5/30/2017
Topic:
Students with Disabilities
Michelle Gorman
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A wonderful student I had in his 2nd semester Kindergarten and First grade years had Autism and he was very smart and gifted in so many ways. Although he had this disability, that didn't stop him from doing anything! He had many great days but it was the horrible days that make it challenging as his Art teacher. His outbursts, lack of patience and low self-esteem made it difficult for him to interact with his peers and to understand he can fix his art project with an eraser instead of yelling and crumbling his paper into the trash; which usually led to more yelling and uncontrollable crying and throwing of objects, including his shoes. His classmates were so forgiving and helpful which made every situation better. I was determined to make it a better learning environment for him and his class.
Some days you just have to roll with it! We were working on an Initials project, working on our letters and lines in First Grade. The young man starts to write his letter of his first name and proceeds to make it into a bubble letter. This is high level skills for a first grader, but since he did it differently then others he thought it was wrong. I could tell he was about to have "a moment" as he proceeded with taking his shoes off and throwing them. I quickly told him that his letter was amazing, and that got him back to his seat. But, in the past, once his shoes are off, its hard to get him back. Thinking quickly, I said to the class, "Oh my I forgot to tell you all, its take your shoes off Tuesday!" (Thank goodness it was Tuesday - they had Art every Tuesday) and my wonderful Autistic student stopped and looked around as did all the other students, and he said, "It is?" as we all started to take our shoes off. He actually helped EVERYONE line up their shoes neatly against the cabinets. We went back to work and he started assisting other students in making their bubble letter initial. We all learned valuable lessons that day, including me. My awesome student with Autism also learned that we can all work together to accomplish similar goals but they don't have to be the same, different is a good thing in Art.
His ESE teacher was so happy to hear he had a great day in Art (mainstreamed in resource classes). Even though this student had issues with patience, self-esteem and behavioral outbursts, he was still a very intelligent child and often taught others lessons in class about real life from his stand point. Although his disability affected his learning because of his lack of patience and self-esteem problems, it was my experience of being his Art teacher to help him through his problems and have a greater outcome for his success, that included not just him but his entire class! And yes we still had Take Your Shoes Off Tuesday, but it was optional! |
5/30/2017
Topic:
Tools and Strategies
Michelle Gorman
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Describe how two of the strategies discussed could potentially be implemented in your classroom. Be sure to identify the two strategies by name and describe how they could be used to address a student with a disabilities needs.
One particular strategy I would use in my Art room would be Semantic Maps. In this lesson we would use the Elements of Arts and each element would be not only labeled but a picture would be used to associate that specific element. This visual would give better understanding for all students regardless of disabilities. To take this one step further, each Element of Art would also will be used in Cubing strategies. Each student would design their own cube in relation to the particular element that they chose for that unit. Another strategy that is very useful in Art History is Venn Diagrams. Using explicit instruction and small groups in this assignment is very effective with students of all learning modalities. Students can learn to compare and contrast particular artists such as Piet Mondrian and Kandinsky and apply that knowledge into a work of art. |
5/31/2017
Topic:
Assessment of Learning
Michelle Gorman
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Describe an example of adapted assessment you have successfully used in the fine arts classroom for students with disabilities.
My third graders work on various projects using line and shapes. One student is VI and needs bright contrast and bold letters, shapes and lines to see what I am teaching. During the pre-assessment it was necessary to make 2 large charts with lines and shapes for him to use. It was best to use heavy crayon since the wax was easy to feel on the chart. His student care attendant was able to guide him to the particular chart that we were covering for that lesson. As the lesson went into a project, the VI student was able to use his chart and make shapes and lines on his project. Although the on-going assessment was particularly challenging for this student, he was able to revert back to his chart and his project to identify the objective for the lesson. |