creative-expression-and-play-assigment-4
Directions: Be sure to make an electronic copy of your answer before submitting it to Ashworth College for grading. Unless otherwise stated, answer in complete sentences, and be sure to use correct English spelling and grammar. Sources must be cited in APA format. Your response should be four (4) pages in length; refer to the “Assignment Format” page for specific format requirements.
Many children with special needs spend at least part of the school day in special education classrooms, where they receive special instruction, sometimes quite didactic, adapted to their unique needs (Hendrick & and Weissman, 2007). The open-endedness and process orientation of art can serve as a reprieve from the highly focused tasks often used in special education. Imagine that you are in an early childhood education setting, and you are the lead art teacher. Using this information and support and guidance from Lesson 3, determine how you would create a curriculum in art that accommodates diverse learners.
Part 1: Explain why it is important to have a curriculum in art that accommodates diverse learners.
Part 2: Provide an example of an activity for children with each of the following:
- Emotional and intellectual challenges
- Visual impairments
- Hearing impairments
- Orthopedic impairments
You may use the ideas in the textbook as springboards, but do not copy them. Come up with ideas of your own that show you understand the needs of the child with that particular challenge or impairment.
Welcome to Lesson 4. In this lesson, we will explore the basics of introducing music, movement, dance, and creative dramatics in the classroom. These subjects play an important part in teaching young children. Often, they provide the vehicle through which other subject areas can be introduced in the classroom. In addition, research has illuminated the crucial way in which these subjects can stimulate cognitive development.
Many areas of intelligence are stimulated through music, movement, and drama. Some of these areas include verbal, mathematical, kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, and intrapersonal intelligence. Enjoying and taking part in musical, movement, and dramatic activities provides stimulation for young minds.
A careful reading of this lesson will provide you with many creative and practical examples of enriching musical activities. You will learn about a variety of musical instruments that are appropriate and useful in an early childhood classroom. You will also discover that there are many ways to make simple rhythm instruments yourself.
In a similar manner, you will be able to provide many opportunities for enriching activities in creative drama in your classroom, even if you are not an actor or actress. The authors of the textbook provide extensive information on the importance of dramatic play for young children. It also gives you many practical suggestions and ideas for introducing drama and integrating it with various subjects.
The textbook authors describe three types of dramatic activities: dramatic play, story drama, and scripted drama. As you will discover, the most informal type of activity is dramatic play. Watch these examples of dramatic play:
At the other extreme, scripted drama is the most formal type of activity. Story drama falls somewhere in between. The text explains that only dramatic play and story drama are appropriate for the early childhood curriculum. While it is correct that meaningful, scripted drama is not appropriate for young children, I have found that there is a third appropriate alternative in addition to dramatic play and story drama.
When I taught preschool, I developed a technique for dramatic play that was very successful in the classroom. I wrote plays, using original stories, adaptations of fairy tales or children’s poems, and songs. I copyrighted the plays along with an explanation of how to use them and compiled this material in a book for use with young children. The example and explanation you will read in these notes is drawn from that compilation.
You can use poems and songs that are not copyrighted to develop simple plays, just as I did. First, choose a short children’s song and make it into a play by writing an easy script like the one used in the example that follows. After singing the song several times with the children, explain that you will act the story out and assign roles. Some children should be given speaking parts. Other children should take part in group recitations, songs, or dances.
The teacher does two things during the play. First, the teacher is the narrator. Second, the teacher sits near the children and whispers the lines to those who have speaking parts. The children then repeat out loud what the teacher has whispered.
For example, using the song, “Three Blind Mice,” the teacher could play-act with the children in the following way:
Teacher (narrating aloud)—”Once there were three blind mice who liked to run. The first mouse said,”
Teacher (whispering)—”I like to run.”
Child # 1 (aloud)—”I like to run.”
Teacher (narrating aloud)—”The second mouse said,”
Teacher (whispering)—”I like to run too.”
Child # 2 (aloud)—”I like to run too.”
Teacher (narrating aloud)—”The third mouse said,”
Teacher (whispering)—”Me three.”
Student # 3 (aloud)—”Me three.”
Teacher (narrating aloud)—“The mice also liked to sing. They sang this song with their friends” (teacher sings with children 1, 2, and 3, and a group of other children).
“Three blind mice. Three blind mice.
See how they run. See how they run.
They all ran after the farmer’s wife.
She cut off their tails with a carving knife.
Did you ever see such a sight in your life,
as three blind mice?”
Teacher (narrating aloud)—”Class, let’s all sing with the mice now.”
The teacher would then sing the song again with all the children. The teacher can also write more dialogue, add dances, and expand and change the song in any way he or she wishes to.
In this way, simple, enjoyable plays can be performed in the classroom or for parents. Children can construct hats for costumes. They can even paint pictures for background scenery.
It does not take long to write, practice, and present this type of play. Children enjoy this activity very much. They learn to work cooperatively with their peers and develop self-confidence as they participate. I have found this type of dramatic activity very useful in the classroom. I have also presented this type of play to parents at the end of the school year with great success. You can do this, too.
References
Werzberger, B. (1980). Plays and Activities for Children’s Drama
