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!