The students I work with are Spanish speaking, very slow learners, diagnosed as learning disabled (LD), educable mentally retarded (EMR). and/or socially maladjusted (SMA). These children exhibit disorders in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or using spoken or written language. These disorders manifest themselves in the students’ listening, thinking, talking, reading, writing, spelling, and/or arithmetic. Most of them also exhibit accompanying problematic behaviors: they dislike school, are disobedient, disruptive, destructive, lazy, moody, negative, unmotivated, etc. Such conditions prevent the students from achieving academically; this in turn creates a lot of frustration and in consequence a very low selfesteem. Thus a cycle is created which requires a very well structured behavior management program to correct these problematic behaviors and a very well planned curriculum designed to focus on the specific disabilities encountered in these students.
My students also have a great degree of cultural deprivation since most of them come from illiterate parents or parents who did not pass the fourth grade in their native Spanish. Having come from rural areas primarily in Puerto Rico, most have not been exposed to cultural events—only to limited regional dances at the most; nor have they been taken to places where they could acquire some knowledge of their past, such as museums, theaters, libraries, etc. Added to these problems are a high degree of migration and the difficulty of coming to live in a country completely different in language, climate, race, and culture in general. Because these children have little or no ability to cope with new life situations, all these factors make the teaching and learning process very difficult.
Facing this reality in my classroom, needing to improve my students’ level of competency, and looking always for new strategies and techniques that will help me to motivate my students, I decided to prepare a curriculum by which the students will experience new activities in a different environment from the school setting.
I have called this curriculum “A Different Approach for a Special Child.” With this unit I hope to help my students through different activities that will motivate them to participate more actively in classroom discussions, reading, and writing. I hope also to create in my students some inner motivation to discover things around them and enable them to observe from different sources the changes that occur over time. Such sources include the people (themselves) and things around them—for example, costumes, houses, building structures, schools, heating systems, transportation, parks, etc.
Beginning with the Indians in Puerto Rico and in the United States of America, we will analyze their style of life, housing, clothing, food, entertainment, sports, etc. Before analyzing the customs and life style of the Indians of America, I decided to initiate the students’ learning about their own country as a basis for a new learning experience. It is very difficult if not impossible for these students to face new experiences and learn new things if they have not been exposed to similar previous learning situations and acquired some prior knowledge.
Next we will look at the first white settlers in America and see how these people interacted with and learned from the native Americans. Finally, we will look at the Africans who came to America as slaves. We will discuss their culture and artistic expressions, their dances, masks, etc.
In order for the students to understand and enjoy the lessons, I will take them to museums and galleries where they can observe, touch, and enjoy the beauty created by different people of different cultures at different times.
Students will be encouraged to talk about their observations and experiences and to write about them.
Objectives
In order to help the students improve in reading, oral and written expression skills, my main goal is to help the students learn new things from the present by having them learn things from the past about the Tainos, the American Indians, the English settlers, and the Africans.
Activities
Students will
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a.
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read passages about Puerto Rico before the discovery of America
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b.
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read passages and short stories from the Indians of Connecticut
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c.
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read passages about the first white settlers in Connecticut
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d.
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read passages about the African slaves and their civilization
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e.
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look for topics, main characters, places, etc. in their reading
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f.
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participate in class discussions
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g.
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describe pictures
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h.
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search in the library
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i.
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take note of things that catch their attention during trips to museums
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j.
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watch films
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k.
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complete written assignments
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1.
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draw pictures related to the reading matter
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Materials
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reading books
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dictionary
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film strips
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paper and pencil
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crayons
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water colors and brushes
Places to be Visited
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school library
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The Peabody Museum
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The Yale Art Museum, African Gallery, 2nd floor
This curriculum unit will cover four weeks:
1st week:
study of the Taino Indians of Puerto Rico
2nd week:
brief study of the Connecticut Indians. Visit to the Peabody Museum to compare the life style of the Indians of the Caribbean islands to the American
3rd week:
study of the immigrants from Europe and American peoples.
4th week:
study of African costumes and masks. Visit to the African Gallery, 2nd floor of the Yale Art Museum
