11/7/2023
Topic:
Students with Disabilities
Kerry Marquis
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I taught an art class of students with downs syndrome for a couple of years. These students were all at different levels of ability, however, I found that I could focus on one skill in short, visual sessions and most could pick up the skill. What I did was create several learning centers each week. Students would spend about 10 minutes at 4 different centers. One student I remember very well was a little girl about 8 or 9 years old. Although I changed the centers every week, they each taught a skill that could be enhanced in another way the next week. None of the children could draw a person's face when we started and most were just scribbling at the beginning of the first year. One of the centers was drawing and I decided to focus on drawing a face. We started out with making circling movements in this center using crayons. I can't remember the process that I used now as it was about 13 years ago, but I do remember that we just made it fun and enjoyed ourselves each time and each time in that center I would advance them or change the medium a bit, but each time we would look at a face and add something. By the end of the first year with them, they could all draw a face with all of the features not matter what medium they used. And they loved coming to art. Can't remember the other centers much, but just that we did some building, some cutting, etc. |