Guest Post: Logan Campbell, M.Ed. (ECU SPED UG Alumni! Argh!)
Engaging student’s senses not only makes lessons more engaging but is especially important for students with disabilities. I currently teach a class with students with medical fragility. All use wheelchairs and most have visual and hearing impairments. Here are some easy ways to include all the senses in your classroom!
- Sensory bottles– I use these every morning to talk about the weather. Most of my students have Cortical Vision Impairment so the bright colors and sparkles really grab their attention. They are also fun to make and super cheap. Don’t forget to hot glue the tops to prevent any leaks.
- Tactile Days of the Week– I actually made this at a workshop over the summer that was for teachers who taught students with deaf-blindness. I use this every single morning with my students. I have two that can move the marker independently and three that use hand over hand assistance. This is also great practice for students that have the use of their hands but don’t necessarily like touching certain textures. You can always change the marker to fit a student’s interest!
- Tactile Schedule– Structure is a must in every special education classroom. Not only does it help your students know what is coming up but it helps keep me on track during those days the lesson doesn’t go as planned! This tactile schedule cost $5 to make and took around 30 minutes to create. It’s great for my students with and without vision.
- Sensory Wall– I adore this part of my classroom. My TA and I used old switch covers, $1 Christmas lights, and some glitter to make this on an old bulletin board. It’s not only calming but really fun for my students with low vision.
- Scent of the Day– A huge part of the middle school curriculum is graphing. I found this for $15 online and printed and laminated the pictures myself. I used old prescription bottles and scented wax. A different student picks between two scents in the morning and that is the one that we all get to smell. I hold the bottles up to their noses and they chose their favorite with eye gaze, facial expression, or pointing.
References
Mount, H. & Cavet, J. (2007). Multi-sensory environments: an exploration of their potential for young people with profound and multiple learning difficulties. British Journal of Special Education,22(2), 52-55.
Brown, D. J., Pasqualotto, A., & Meijer, P. (2014). Multi-sensory perceptual learning and sensory substitution. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 41, 16-25.