Wait a minute!

We live in a world where for the most part, we like things to move at a steady, if not speedy pace. We all but expect self gratification.

If something is supposed to work, we want it to work. If we are traveling somewhere and know on average, how long it should take to get there, we don't want to run into too many diversions along the way that might slow us down.

Patience is indeed a virtue, and in the world of special education it's a requirement.
As a music therapist who works with students with a variety of special needs, I often have to wait.

Wait for what?

I wait for a student to respond to a question, to choose an instrument, to give me an answer via eye gaze to a question,etc..
Technically speaking, I give the student wait time.

What is a "wait time"?

A wait time is defined as the duration of pauses separating utterances in a conversation, (i.e. the time a teacher waits after asking a question and after receiving a response).

Another definition I found online for wait time is the amount of time that elapses between a tutor-initiated (teacher) question and the next verbal behavior (e.g., a student response).

Wait time is an important tool to use in music therapy sessions. It gives the student time to process what you said and/or asked them to do. Some students who have apraxia, require the wait time so that they can process what you said and then form their answer/opinion/choice,etc..

So, a wait time is very important to therapists and students they serve.

Wait a minute-what do I do during a wait time?

Stay tuned for my next post here on More with Music when I'll give you ideas and more information about wait time, what to do and not do, and how to validate a student's responses or non-responses during a wait time!

Movin' Around the World

Busy as a bee-that's me!
While this post is later than expected, it's up today!

Today will be the last post for Movin' Around the World. I've covered all but one continent, and today I'll be sharing a song to teach about Australia.














Known as the "land down under", Australia is a beautiful continent with a wide variety of topics to teach about to students.

Like the other continent songs I've posted here on More with Music, I always try to write a chorus that the students will be able to sing (whether they sing with their own voice or with the help of a voice output device that I prerecord the chorus into for them). A couple of weeks ago, I was working in a middle school class with several students with autism, and as I was setting up to start my session with that class, I heard a student humming to himself. I kept listening as I was setting up and sure enough-he was humming the chorus to the Australia song! :) The cool thing about it is we haven't been studying Australia this year yet, so he remembered it from last year and associated the song with me as I came into the room!

So, below is the Australia song. If you would like a song sheet for this song, complete with lyrics and guitar chords, just send me an email to morewithmusic@gmail.com



I hope all of you had a very Merry Christmas and look forward to more posts in 2012!

Movin' Around the World

It's Monday, and that means it's time for another continent song!
In case you've missed a few posts, I've been Movin' around the World with songs to help teach students about each of the 7 Continents.

If you scroll down below, you can catch up on previous continent posts and even a song to introduce the 7 continents as well!

There are only two continents left to sing about, and today's song will be about Antarctica.














Besides being one of the coldest places I know, Antarctica is actually an interesting continent to study. Many scientists travel there each year to research global warming and the effects it has on the water, land, animals, and weather.

I always think it's interesting when I learn something new after researching information to write a song about a certain topic. When I researched Antarctica, I was surprised to learn that moss actually grows there! I also enjoy finding out which animals live on each continent.

If you would like a song sheet for the Antarctica song, send an email to morewithmusic@gmail.com



As always, thanks for stopping by More with Music.
I hope all of you have a great week!

Movin' Around the World

Welcome back!

It's time for another post about continent as I continue my weekly "Movin' Around the World" theme for Mondays.
I'm getting this post in just under the wire, but technically it's still Monday, and oh what a busy Monday it has been!

Nevertheless, today's continent song is about Europe. After today's post, there are only two continents left to sing about, so I hope you all have enjoyed some of these songs.

To help teach students about Europe, this song talks about Europe's flags, islands, peninsulas, European money (the Euro), languages, its long rivers and canals, its mountains (for skiing), its castles and the amazing food there.




As always, if you would like a song sheet for this song, complete with guitar chords, just send me an email to morewithmusic@gmail.com

Stay tuned for some upcoming holiday posts!