Australian music: Teachers-Important information

About the class-including prior knowledge

This information is roughly based on the year 9 class I will be taking during my second professional experience block.

The year 9 music class seems to have quite a wide range of students. There are students who are uninterested or unengaged with music, students who want to do more singing, a couple of students who are quite good on the drums, some who seem to comprehend musical concepts and others who seem to like dancing to music, the majority of them dislike theory.
The advice I have been given is to consider each student and make sure I do not assume prior knowledge in some areas. I will be teaching them Aboriginal music during my prac.

A brief outline of their prior learning:

Year 9 have completed a unit on popular music this year, as well as studying some hip hop and rap, including writing their own raps. They have done some prac activities, but most of them are apprehensive of performing in front of the class.
They do more theory than prac on the whole. The students understand some chords and they can play simple melody lines on the keyboard. They have difficulty reading music. In years 7 and 8 they completed a unit on the keyboard, but seem to be more interested in singing, and playing guitar. They have some experience with GarageBand, and would have little difficulty using loops, and recording their voices.
When completing this unit on Aboriginal music, you will need to be mindful to take the unit slowly, and be very clear as to what to do for each task. Having said that, it is also important to make the students aware of your expectations. These kids can definitely achieve well in music, they just need to be pushed, and encouraged.

In the first lesson, you may want to use this presentation to get started.

Modified tasks for a student with special needs

In this blog you will also find modified versions of the tasks for a student with special needs. These tasks are to cater for a student who has asperger’s syndrome. This website provided some information I found useful, about asperger’s syndrome.
This information is based on an imagined student with asperger’s syndrome.
Ben is in year 9. He is quiet in class, and rarely speaks up during discussions. Although he may appear to be vague, Ben is very intelligent. He is extremely creative, especially with writing. Whenever the class completes creative writing tasks, his stories are extensive, well thought out, and engaging. He has shown little interest in keyboards and guitar. Ben prefers singing and is a talented vocalist. He rarely sings out of pitch, has fantastic pronunciation and is uninhibited when he performs. He is much more confident in performing for his peers, rather than speaking in front of them. Ben also has an ability to create other sounds with his voice and will often make interesting beats and other sounds purely by using his voice.
Ben enjoys performing with the microphone and a backing track, or student playing. He is confident in his singing, but will rarely make eye contact with the audience when he sings, or speaks for that matter. To cater for him, on the whole, do not treat him differently in class. Ben is sensitive, and very aware (even though it may not be obvious) of people being patronising towards him. You will need to modify tasks for him though.
I would advise a strong focus on lyric writing, and singing. He is also very quick to learn new technologies, and has shown a talent for using music software such as GarageBand. Ben gets frustrated easily though, so make sure tasks are clear, and he knows exactly what is being asked of him. Also, help him with the task by giving him the information he needs, so he can read it. Ben reads a lot and often understands things at a deeper level when he has read it himself, rather than an explanation from the teacher.
Although Ben is good at singing and creative writing, he finds composing challenging. Be mindful of this when creating activities.

Extension tasks for a student with special needs

The extension tasks in this blog were created for an imagined student, Jessica. The tasks on the extension pages contain the original task, plus extension activities.
Jessica has been identified as being particularly talented in music. She stands out as succeeding well in performance and composition. Her main instrument is the violin, and she receives private tuition outside of school. Jessica has completed A.M.E.B Grade 3.
Jessica has already shown a good understanding of musical concepts, and is often helping other students in the class with their music tasks. She often needs extension activities as she will complete tasks quite quickly. Due to her training, she knows quite a bit about classical music. She personally likes a lot of popular artists too. Jessica needs to be challenged, this helps to motivate her, or she may become bored easily.
To cater for her, there is an extension task for each learning experience. Each task involves technology. She enjoys using GarageBand, and is often helping other students with using the program. By adding extra tasks for her, Jessica will always have something to do and keep busy which helps her to work well. It is important to challenge her.

Tasks to be completed during this unit

Peformance

Listening

Composition
Modified tasks

Extended tasks