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BUILDING ACTIVITY |
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BUILDING ACTIVITY |
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I recently attended a summer institute that focused on strategies for effective teaching in an inclusive classroom. We were encouraged to think of creative ways to get children with learning and behavioral problems actively involved in learning activities. I have observed that children who have short attention spans, reading comprehension difficulties, or behavioral problems enjoy activities that involve more than just reading and writing. They like to touch and manipulate, to talk, and to create. Varying the type of interaction with the material to be learned keeps these students on task and more willing to try.
Inclusion of special education students in the general education classroom is a reality that necessitates adaptations to materials and methods. With this in mind, I have decided to try to prepare a simple practice activity for learning a few Spanish verbs that will hopefully be useful to all students, particularly those with special needs.
OBJECTIVE: The objective is that beginning Spanish students will be able to identify the activities that people are doing. Since they are beginners, they will only be expected to use the infinitive form of the verbs.
PROCEDURE: The teacher will begin by telling the students what they are expected to know by the end of the activity (the objective). Next the teacher will model the activity using examples similar to those presented in the lesson. This can be done on the chalkboard, overhead, or computer. The teacher will then have the students look at the activity page on the computer and read the directions aloud to them. A random student will be asked to paraphrase the directions. Then the students will begin to work independently.
ACTIVITY: The exercise page contains six pictures of people acting out some common Spanish verbs: caminar, jugar, hablar, trabajar, leer, correr. The student is instructed to look at each picture and click on it to hear the spoken verb. The student is asked to softly pronounce each verb after he/she hears it. After the student follows the procedure for all six verbs, he/she returns to the first picture, tries to recall and pronounce the appropriate verb, then clicks to hear the correct verb. The idea is to involve as many of the senses as possible during the acquisition of the new words. Some students will master the vocabulary very quickly and will then exit the computer activity and move to a reading/writing activity that will introduce the printed form of the new verbs (with the same illustrations that were used in the computer exercise). Those students who experience difficulty may continue with the exercise by clicking those illustrations for which they cannot recall the verb. The teacher can provide assistance by repeating a verb and asking the students to click on the picture that illustrates the verb spoken by the teacher. The teacher can also point to random illustrations and ask the students to say the verb aloud. The teacher will remember to give verbal encouragement and praise to those experiencing difficulty whenever they demonstrate some success.
CONCLUSION:
This activity should be interesting and helpful to all beginning Spanish students whether general or special education students. The "bonuses" for special education students are many. The activity is "private", thus lowering the anxiety level for those who fear embarrassment if a response is incorrect. Feedback is immediate. Chances for success are high. The manipulative nature of the exercise encourages on-task behavior.
I am aware that the printed form for the verbs is omitted from the exercise. This is intentional. Language learning begins with listening to and mimicking the spoken word. Therefore the activity avoids the written word. Subsequent activities will provide the written form of the verbs.
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