Many thanks for the suggestions I received for my post a few weeks ago about middle school theatre. Today I was given a bigger challenge and I'm pretty stumped
( Read more... )
I was much luckier with that class than I had initially expected; his classmates came in asking to play the games they'd heard about from kids who had previously been in my classes (games that involved a lot of movement) but they were great about making sure he could be involved. He also wound up leaving about ten minutes early every day to get to his next class on time, so if I really wanted to do something with a lot of movement, I saved it for those last ten minutes.
We did a mask-making project that went really well. He couldn't use his hands to make a mask, but gave his aide very specific instructions about what materials to use and how he wanted her to use them - these sequins for eyes, this color/length of yarn for hair, etc. We also did some writing assignments on reviewing movies or musicals; we watched something (can't remember what, it's been so long!) and wrote a review of it as a class, and then they worked with a partner to think of something they'd both seen and wrote a review of it. There was never a shortage of kids volunteering to be his partner for things like that - if they couldn't understand what he was saying, the aide helped a lot to clarify his speech or ask the right questions so both kids could understand each other.
I still did improv activities with that class, but made sure to always give him and his partner a scenario that would allow for him to be seated - things like a person getting an awful haircut (letting him be in the barber's chair) or two travelers waiting in the airport for a canceled flight. When I had them choose props to go along with their improvs, his partners were good about remembering to ask him, "Do you want me to get you a hat? Which color streamers should I get?" etc.
I admit, I was relieved when that rotation of kids moved on to their next elective class, but it went more smoothly than I had expected. It wound up preparing me well for other students I had last year - a girl with cerebral palsy and braces on both legs, another wheelchair-bound student, that kind of thing. He was actually easier to work with than some of the future ones because at least he had a really great attitude about everything.
We did a mask-making project that went really well. He couldn't use his hands to make a mask, but gave his aide very specific instructions about what materials to use and how he wanted her to use them - these sequins for eyes, this color/length of yarn for hair, etc. We also did some writing assignments on reviewing movies or musicals; we watched something (can't remember what, it's been so long!) and wrote a review of it as a class, and then they worked with a partner to think of something they'd both seen and wrote a review of it. There was never a shortage of kids volunteering to be his partner for things like that - if they couldn't understand what he was saying, the aide helped a lot to clarify his speech or ask the right questions so both kids could understand each other.
I still did improv activities with that class, but made sure to always give him and his partner a scenario that would allow for him to be seated - things like a person getting an awful haircut (letting him be in the barber's chair) or two travelers waiting in the airport for a canceled flight. When I had them choose props to go along with their improvs, his partners were good about remembering to ask him, "Do you want me to get you a hat? Which color streamers should I get?" etc.
I admit, I was relieved when that rotation of kids moved on to their next elective class, but it went more smoothly than I had expected. It wound up preparing me well for other students I had last year - a girl with cerebral palsy and braces on both legs, another wheelchair-bound student, that kind of thing. He was actually easier to work with than some of the future ones because at least he had a really great attitude about everything.
Reply
Leave a comment