An Attitude and Approach for Teaching Music to Special Learners - Softcover

In its practicality, its breadth of material, and its obvious depth of knowledge of the subject, this book is a reflection of the wealth of teaching experience which Elise Sobol has had working with special needs students at all levels and in many countries. An Attitude and Approach for Teaching Music to Special Learners in every sentence glows with the empathy and love that this master teacher holds for the special needs students to whom she has dedicated her professional life. -- William J. Mercer, Past President New York State School Music Association It was a pleasure to read this second edition of Prof. Sobol's book. It is a celebration for music educators, musicians, and general educators, as this book is an elevator to music appreciation and comprehension of how much music can help children. Although the book is easy and readable with mnemonic facilities for teachers to remember what they need to, it attracts rereading to learn the details of the approach. The several appendixes are very efficient and serve as a first aid for any teacher, notconfined to music discipline only. I've never read a book that gives such a clear, useful approach for teachers as this one... -- Yehudit Carmon, PhD, Affiliated researcher of the School of Education, Bar-Ilan University, Israel This book is a must read for all students of music. The book provides the reader with a solid baseline of how to teach children who learn differently. An invaluable resource book for all teachers of music. -- Patricia Cestaro, The Music Health Connection This is a book that must be read by every music teacher-whether you are a college music education major, or a 50-year teaching veteran. Although the book is aimed primarily toward "special learners" it is really applicable to all learners, for all children are "special." This book clearly defines the various definitions and types of disabilities, and it offers positive strategies for implementing new programs and concepts into the music classroom. Congratulations, Elise-we've been needing this book for a long time! -- Elaine Gates, Past President, NYS Council of Music Teacher Education Programs Elise is truly talented and sensitive to teachers needs. This is such a comprehensive manuscript and resource for teachers all over the world. It is great to have it updated. -- Professor Wendy Neilson, Deptartment of Human Development & Counseling, University of Waikato, New Zealand Elise Sobol is a leading expert in Music for Special Learners, and, more importantly, she is one of their greatest advocates and most gifted and experienced teachers. An Attitude and Approach for Teaching Music to Special Learners is a comprehensive and concise resource covering all aspects related to teaching special learners, including background information, general and specific pedagogy, and, even, very useful lesson plans and resource. As the title implies, this text guides the music educator to the most effective attitude and approaches when working with individuals with special needs. -- Dr. Keith Kaiser, Chair of Music Education, Ithaca College It was a pleasure to read this second edition of Prof. Sobol's book. It is a celebration for music educators, musicians, and general educators, as this book is an elevator to music appreciation and comprehension of how much music can help children. Although the book is easy and readable with mnemonic facilities for teachers to remember what they need to, it attracts rereading to learn the details of the approach. The several appendixes are very efficient and serve as a first aid for any teacher, not confined to music discipline only. I've never read a book that gives such a clear, useful approach for teachers as this one. -- Yehudit Carmon, PhD, Affiliated researcher of the School of Education, Bar-Ilan University, Israel An Attitude and Approach for Teaching Music to Special Learners is an indispensable teaching and learning tool. I use it to teach music and to teach horseback riding to all learners. Elise Sobol's book inspires me to think and work creatively in new ways. The principles laid out are universal educational applications. The second edition, updated with new additions, is a concise and useful reorganization of this brilliant material. It is the most important new work being done in the field of music education. -- Petina Cole, NARHA Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor, Winslow Therapeutic Center, and Vice President and COO, The Talking Pictures Comp I am so thankful and grateful to Elise Sobol for publishing this book. I have learned tremendously from the first edition, but I have learned even more in the revised and updated second edition of An Attitude and Approach for Teaching Music to Special Learners. It would be very helpful to translate this teaching volume into Japanese to make it available to music teachers everywhere! -- Ayumi Takeshima, violinist; arts administrator, Crystal Arts, Inc. What I liked most about this book was its comprehensive nature; it includes educational, legal, musical, social, medical, emotional, and spiritual information about the business of music teaching and learning for children with special needs. It is a celebratory, inclusive, and practical guide for preservice, new, and seasoned music and nonmusic educators. -- Jennifer Scott Miceli, PhD, Director of Music Education/Vocal Jazz Director, Long Island University, C. W. Post Campus, New York State President of the Coun The book is certainly an important resource for all music educators dealing with students across the age and ability spectrum. The content is invaluable and its organization is an educator's dream. The material is communicated clearly, concisely, and logically, while the underlying principles are creative, based on experiential and measurable data. Above all, the book helps teachers deal with special learners in the most positive and realistic manner, always respecting the child or individual for his/her attributes and abilities. -- Leslie Jones, DMA, Executive Director of The Filomen M. D'Agostino Greenberg Music School at Lighthouse International, New York, NY It gives me a great deal of pleasure to write in support of Elise Sobol's comprehensive book, An Attitude and Approach for Teaching Music to Special Learners. This book is for all music educators. It is both a philosophy and a "how-to" book with a wealth of information. I believe it is essential for all educators and as such should be added to everyone's reference materials. It is based on a sound and logical approach to teaching by a master teacher who is innovative, resourceful, and caring, with years of experience in the field. -- Peter Brasch, Past President, New York State School Music Association This newly updated and re-organized version of the original text on teaching music to exceptional learners represents a resource that is even more accessible and comprehensive. The scope of the text has been expanded beyond New York State to the national level, and now includes some very helpful additional materials in the appendices. The reader will be pleased with the way the overall content is now structured, and will find the new index very helpful. I highly recommend this new edition. -- Brian Abrams, PhD, MT-BC, LPC, LCAT, FAMI, Instructor, Music in Special Education, Brooklyn College, City University of New York; Director, Music Therapy Programs, Immacul Much more than a profession, teaching is the commitment to the belief that no matter what challenges a child faces, each is unique and significant. An Attitude and Approach for Teaching Music to Special Learners represents some of the best practices in music education for special learners. This book is an opportunity to visit and share some enlightening information about the best practices in the field of music education for special learners. It should be used as a resource for the mind and the spirit helping bring the joy of music and life to all. Music is a unique way of knowing and understanding. An appropriate music education can lead to some of the most profound of human achievement and communication. An Attitude and Approach for Teaching Music to Special Learners teaches us how to know and understand ourselves and other people. -- Al Robinson, CMEA Special Learner Music Consultant Elise Sobol has made great strides in identifying ways to make the music classroom more accessible to students with special needs....Offering students another way to visually organize music, Sobol's book is a useful resource for elementary generaly music teachers....It is evident that this book can be read from beginning to end, or a single chapter can be extracted as a reference as Sobol has created a clever, flexible layout for presenting her information....the book and CD in their entirety prove to be valuable resources for making the elementary general music classroom a more welcoming place for special learners. * Music Educators Journal, June 2010 *

An Attitude and Approach for Teaching Music to Special Learners is a valuable reference guide and text for music teachers who instruct students with special needs. Based on years of practical teaching experience, Sobol begins with the basics of classroom setup and management and moves on to musical literacy, the National Standards for Music Education, special education law, and teaching critical thinking skills. Throughout her book, Sobol consistently promotes the role of the teacher in reinforcing and building each student's inner confidence. Focusing on teaching students with moderate to severe learning, social, emotional, psychological, physical, intellectual, and language impairments, Sobol provides instructional strategies tailored to various disabilities and disorders. An extensive list of categories of disabilities is also included. The colors of the well-known stoplight-red, green, and yellow-are used to help students understand the foundations of harmony and differences in pitch, learn rhythmic notation, and link to concepts in other disciplines and to help teachers with classroom management. Color illustrations on the accompanying CD provide materials for use in the classroom. Sobol also provides a six-part sample lesson plan based on mediated learning techniques and a curriculum project designed to teach critical thinking skills. Throughout, Sobol's positive attitude infuses the book with possibilities. Her desire to provide a happy place in music where students feel safe is infectious. Her approach is an inspiration for all teachers: "Inside each and every child is a perfect human soul with unlimited potential locked up needing to be set free to find his or her ultimate power of expression."