Dear Parents and Teachers!
Are you looking for a fun activity for your kiddos these last few days before the Christmas break? Check out this video for some fun music education, a little cultural diversity, a simple craft project, and a fun play-along lesson with the classic Christmas song Feliz Navidad by José Feliciano. Students can work from home or educators can share in their classrooms at school. This lesson was perfect for my students with special needs at the high school and middle school levels and has also worked really well for my adult groups of individuals with disabilities. Keep in mind, this isn’t just a special needs music lesson. It also works for elementary students in general music classes. My fifth graders loved it!
This percussion lesson uses physical activity. We learn how to alternate our hands, use our hands together, and move our arms together. We learn the concepts of high, low, and slow. We find out where maracas come from and in what kind of music used they were used the most. We even learn some Spanish words! Special education teachers, as well as music teachers, can use this lesson in their programs with very little preparation. This method is teacher and parent-friendly with no musical background needed. There is no sheet music or note reading required.
At the end of the lesson, you can sing-along and play-along, too. If you don’t have a pair of maracas, you can learn how to make some and see some examples in the video. I hope this post can help you fill the special need for music with your students! For more information about how to teach music to students with autism, students with learning disabilities, and how music can benefit children with special needs, you can check out our website: SpecialNeedForMusic.com
