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. (1) Most of them also exhibit accompanying problematic behaviors: they dislike school, are disobedient, disruptive, destructive, lazy, moody, negative, unmotivated, etc. (2) Such conditions prevent the students from achieving academically; this in turn creates a lot of frustration and 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, coming from large families, with four, eight, and sometimes even as many as thirteen children, and many aunts and uncles. The majority live with stepfathers or single mothers, sometimes in foster homes. 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 expand on a curriculum I began last year. In this curriculum 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: Part Two.” 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 people: the family as the smallest and most important group in society, its customs, and the things around them—for example, costumes, houses, building structures, schools, heating systems, transportation, parks, etc.
We will analyze how families move to other places trying to improve their way of living, how they take with them parts of their own culture, adopting others, and how families and countries go through changes in their development. We will look at some of the family pictures and other artistic expressions of families from the students’ own and other countries.
Objectives:
In order to help the students improve in reading and in oral and written expression, my main goal is first to involve them in the different aspects of the family, and second, to relate what they have learned to their own family and to other families from Puerto Rico and other countries coming to America. Students will be encouraged to talk and write about their observations and experiences.
Activities:
Students will
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a.
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talk about the family and the role of every member in the family
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b.
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read passages and short stories about Puerto Rican families and families from other countries
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c.
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look for the main characters, settings, etc. in their readings
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d.
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participate in class discussions
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e.
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describe pictures
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f.
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search in the school library
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g.
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take note of things that catch their attention during trips to the museum, parks, churches, etc.
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h.
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view and comment on films
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i.
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classify pictures of costumes, buildings, etc. according to their different epochs
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j.
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complete written assignments
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Materials:
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Instrumental Enrichment
materials on family relations
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reading books
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dictionaries
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filmstrips
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illustrated pictures and cards from the 19th and 20th centuries
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paper and pencil
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crayons
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water color and brushes
Places to be Visited:
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school library
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the Yale Art Gallery: the European Gallery, 3rd floor
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a church from the 18th century
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a church from the 20th century
This curriculum unit will cover five weeks:
1st week: Introduction to the family using the family relations from Reuben Feuerstein
2nd week: The Puerto Rican Family in the 19th Century and its Changes Over Time
3rd week: Study of families who emigrated from Europe to America. We will look at pictures of European families and visit the Yale Art Gallery’s 3rd floor to analyze Picasso’s painting of the mother and the child.
4th week: We will concentrate on New Haven from the 19th century to the present. We will visit churches and the Green and look at the different buildings: the Court House, banks, stores, etc. We will watch films of New Haven, if available.
5th week: We will study how the Puerto Rican immigrants get involved in New Haven, in the schools, in the shops, in the places of entertainment, etc. and how they keep their own customs at the same time.
6th week: Famous People from Puerto Rico. We will look at these people who have become famous in different areas: education, art, music, military science, community work, etc.
During the different weeks, different activities will take place according to the various objectives.
WEEK ONE: The Puerto Rican Family
Objectives:
To enable the students to see themselves as members of a family and to see their families as an important nuclear part in the Puerto Rican society. We will analyze the physical characteristics exhibited by the Puerto Ricans (all the combinations of races—Indians, Spanish, African, etc.), the role that the father plays in the family, the feelings of the Puerto Rican people, their music, and other important aspects of the Puerto Rican society.
Activities:
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read passages
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bring family pictures to the classroom
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watch films from Puerto Rico
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visit the Black Print Gallery “A Walk in Truth” where black and Puerto Rican books and paintings by Puerto Rican artists are exhibited.
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WEEK TWO:
In a very similar manner we will study families from Europe—their immigration to New Haven, their characteristics and customs, music, food, clothes, etc. We will also talk about their influence in American society, especially in food and arts and architecture.
WEEK THREE:
We will study the city of New Haven—the mixture of races, buildings, educational places, entertainment, transportation, etc.
Activities:
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raise topics for discussion about what the students see in the city—for example, where have they been in the city, what is it that they like the most in the city, etc.
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describe pictures
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look at the newspaper, recognizing different places and activities, the names of stores, etc.
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visit the Green and other places
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watch films if available
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complete written assignments
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WEEK FOUR:
In this unit we will concentrate on the Puerto Rican families coming to New Haven, their major reasons for emigration, their feelings. We will compare their life style in Puerto Rico with their life here, in areas such as housing, schools, foods, etc.
Activities:
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bring different topics for discussion. For example: How long have you been here? Who was born in Puerto Rico? Who has family in Puerto Rico? Which weather do you prefer, New Haven’s or Puerto Rico’s?
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WEEK FIVE:
With this unit I intend to improve the students’ selfvalue by letting them know that many Puerto Rican people, like many other people in the world, have been very intelligent, very important, and have made many good contributions for their people and for the society in general. I will draw on examples from music, art, drama, military service, education, etc.
Activities:
I will present pictures of famous Puerto Rican people. We will talk about them, and read passages about them.
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look in the newspaper
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watch films if available
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bring things to the classroom made by Puerto Rican people—arts and crafts, paintings, etc.
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invite Puerto Rican people to talk to the students—e.g., nurses, firemen, policemen, etc.
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