Name of teaching material
Wiggly maracas self-made product
*The description appears by hovering the cursor over the image.
| Target | Young children with intellectual disability, older children, and students (young children, older children, and students who need to become able to move their bodies to music and to somebody else’s movement). |
|---|---|
| Disability category | mentally challenged |
| Teaching units / Applicable scenes | music activities for independent living |
| Specific purposes |
① To teach children to match their movements to their partners’ by observation To do this, the children will need to, for example: ・wait until the partner holds the maracas ・change the movement of the maracas to match the partner’s movement ・match the timing to their partner’s to do a high five ② To teach children to move the maracas to the music |
| Considerations for disability characteristics |
Special characteristics of the material and points of consideration The teacher offers help in relation to the child’s needs. The teacher may provide direct assistance by giving the child a hand (physical help); demonstrate the movement (presentation of a model); offer verbal help (verbal instruction); or offer other forms of help in a progressive manner according to the needs of each child. The teacher’s help will be gradually reduced to encourage the children to work on their own to match the movement. Expected effects and results When the child’s friend let go of the maracas, the child learned to stop moving and wait until the friend picked up the maracas, or prompted the friend to do so. The children began to coordinate their movements with their partners’ and began to change the movements 1) up and down, 2) left and right, and 3) forward and back according to the music. One reason for these results is likely because the children began to be able to keep an eye on their partners’ movements. |
| Expected effects and results | * |
| How to use |
1. Each child in the pair takes hold of one end of the string of maracas and holds it up at the same time. 2. Along with the music, they move the maracas a) up and down, 2) left and right, and 3) forward and back alternately. 3. They put the maracas down and do a high five with their partner and check that they were able to do the activity together. |
| Related teaching materials and information |
Plastic bottles were recycled to create the maracas jointly with the children. Holes were opened in the cap and the bottom of the plastic bottle, a tough string was passed through these holes, and a handle with bells was attached to each end of the string. In addition, beads, bells, and the seed of a grass called Job’s tears, which was grown and picked by the children, were put inside the maracas. The noise of the maracas can be made much louder by placing hard objects such as pieces of plastic inside. The noise can also be adjusted by changing the numbers of objects put inside the maracas. |
| Useful for other students |
- Informant Special Needs Education School for the Mentally Challenged, University of Tsukuba
- Keywords Self-made instrument, pair teaching materials, movement matching
- Created 2016-11-11 11:54:02
- Updated 2024-01-10 17:35:06