Special Education Art Project – Artistic Addresses

Many music and art teachers are frustrated with the fact that children with disabilities are integrated into their classrooms and yet the educator lacks the training to deal with the needs of these students. The teachers state that everyone in the classroom suffers in the long run. Many special education teachers are quite interested in integrating the arts into their classroom curriculum, but they lack the training opportunities and/or personal time to develop such a plan. This article discusses a lesson plan that can be used by a team consisting of art teachers, special education teachers and teaching artists. A collaboration would be developed between the teachers within the school to create an inclusive program based on the arts and tied into testing standards in the curriculum area that is most needed for that school.

The Goals:

1. To create collaborative activities between special education teachers and general art/specialist teachers.

2. To increase the quality of art activities available for students with disabilities.

3. To increase the knowledge of beneficial adaptations of art curricula for students with disabilities.

4. To provide evidence of the benefits of the arts to children with disabilities in the form of improved academic, social and/or affective functioning.

5. To disseminate techniques and findings to teachers statewide on the findings from this pilot program

6. To create a program report for the dissemination of information to improve the knowledge base of teachers state wide.

The Students: 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade boys with various diagnoses

The Subject/Goal: geography, with focus on home addresses. The students did not know their addresses and what that meant or why it was significant.

The Process:

• Lessons focused on house numbers, street name, city, and state.
• Incorporate several games to make learning fun and utilize various learning styles: 1. A die was modified with labels (house numbers, street name, city, and state). Students took turns throwing the die and giving the appropriate answer. 2. A camera was sent home with the students to record house number and street sign. These photos were used in a matching game.
• Develop an art project to reinforce this lesson. The students created address pillows. Students were able to choose from a variety of fabric backgrounds. Students were then instructed to choose their house numbers from numbers cut from a variety of fabrics. Students glued the numbers to their background. Then they chose letters from a selection of foam letters to spell out their street name. These letters were also glued to the background. Throughout this process students were encouraged to check the accuracy of their work against an index card containing their address. Students were provided with a variety of embellishments to personalize their pillow these embellishments included flags, dogs and cats, cars, hearts, smiley faces, etc. once the pillow top was dry students had the opportunity to work one-on-one with the artist on the sewing machine. They sell the pillow top to a back fabric of their choosing and stuffed it with fiber fill. The finished projects were displayed in the school hallway for other students to admire. Students held discussions in class about what the various embellishments they chose meant to them.

The Results:Overall this was a very successful project. The students had fun creating their pillows and learn the importance of their address. The teachers appreciated having the time to plan and work together. The special education teacher was happy to demonstrate how capable her students are. The art teacher expressed delight in learning how to structure a project for maximal success.

Bailey Earith is a professional fiber artist. She uses her 25 years experience as an occupational therapist to empower people with disabilities through art education. She has been published extensively for her innovative work with disabilities. She lectures and teaches classes and seminars across the country. Topics include: Special Art for Special People, How to provide art experiences to people with disabilities for parents and teachers, and Artist-in-Residencies.

Web site: http://www.BaileyFiberArt.com Visit her blog for an open discussion of art and disabilities. Blog: http://disability-art.blogspot.com/