Visual Aids in the Classroom

I never realized just how much of a visual learner I was until I began teaching.  I recall sitting at my desk as a young person and writing things down as fast as I could or drawing a sketch of something that the teacher was trying to explain so that I wouldn't forget it as soon as she had moved on.  If the teacher drew it on the board, I had to draw it in my notes.  They say, "a picture is worth a thousand words" and I believe them.

Because I am not very skilled at drawing, it pays to be married to an artist.  Anytime I need a visual aid to use as a teaching tool in my classroom, I can call upon Mr. Tamburrino to assist.  He will verify that I am not a "big picture" person; I am not conceptual at all.  I am painfully linear in my thought processes.  I will never be a composer (that's too conceptual for me), but I can teach a song that someone else has composed from beginning to end with no trouble at all...and that suits me just fine.

In my classroom, I provide both Orff instruction and recorder instruction.  Orff instruction requires the use of the barred instruments (xylophone, metallophone and glockenspiels) which are laid out like a piano keyboard.  I have dubbed my visual aid for these particular instruments a "BAR CODE."

One must be able to easily locate the pitches prior to playing them and with this handy-dandy visual aid, I can black-out the bars that are not needed and use the others to teach the pattern.  The black bars are attached with velcro dots and are removable.  When the pattern changes, simply replace those and remove the others.  It's a snap! Because a xylophone is basically lots of vertical lines, I was able to make this one myself using a ruler and a sharpie on a piece of poster board.  I laminated the poster and the bars, prior to attaching the velcro dots.



In my recorder classes, it is quite useful to have a fingering diagram written on the board when trying to teach new pitches on the instrument.  Because I have eight classes that rotate through my classroom, I would have to re-draw the fingering diagram eight times.  While attending a workshop in August, an instructor from south Florida had this nifty little gizmo she had made that used the outline of a recorder and red buttons that were velcroed in place.  If the hole was covered with a red button, you covered that hole with your finger.  If it was not, it was played as an "open hole."  It was a stroke of brilliance and I took her idea and ran with it.

Knowing that I would need some assistance with the drawing of the instrument, I purchased the supplies and delivered them to Mr. Tamburrino with a blown-up picture of a recorder.  I explained what I was trying to create.  I told him I needed a simple outline of the instrument and I could handle the rest.  Together, we created something I hope will be extremely useful in my classroom for years to come. 

 

Supplies needed for this visual aid were foam board, black sharpie, velcro dots and something with which to cover the holes.  (The buttons are magnets that were purchased at the Dollar Store and the leftover velcro dots from the Bar Code visual were used to attach the magnets to the foam board).

Get creative in your classroom! If money is tight, ask your art teacher for assistance.  She may have some supplies in the art room you can use.  She may even be willing to draw the picture for you!

Until next time...