Sometimes "special" means awesome! I have a post on how I handle lessons with my special needs students HERE, but I thought to share an experience I had this week that illustrated what I had written about a few years ago.
When students come with an aide, or not, make no assumptions about their ability to participate. The image above was done by a students who does come with an aide, but when presented with the task; making a grid on an image and transferring that image to paper with a larger grid, he shined. All those lines of the face are done directly with sharpie. He dove in fearlessly, and did an amazing job while many of my "regular" students hesitated, worried, and some even resisted.
Not all my students with special needs can do this, but going through the process builds experiences. It also allows their peers to interact with them building a level of familiarity, breaking down the walls of "us vs them."
Below are some examples from my other special needs students with the same task. Some were able to do their grid with a partner, some not, some ignored the grid, and others partially got it in some parts. It was however the process that is most important. They all have a charm I deeply appreciate.
When students come with an aide, or not, make no assumptions about their ability to participate. The image above was done by a students who does come with an aide, but when presented with the task; making a grid on an image and transferring that image to paper with a larger grid, he shined. All those lines of the face are done directly with sharpie. He dove in fearlessly, and did an amazing job while many of my "regular" students hesitated, worried, and some even resisted.
Not all my students with special needs can do this, but going through the process builds experiences. It also allows their peers to interact with them building a level of familiarity, breaking down the walls of "us vs them."
Below are some examples from my other special needs students with the same task. Some were able to do their grid with a partner, some not, some ignored the grid, and others partially got it in some parts. It was however the process that is most important. They all have a charm I deeply appreciate.
If you want to see how I teach the gridding process to my students, I created two videos. VIDEO 1, VIDEO 2.
Students are given homework to find an image of a family member, friend, or person they admire to draw for this project. This way everyone's drawing has a personal connection. I ask that the face they print out is as large or larger than my open hand. They are not allowed to use an image with a face that is smaller than an adult fist. Bigger is always better for this assignment.
Students are given homework to find an image of a family member, friend, or person they admire to draw for this project. This way everyone's drawing has a personal connection. I ask that the face they print out is as large or larger than my open hand. They are not allowed to use an image with a face that is smaller than an adult fist. Bigger is always better for this assignment.
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