive classroom which is of great importance to all of us future educators. There are also a lot of great resources for us as well.

<span style="color: #860abd; font-family: Georgia,serif;">3. Hourigan, R. (2009, September). Teaching Music to Children with Autism: Understanding and Perspectives. Music Educators Journal, 96(1). Retrieved May 17, 2012

__<span style="color: #860abd; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Rating: 3 out of 5 stars __ <span style="color: #860abd; font-family: Georgia,serif;">I found this article on ebscohost through the SOU library site. I feel like this article is significant as it hones in on Autism and the importance of music. How music may play a role in the classroom when working with children with Autism. The article emphasizes how some children diagnosed with Autism may have a talent for music. I gave it a lower rating because it only talked about one disability of many that we may encounter in children we work with. Getting to know our students will definitely be key in finding things that help them achieve in our classrooms.

<span style="color: #860abd; font-family: Georgia,serif;">4. []

<span style="color: #860abd; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Rating: 5 out of 5 <span style="color: #860abd; font-family: Georgia,serif;">This video is of Cathy Knoll who talks about adaptations in music education. I feel like her video is valid and allows for us to hear real life examples, and give us a clearer picture about inclusions in music education. It is for West Music and they give you contact information to contact them with any questions or concerns.

<span style="color: #860abd; font-family: Georgia,serif;">5. []

__<span style="color: #860abd; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Rating 5 out of 5 __ <span style="color: #860abd; font-family: Georgia,serif;">This video is based out of Virginia. It talks about the Vivo music program for students with special needs. It talks about how it helps students have a voice and process information in lots of different ways. Inspirational video. It also helps children with special needs feeling like they contribute and be apart of the group.

<span style="color: #860abd; font-family: Georgia,serif;">6. []

__<span style="color: #860abd; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Rating 5 out of 5 __ <span style="color: #860abd; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Shows us a man who uses music therapy through the Michigan State University program. It talks about the benefits about music therapy for students with disabilities that allows for them to develop more socially, cognitively, and physically. it also talks about the program being being cut because a lot people use the program.

<span style="color: #860abd; font-family: Georgia,serif;">7. Iseminger, Scott H. (2009, May). Keys to Success with Autistic Children: Structure, Predictability, and Consistency Are Essential for Students on the Autism Spectrum. Teaching Music, v16 n6 p28 Apr 2009. 4 pp.

__<span style="color: #860abd; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Rating: 5 out of 5 __ <span style="color: #860abd; font-family: Georgia,serif;">"This article takes a look at what these children need and considers some guidelines for helping them in the music classrooms. It discusses how teachers can accommodate the need for consistency and structure in the music classroom and how they can create a safe environment for special learners and help them have a successful experience in the music setting." This article is from The National Association for Music Education.

<span style="color: #860abd; font-family: Georgia,serif;">8. Merrell A. (2004, November). The Benefits of Incorporation Music in the Classroom.

__<span style="color: #860abd; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Rating 4 out 5 stars __ <span style="color: #860abd; font-family: Georgia,serif;">"The topics that will be discussed are: “The Mozart Effect”, classroom management, eliminating disruptions and behavior problems, and finally using music in foreign language classrooms. All of the topics to be explored can apply to current and future educators. Music is a tool that is often overlooked, however it has many proven benefits and connections to the body, brain and learning that are important and can aid in academic achievement." This article talks about the benefits of incorporating music in the classroom, not much emphasis on children with disabilities though.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">9. []

__<span style="color: #860abd; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Rating 5 out 5 __ <span style="color: #860abd; font-family: Georgia,serif;">This is a website to learn more about music therapy. there are a lot of great videos, articles, and resources for teachers who would like to learn more about this opportunity for their own students.