Week Four Reflections: The Senior Project Continues

The adjustment to the ebb and flow of my senior project has officially settled in. I am now starting my 4^th week of teaching at Highland and I am lovin’ it. The theme I am using is a concept called ‘The Magic Suitcase’. Every week I bring a purple (my favorite color) suitcase to class.  It is filled with different props to represent the different places we are ‘traveling’ to.

The first two weeks of class were spent in outer space! Each student was given the materials to create their own alien antennae and received a space cadet badge of honor to don on their shirts. We explored walking on the moon, went hunting for moon rocks and played a wide variety of space themed games.

 

This past week and the coming week are focusing in on exploring the Jungle. We are exploring animal wildlife, and working on a story drama based on the tale ‘Who’s in Rabbit’s House?’ The story is an African folktale that we are turning into a short performance piece. The students are supplied with costumes and perform the story as I lead them in narration.

 

So far, the experience has been a wonderful one. I have started to discover which activities really jive with the students interests and which ones to box up and save for another rainy day. The students are much more keen to activities that get them up and moving. Activities like "Change Your Shape" in which the student has to change their body position every time the instructor claps or makes a noise is an activity that the students respond to strongly. Partner work is also enjoyable for the students but often times, I have found it to be much more successful if I create pairs for the students ahead of time, rather than letting students pick their own partners--that is a recipe that can easily lead to disaster. My Highland students also LOVE performing story dramas. It is best to find a story that will allow for every student to have a role, otherwise you have to double up--i.e. "Alright, TWO of you can be sheep." This usually works out well, but sometimes students are very picky about having their OWN unique part. When a student feels like a star, they absolutely beam.

 

That is one of my favorite parts about my work at Highland--watching these students come and grow through Creative Drama. Personally, I feel that the students are teaching me just as much as I am them. I look forward to the experiences we will share together as I only have 3 weeks left! Time certainly flies.

A Fork in the Road

Life is full of twists and turns. Things change. You can plan and plan as much as you want and things can fall through. This is how the story of my senior project has unfolded. Originally, I was planning on working in Dubuque, Iowa every Tuesday night to develop a performance piece with teens with Aspergers in a group called Aspire. A few days before my kick off day, Gretta received an email brimming with bad news—not enough youth had signed up for Aspire this Spring. The project would not be a go. The director was very sorry, but it wasn’t her fault. It was completely out of hands. At first, I was very disappointed. I feared that I had ‘put all my eggs in one basket’ and would have to completely start from scratch on a new assignment. All of my research and work would be null and void. However, I didn’t have much time to sulk because it was necessary to head back to the drawing board. I was sad to lose my time with Aspire but looking forward to brewing up some exciting alternatives.

 Gretta and I went through a slew of options that could potentially fit the bill and after a few emails and tweaks…we found the perfect one! I will be working as a LEAD teacher with Highland elementary every Thursday following Spring Break until the end of the semester. I will have five weeks to explore creative drama with Highland’s spectrum kiddos and I cannot wait!

Currently, I am brainstorming on a general theme to give to all of my lessons so that they are somewhat unified. Ideally, I would like to work with pantomime and story drama activities, but I am completely open to other options. I am in the planning stages of this project, so I am sure that many adjustments and eraser marks will litter my notes in a few days. It is all about trial and error. You just have to learn to adjust and go with the flow. I’m bracing myself for a wild ride. Hold on tight!

Change A Thing; Change A Child

When you’re teaching Creative Drama at Highland elementary, never is there a dull moment.  The lesson plans are filled to the brim with fun and the children are ALWAYS filled to the brim with energy. We have had many memorable lessons thus far, but there is one in particular that has been most impactful on me as a person and as an educator.

The first few lessons we worked on involved creatively exploring the concept of ‘similarities and differences’. On this particular day, we introduced a game called ‘change a thing’. The game works like this—you have a partner, and you choose who goes first. You will then turn back to back and the partner going first is to change one or two items about his/her appearance and when the partners turn around again, the goal is to figure out what exactly changed in the person’s appearance.

Gretta had me model the game for the kids. I presented myself and turned in a 360. The kids and I turned away from each other as I took off my hat and untied a boot. Voila! The kids had such a strong response to the game—they absolutely loved it!

Everyone in the class usually comes to the work at their own pace, but during this game, everyone was equally as engaged as the next. There is a boy named Chad who is absolutely wonderful, but very, very shy and quiet. When he is uncomfortable or out of sorts, he pulls out his eyelashes and tugs on his brow. These ticks usually occur whenever we introduce a new situation and activities in creative drama. However, not on this day! Chad was completely immersed and happily so! He even volunteered to go up and change a thing in his appearance in front of the class! I was completely floored. Chad was ready to shine and certainly took his spotlight!

It was a fantastic teaching experience that I will always remember. It is a continual blessing to be able to work with these youth. I cannot wait to see what happens next.

Super Saturdays Develop Super New Ideas

Note:  the following post was written by Jessica Vaught in response to the ongoing work she is doing with me on Saturdays.  Jessica is quickly becoming a master teacher.  This semester she is responsible for the design and implemention of all of the Saturday workshops.  This posting does a beautiful job of capturing the unique energy of the Saturday drama work! (gretta)

Saturdays at EPI have become a wonderfully different experience from our after school work. The biggest difference is, of course, the students we have. On Saturdays, our group is much larger and more evenly matched between girls and boys. From the ever dramatic Mary to the sweet Emma, they all add a new personality and energy to our group. This environment gives us new opportunities and a chance to see how different students respond to the same work we do during the week – sometimes with very surprising results.

We’ve also taken the opportunity, on our one Saturday a month, to be a little bit more experimental in our work, always with wonderful results. In particular, our last Saturday of the fall semester comes to mind. Imagine the scene: fifteen youth of varying ages and attention spans, five adult workers (in and out of the process), and one recipe for gingerbread people. Talk about too many cooks in the kitchen. And yet, even with all the chaos and mess that ensued, this – of all our work to date – is one that I will probably always remember.

What better way to engage students in a story about making gingerbread (The Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett) than actually making gingerbread? And, of course, it’s nice to have a sweet treat after an afternoon of drama.

I’ve begun to think of our lessons differently since that day. In some ways, the sensory and kinesthetic work of making gingerbread and exploring the world of cooking is much more effective for our story drama than elements like pantomime and movement.  We have started to run with this idea during our after school lessons as well. In fact, last week and this week we have used all kinds of sensory and kinesthetic experiences, particularly through our exploration of The Three Little Tamales (by Eric Kimmel). We’ve touched, smelled, and tasted food like peppers, tortillas, and salsa. We’ve built houses and knocked them down. We’ve worn costumes and paraded the building. This has truly enhanced the experience of the youth, as well as my own learning.

The Highland Point of View

Hello, blogosphere!

My name is Lizzie White and I am a senior Theatre major with an emphasis in Drama and Theatre for Youth at the University of Northern Iowa. I am currently working as an assistant teacher with Gretta Berghammer at Highland Elementary where we teach creative drama to the school’s spectrum class.

I teach at Highland every Tuesday afternoon and let me tell you, it has been a whirl wind experience., Gretta and I have been using drama to explore such topics as similarities and differences through various games, activities, and impressive dance moves on my part J   My only wish is that we had more time. The children are such a snapshot of delight in my day and I wish that I could freeze time and work with them always.

The thing that excites me most about working with our Highland kiddos is that they refresh and renew me. Imagine walking into a room and having everyone be thrilled to see you, even if you’re covered in snow and shaking in your boots from the Iowa winter. They are always so genuinely happy to see us and are so invested in the work. Everyone comes to the activities in a different manner, but it’s THEIR special way that makes the work all the more rewarding.

 I am nervous, but also looking forward to the challenges this work will bring me. Perhaps I have spoken too soon. I have yet to experience an off-day, so when that arrives, I’m sure I’ll have a broader perspective. As for now, I am as happy as a clam and I can’t wait to update you on our journey to all that is Creative Drama!

Meanwhile, I’ve recently found out that I’ll have the “class to myself” starting Thursdays in late March.  I can hardly wait to start developing my own lessons as a lead teacher!

Spectrum Theatre: A Student Perspective

My work with Gretta on Spectrum Theatre began a little under two years ago. As I began to involve myself more in Sturgis Youth Theatre and other practical experience for my future career, Gretta told me of an opportunity she was offering for a student the next year;  an opportunity to work closely with her to develop a new project, one that would broaden her horizons and mine, as well as those of our program at UNI. This project would involve research of Autism Spectrum Disorders and the eventual implementation of Creative Drama lessons targeted toward youth with Autism. This project, of course, was Spectrum Theatre.

 Well, who wouldn’t jump at such an opportunity? A year of working on a brand new program, developing the project and building it from the ground up? It was a dream come true. After an interview in which I was sure I had thoroughly made a fool of myself, Gretta picked me. I couldn’t believe it, but I couldn’t wait for the next semester to start.

 My semester of research opened my eyes to so many aspects of Autism Spectrum Disorders, and even of my own field of study. I learned so much about both subjects, and became more and more eager for our work at Exceptional Persons, Inc (EPI) starting in spring of 2011.

Finally, the day arrived. I was decidedly nervous that first day. Armed with supplies, paperwork, and a sound understanding of theory, I knew – as with any classroom – that there was no way I could predict what our students would be like.  Well, that much certainly was true. I quickly realized that, even from one day to the next, the work of our students varied so much. This was a great challenge for me at first. While still inexperienced, I worried too much about the logistics of our work. I wasn’t working “in the moment” as I should have been, instead being more concerned with our schedule, what I was doing, the responses of others to what I was doing, etc.  It was a struggle for me, at the beginning of the project. I doubted myself and my personal work, and I felt I struggled to connect with my students.

 And then I realized something very simple: the work we were doing was fun. When I assisted Gretta, and (maybe especially) when I myself taught, I was having fun.  I could relax, I could relate to students. I could expand my understanding, if only I made sure I was open to our work.

Since then, I have been learning and growing. I have been making mistakes, and I have been laughing at myself. And more than anything else, I have loved the work I have done so far. I look forward to each and every adventure I have with our friends at EPI

Okay...let's try this again

Needless to say, my initial attempts at blogging my experiences developing a Creative Drama program for a variety of youth on the autism spectrum failed horribly!  Not from lack of interest or desire...but TIME!!!!  Who would have thought that developing six spectrum specfic drama lessons a week would consume so much of my time.

But trust me, it was time I was more than willingly to take.  Never has a project so fulfilled, so challenged, so frustrated and so completely rewarded me.

It's a new semester.  Supported with a new round of grant monies and energized by both my Spectrum and UNI drama students I am ready to continue and expand and improve upon the work started last January.

I have asked my student partners in this project to join me in this blogging adventure.  They will periodically post reflections on the work, their professional growth and their personal insights.

Thanks for joining us!