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  • 1.  SPED Group Scenes

    Posted 11-24-2015 13:27

    Hello! 

    I'm having my beginning drama students work on some group scenes, but as I'm sure you're all aware, I often have a handful of special needs students in my classes as well. Does anybody have any suggestions for group scenes that will allow my students to participate, but perhaps in a smaller degree? I've used things from Alice in Wonderland in the past (with the student in the role as the doormouse). Looking for something similar. 

    Thanks!

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    Katy Nuttman
    Theatre and English Instructor
    Auburn WA
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  • 2.  RE: SPED Group Scenes

    Posted 11-24-2015 13:32

    When I have special needs students in my classes and we are doing scenes I assign a student to them and make sure next time that student has a fully abled partner. The special needs student benefits enormously. The aid works with them to cut the scene down or to feed the lines to the student. The class supports their efforts and it's good for everyone. I always have special needs students in my Theatre Arts 1 class. Their classroom teacher and their parents appreciate the work and see a difference in the students. 

    AP

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    John Perry
    Drama Instructor
    Atherton High School
    Louisville KY

    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: SPED Group Scenes

    Posted 11-25-2015 08:16

    A third of the population in one of my classes comes from our Life Skills class. For scene work, I've done a couple of different things: First, we do use a lot of fairy tales--Snow White is terrific, especially for our non-verbal students since Dopey doesn't speak at all and Sneezy and Sleepy can get away with very few words. Second, we write a lot, making sure that the strengths of the special needs students are played up and they are pushing their own limits, but not trying to go beyond their physical challenges. Third, we shadow a great deal. I've taken two-person scenes and made groups of 3 with a regular ed student doing the heavy lifting for learning lines by the special needs students doing the actual part, a lot like a speaking actor would interpret a signing actor for the hearing audience. Lastly, we split parts when we can. Last spring I did a cut-down version of A Midsummer Night's Dream. My special needs students were fairies and minions for Titania and Oberon, sharing lines among themselves. What I've found mostly by doing these kinds of activities is that the special needs students achieve far beyond what we originally thought they could and that the levels of empathy and compassion and patience of the regular ed students grows even more. It's a great privilege to incorporate them into the main stream program--we're on year 3!

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    Leslie Weinstein
    Monongahela PA

    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: SPED Group Scenes

    Posted 11-25-2015 13:10

    Part of my personal development focus area this year is the incorporation of SPED students into my Intro to Theatre course. I am looking at ways to assess them in a way that is fair and manageable, without sacrificing the integrity of the standards (which I feel apply to all students in the course, regardless). I am basing some of my research on work done overseas which had a "Life Skills" adaptive component to the curriculum, as well as working with some of the SPED teachers within my district.

    My hope is that, like an IEP based diploma, I am able to offer SPED students a course with credit that meets the needs of the standards, while accommodating for each type of special need. In the past and currently, I have had students with autism (all along the spectrum, although I am not convinced those with high sensitivity to light and sound should be subjected to the high level of noise, activity, etc, but that is part of my research), levels of retardation, hearing loss and one student who was in a wheel chair. While some students have paras in the class, it is not always a matter of having the assistant with the student (eg on stage), but we are learning as we go. We just finished a unit on Commedia dell'Arte and found success with writing a scene within the entire scenario that included our SPED students in a featured but non-necessary role; watching my other students work with these SPED students brought me more pride and joy than what they did on the day of the performance (although that was lovely, as well, with one of our girls just delighting in the fun that was happening around her).

    Once I work out some sort of curriculum addendum, I will publish it along with my curriculum map for the course and its units of work in the Library for this group. I look forward to hearing how others have been able to accommodate these students in meaningful ways, as well.

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    Lori Constable
    Teacher; director of Drama
    Independent District 112
    Chanhassen MN

    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: SPED Group Scenes

    Posted 11-26-2015 01:37

    I just started a Unified Theater class this year in conjunction with Unified Theater out of Hartford, CT (http://www.unifiedtheater.org/).  The class is comprised of half general ed students and half special needs students.  I have actually written the curriculum for this course and we are currently working on our acting unit.  We have used many different methods to have our special needs students get involved.  I have multiple non-verbal students and for those students I have their para-professionals help by entering their lines into an iPad prior to class.  Some of my non-verbal students are able to manipulate the iPad independently and some are not.  With this tool they are fully immersed into the scene.  For some of our other special needs students, I highlight their parts prior to the class and increase the font size for them.  I provide them the script prior to class so that they are able to practice it at home with their parents or in academic support classes prior to coming to Unified Theater.  While it may not be your traditional "scene work" it is so completely rewarding to see the end result.  It just may take a little more patience and prep time than a normal lesson would. 

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    Janice Gabriel
    Theatre Arts Teacher
    Newtown High School
    Sandy Hook CT

    Original Message