How to Set Up and Prepare for a High School Music Classroom

with Students who have Disabilities

Nick Sparshott
Topic
The topic I chose for this project was classroom
preparedness. Specifically, how to set up and prepare
for a high school music classroom with students who
have disabilities. I chose this topic because I feel that
classroom preparation is key to a functioning,
engaging, and educationally sound music lesson.
Colleagues – Keep Healthy
Attitude Through my research on this topic, some questions I

• Educate yourself wanted to find answers to were: Relationships

1. How do you mentally approach a classroom with • Value colleagues' perspectives
• Be positive
student disabilities?
• Find opportunities to get experience with • Collaborate
2. What physical things can you put into your
people with disability • Find ways to benefit your working conditions
classroom to promote learning and engagement?
3. How do you approach your colleagues for guidance
or assistance?
4. How do you get the administration and community
involved?
5. How do you ensure you have the necessities for
students with IEP’s, 504’s, etc.?
Physical Elements
• Digital forms of instruction
Disability: What is it? • Small groups
Disability is any impairment or condition of the body • Modified forms of instruction such as large
Involvement – Administration and or brain that limits one or more areas of said person’s print
physical or mental life. About 1.3 billion people in the
Communities • Tactile elements such as grips and print
world currently have a disability, ranging from physical
• Encourage and educate the use of correct images
to mental disabilities (World Health Organization,
language and identity • Assistive Technology
2023). People with disabilities are also likely to face
• Educating on strategies to use in diverse- • Can be used in conjunction with IEP/504
more inequities, such as limited accessibility in public
learning classrooms transportation, workplace and health care plans and UDL strategies

• Incorporate more engaging activities such as discrimination, and in the case of this project, inequity

music listening and performing in the classroom in the classroom.