Meeting Individualized Education Program Goals Through the Arts. For Students with Disabilities: A Set of Primary Art-Based Lesson Plans.

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2 Meeting Individualized Education Program Goals Through the Arts For Students with Disabilities: A Set of Primary Art-Based Lesson Plans By Carly Perrin In partial fulfillment of the Master of Arts in Education School of Education College of Education, Health, and Human Services California State University San Marcos April 2014

3 Table of Contents Page Abstract..1 Chapter 1: Statement of the Problem. 2 Chapter 2: Literature Review...11 Chapter 3: Methodology..20 Chapter 4: Results 26 Chapter 5: Discussion.. 31 References...36 Appendix A: Taking Turns and Sharing With Others - Friendship Bracelets Appendix B: Taking Turns and Sharing with Others - Autism Awareness Appendix C: Future Writing Strategies - Letter of the Week.49 Appendix D: Future Writing Strategies - Number of the Week.80 Appendix E: Cooperating and Sharing with Others- Tic Tac Toe Appendix F: Classroom Friendship Garden..101

4 1 Abstract The number of children being identified and classified under autism is continually increasing and more and more of these students are enrolling in schools and receiving special education services. Depending on the severity of the students autism, they may receive a variety of services including behavior intervention, occupational therapy, speech and language, and adaptive physical education among many others. Educators and specialists work together to build programs that best meet the needs of each individual with autism. Following a students IEP can make it easy to get lost in the process and forget about how many opportunities there are in each school day to make progress towards goals without directly working on a goal. One subject that often gets overlooked as a great opportunity for growth in social skills, motor development, and behavior is art. The focus of this project is to research and develop a set of six art-based, kindergarten through second grade, lesson plans that meet the universal needs of students with ASD in the areas of social skills, motor development, and pro-social behavior. Keywords: art, Autism Spectrum Disorder,Individualized Education Program goals, motor development, primary, pro-social behavior skills, social skills

5 2 Chapter One: Statement of the Problem As the number of children being identified and classified under Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or autism is increasing, more and more of these students are enrolling in schools and receiving special education services. Depending on the severity of the student's autism, a student may receive a variety of services including behavior intervention, occupational therapy, speech and language, and adaptive physical education among many others. Educators and specialists work together to build programs that best meet the needs of each individual with autism. In following a student s Individualized Educational Program (IEP) plan, it is easy to get lost in the process and forget about how many opportunities there are in each school day to make progress towards goals without directly working on a goal. It is important to provide as many opportunities as possible to help a student show growth on their IEP goals. Art often gets overlooked as a great medium for supporting students growth in social skills, motor development, and normative behavior. Art can be used as a universal vehicle to teach many functional and academic skills regardless of the severity of the students disability. Art can be described in many ways. It is something that is created with skill or imagination and can be expressed through a variety of forms such as music, performing arts, and visual arts. Most educators have their students participate in art activities. For many students with ASD, art is an activity during the school day that they get to calm down and focus on a task that is visual and fun. Many students with ASD are visual, concrete thinkers. As Temple Grandin, an internationally famous

6 3 veterinarian and professor with autism, once explained it, I m a visual thinker, not a language-based thinker. My brain is like Google Images (Grandin, 2010, Since art is an activity that many students find fun, it is a great activity to use to develop critical social, motor, and pro-social behavioral skills in a student s daily schedule. Using art as a component to social skills, behavior, and motor development instruction may increase the willingness of children to participate because art is an activity that they find acceptable (Epp, 2008). Art is an activity in which every student can participate regardless of the student s skill level. With the increase of children being identified and classified as having ASD, it is important for educators to have access to lessons that can make progress toward multiple IEP goals and meet the unique needs of their students. Art activities can easily be modified to include every student. In an education setting which educates students with more complex learning, social and behavior needs, it can be a challenge to create lessons that are meaningful for every student in the class. A teacher of a class with students with various degrees of severity of ASD can find it difficult to create whole and small group instruction in which all students can participate. Early motor, social, and pro-social behavioral instruction for students with ASD is very important. Although there are plenty of lessons designed to meet the needs of students with ASD, there is still a need for lessons that are more universal in providing fun, group opportunities so that students make progress toward social skill

7 4 development, motor development, and pro-social behavioral goals. Purpose of Project The purpose of this project is to research and develop a set six of art-based lesson plans that meet the universal needs of kindergarten through second grade students with ASD in the areas of social skills, motor development, and pro-social behavior. The lessons created can be easily modified to meet students unique needs. The set of lessons answer the research question, How can art be used as a way of teaching social skills, motor development, and pro-social behavior skills to students on various levels of the ASD? Students with ASD can be placed in a variety of settings in schools. Depending on the severity of their autism, they can be placed in the Least Restrictive Environment with their general education peers or they can be educated in settings other than general education, in a specially designed classroom. The author is the teacher of such a specialized classroom a Special Day Class (SDC) for students with severe autism. This classroom is highly structured and has a high ratio of adult to student support. In many classes like this it is difficult to create group opportunities for learning, as many experiences are structured around each student s individual learning opportunities. Students with severe ASD often rely on opportunities created in the classroom to learn about social skills, behavior, and motor development. It is critical for educators such as the author to design and operate an instruction program not only that provides individual learning experiences, but also small group and whole group learning experiences. How can a student learn social skills without engaging with other people?

8 5 This project is designed to help educators of primary students with more severe disabilities, inclusive of severe ASD, with a set of lesson plans to use for group art opportunities to help students make progress on a variety of social skills, motor development, and pro-social behavior goals. The project lessons are based upon current research about the importance of motor development, social skills, pro-social behavior, and art in special education settings. Through the use of the group, art-based lesson plans, an educator of students with severe disabilities has additional tools to teach and create future art activities that promote student progress toward social, motor, and prosocial skill development per the goals stated in each student s Individual Education Program plan. Definition of Terms To maximize understanding, the following terms are defined for this specific project. Art Art is something that is created with skill or imagination and can be expressed through a variety of forms such as musical, visual, and performance Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Autism Spectrum Disorder or autism is a neurological difference that affects a person s social interaction, communication, behavior, and movement. There is a large variation in symptoms and associated among people with ASD. Behavioral Skills Behavioral skills that are learned and taught to students that allow them to understand appropriate responses to external or internal stimuli.

9 6 Early Intervention Early intervention is a support and educational system for young children. Early intervention helps families of at-risk children receive supports that assist them with maximizing a child s physical, cognitive, and social/emotional development. Individualized Education Program (IEP) An Individualized Education Program (IEP) is a personalized program of specially designed instruction to meet the documented needs of a student eligible for special education. An IEP also refers to the plan outlining the program of support. The IEP plan is a document mandated by the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA), most recently reauthorized in The IEP document defines objectives, goals, accommodations, and services that are individualized to meet an exceptional students needs. IEP Goal An IEP goal is a measurable annual goal that is a part of a student s IEP plan. These goals should be obtainable in a year s time and determine what the student will attempt to learn that school year. Motor Skills Motor skills are skills that are learned and taught as intentional movements that involve a motor or muscular component. These skills are learned and produced voluntarily to perform specific goals or tasks. There are two types- fine motor and gross motor. Fine motor works on smaller components such as writing or holding a utensil. Gross motor works on large movements such as running or throwing a ball.

10 7 Paraprofessional A paraprofessional is a school employee who works under the supervision of a certified teacher. Special Day Class (SDC) A Special Day Class (SDC) is an intensive educational program designed for children with special needs for whom it is deemed that they require specialized instruction for more than 50% of the school day. Often SDC classrooms include students who are working on alternate curriculum as well as the academic standard.. Social Skills Social skills that are learned and taught to facilitate interaction and communication with others. Social skills can be verbal and nonverbal. Preview of the Literature The research indicates that motor skills are a critical part of a child s development and that students with ASD are often behind in developing these skills. There is an association between early motor skill development and later cognitive development. Therefore, it is very important to focus on motor skills as early as possible (Brown, 2010). Children with ASD are also known to have trouble communicating and socializing. By teaching these students social skills through modeling, prompting, and tutoring, they can increase learning and improve social relationships (Kamps, Leonard, Vernon, Dugan & Delquadri, 1992). Art can be an important instructional medium. In spite of their disabilities, exceptional children have the same need to create and to develop artistic skills as do other children (May, 1976, p.16). By incorporating art into special education programs,

11 8 educators have found significant gains in perceptual and cognitive skills (Dalke, 1984). Art can be a gateway for teaching a variety of subjects to children with ASD including motor and social skills. Most special education classrooms have a teacher and one or more paraprofessionals assisting students in their daily school activities. Research shows that the unique conditions that art lessons create often allow students to communicate not only with the supporting adults, but with peers while they work on their art (Burdick & Causton-Theoharis, 2012). During art lessons the meaningful support of classroom paraprofessionals can help maintain and add to this unique environment. Students with ASD can benefit from art lessons designed to teach a variety of social, behavioral, and motor skills. Preview of Methodology Through personal experiences as an educator, classroom observations, and a review of literature, the author created a set of lesson plans to assist educators of students with severe autism to use art as a means of teaching social, pro-social behavioral, and motor skills. The focus of this project is to include simple lesson plans and ideas that will serve as a beginning tool and guide for educators to create daily art lessons that go beyond a simple crafts experience, but actually support students making progress toward their IEP goals. In the Chapter Two literature review that follows, the themes explored include motor development, social skills, art in special education classrooms, and implementation of art lessons with paraprofessionals. The research served as a guide for the development of the project. Chapter Three expands upon a description of the project and the procedures used to create the lessons that are the product of the project.

12 9 Significance of Project The significance of this project is that it provides educators of students with severe autism and other disabilities an example of how to create small and whole group art lessons that are meaningful and work towards students IEP goals. The lessons provide opportunities to use art as a daily, fun activity to promote social, motor, and prosocial behavioral growth. By using art as a way to work on goals, a teacher can provide students with experiences that are fun as well as educational, helping students to learn critical skills. For example, among the lessons designed are lessons that incorporate academic goals such as letter and number recognition. Past and current research suggests the importance of motor, behavioral, and social skill development and a student s ability to remain on task longer during a preferred activity. These lessons use the preferred activity of art to teach a multitude of skills. On a personal level, through educating students with severe autism, the author understands how difficult it is to create whole and small group lessons that are meaningful for every student in the class. One of the few opportunities in the author s classrooms daily schedule for whole and small group instruction occurs during art. Students enjoy art and do not require a one-on-one adult to remain engaged and on task. Many students with severe autism can remain engaged in a task longer if they are enjoying themselves. The author uses art as a way of teaching students critical skills that they do not even realize they are working on during the art experiences. The set of lessons developed in this project are hoped to help other educators and even parents

13 10 create fun and engaging ways of teaching critical skills to their students and children through art. Limitations of Project There are several limitations of this project. First and foremost, there is a limited amount of time to implement this project in a classroom setting. This leaves the effectiveness and successfulness of the project unknown. Second, the project is designed for a specific population of exceptional students, students with severe ASD. The lessons may not be modified to be successful in another classroom environment, such as a general education classroom or other settings that include exceptional students with a variety of different disabilities. Summary As the population of students with Autism Spectrum Disorder is rapidly growing, educators need to be prepared to use instructional methods and means to help students make progress toward these students IEP goals that include fun and meaningful activities throughout the school day. Since art is often a preferred activity for many students, it is a great medium by which to teach critical skills. The development of this project, a set of art lessons, yields tools and guides for educators to develop meaningful art lessons that go beyond a simple craft experience and actually support students to make progress toward social, behavioral, and motor skill goals.

14 11 Chapter Two: Review of Literature The number of children being identified and classified under autism is continually increasing and more and more of these students are enrolling in schools and receiving special education services. Many of these students receive a variety of services including behavior intervention, occupational therapy, speech and language, and adaptive physical education among many others. Educators and specialists work together to build programs that best meet the needs of each individual with autism. Following a students IEP can cause educators and specialists to lose focus on the big picture and forget about how many opportunities there are in each school day to make progress towards goals without directly working on a goal. One subject that often gets overlooked as a great opportunity for growth in social skills, motor development, and behavior is art. This chapter examines children with autism and the importance of their development of motor skills and early intervention, art applied in special education classrooms, the importance of social skills instruction for children with autism, and how to include art in a student s IEP with the help of co-teaching and trained paraprofessionals. Based on a review of past and current literature, an art curriculum was developed to help educators primary level of children with autism incorporate art in their classrooms as a means of making progress toward academic, fine motor, behavior, and social skills goals.

15 12 ASD and Fine Motor Development Motor skills are a critical part of any child s development. There is a substantial amount of research that suggests that children who have developmental motor problems in their early years, have a degree of motor, educational and social difficulties as they get older (Cantell, Smyth & Ahonen, 1994). Children with autism or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are getting diagnosed at younger and younger ages. And early intervention is recognized as critical in providing these children instruction that will build on their strengths to teach and improve skills and behaviors and remediate areas of weakness. The association between early motor skill development and later cognitive development suggest that early intervention by schools to help children develop their motor skills could be greatly beneficial in the motor domain. Carol Brown (2010) states that there is a substantial body of evidence that shows that boys are more likely to experience significant problems in motor development than girls, and that boys in areas of social disadvantage are particularly at risk of delayed motor development (p. 275). Boys are also more at risk at being diagnosed with autism or ASD than girls, and ASD is often associated with communication and social delays. In looking at early intervention, one area that is often overlooked in the clinical evaluation and planning is the motor development of young children with ASD (Lloyd, MacDonald & Lord, 2011). Many professionals focusing on behavior and social skills may neglect the importance of motor skill development and the role motor skills can play in the development of other critical skills. Many of the difference s of children with autism or ASD are linked, and motor or movement

16 13 difference is a characteristic of children with ASD. Fine and gross movement is a critical part of active play in young children. As Lloyd, MacDonald and Lord (2011) note, active play facilitates the development of motor skills, social skills, an understanding of the world, daily living skills, and adaptive behavior; it also provides a unique opportunity for young children to be physically active and play games with peers (p.142). Art is another subject that facilitates the development of multiple skills particularly the building of academic, social, motor, and behavior skills. Stewart, Rule and Giordano (2007) highlighted how fine motor activities help build students ability to pay attention, noting that attention to learning tasks was more highly correlated with achievement than time on task (p.103). Cantell and colleagues (1994) stress the importance of early intervention for the development of motor skills and the impact motor development has on learning. Stewart and colleagues (2007) found that differences in the younger children s attentional regulation abilities and motivational behaviors in the classroom made an important contribution to early reading achievement scores (p.103). In their study, students with better attentional regulation had better reading scores. The study found that when students are doing an activity that they prefer to do, or that they find interesting, they persisted longer and attend more to that activity. Art is an activity that many students are interested in. It is a great opportunity to take something preferred and turn it into a learning activity for other skills such as the ability to pay attention.

17 14 Social Skills Instruction for Children with Autism Many children with autism have trouble communicating and socializing with other people. Social skills instruction is a critical part of their development. It is common for children with Autism to lack responsivity to others initiations and they often do not initiate interactions on their own. For children with Autism, social skills are learned directly. Lopez and Kamps (1997) note that support for the premise that social skills are a learned behavior is evidenced in the increase in interactions between children with disabilities when they are trained in specific social skills (p.2). Many people help teach students with ASD social skills by creating learning environments that allow them to directly work on social skills. The idea is that after learning the skills in a direct way, they should be able to transfer the skill to more natural situations. According to the study, specific social settings can produce more positive effects. Another great outcome of teaching students with ASD social skills, is the reduction of disruptive behavior. Lopez and Kamps (2007) study found that social skills training combined with a reinforcement system was especially effective in increasing the duration and frequency of peer interactions of the children with autism (p.12). Social and emotional learning can be promoted through service-learning art projects. Russel and Hutzel (2007) conclude that good art teaching, then, includes creating conditions for effective learner behavior (p.6). They discuss how a great way to change behavior is to take a positive shift as a teacher and look at the disruptive behavior as an academic problem. They note that if the misdeed is understood as the result of a deficit in skill, not simply a fault in conduct, it will more

18 15 likely be thought of positively as a mistake in need of more practice, than thought of negatively as a misbehavior (p.6). This study supports art as a means of social skills instruction. If art can be incorporated as part of daily lessons, teachers and students can use that time to focus upon a skill that is as critical as social skills and make it enjoyable. They conclude that the goal, then, is to teach explicitly those understandings, skills, and dispositions that positively affect student discipline as a regular part of the curriculum (p.7). Students with ASD are often associated with antisocial characteristics. By teaching them social skills through modeling, prompting, and tutoring they can increase learning and improve social relationships. This is why is it so important to include social skills as a part of daily curriculum. An easy way to include social skills training is to create opportunities in other curriculum areas such as art. When a teacher focuses upon a few concrete behaviors with repeated practice that teacher contributes to the success of the program for the students with autism who might otherwise have had difficulty in processing more abstract social skills (Kamps, Leonard, Vernon, Dugan & Delquadri, 1992, p. 287). Using art as an opportunity for students to learn social skills is a great way to promote positive behavior and a fun learning environment. Art and Special Education Classrooms Art is not nice. Art is exciting, confusing, passionate, angry, loving, funny, and mysterious, just like our students (Cruz, 2009, p. 149). Art education is very important in every child s education. It is a way for students to learn fine motor, social, and behavior skills in a fun and engaging way. Art allows students to express

19 16 themselves and be individuals. It is very important that special education teachers are able to adapt art activities to meet the needs of every student in their class. In spite of their disabilities, exceptional children have the same need to create and to develop artistic skills as do other children (May, 1976, p. 16). By incorporating art into special education programs, educators have found significant gains in perceptual and cognitive skills (Dalke, 1984). Art can be a gateway to teaching a variety of subjects to children with ASD. By introducing students with ASD to art at young ages, students have more time to develop skills and even learn to use art as a means of communication. Kellman (1999) emphasizes this in the following statement. The role of art as narrative, even in the lives of children with severe communication disorders such as autism, leads directly to a more firmly rooted view of humans as narrative creatures, beings that naturally use both art and story as memory keepers and sense makers especially when written language, communicative abilities, or cognitive processes cannot develop (p. 273). Art can be used to teach awareness of ones body and also as a way for one to express how they feel. The use of nonverbal expression through the experience of making art encourages children with autism to begin to represent their experiences (Emery, 2004, p. 147). Art of children who cannot communicate can sometimes be considered a look into their life; a view of what they see and how they feel. Art is a great tool to use to teach children who cannot communicate how to express what is going on in their mind and body.

20 17 As Temple Grandin (2010) once put it, "I m a visual thinker, not a languagebased thinker. My brain is similar to Google Images. Many children with ASD are often visual, concrete thinkers. Art therapy as a component to social skills training may increase the willingness of children to participate because art is an activity that they find acceptable (Epp, 2008, p. 29). A great way to engage a child in a lesson is to design a new concept around a subject that student already enjoys or excels at. The concrete, visual characteristics of art allow children with ASD, who often have anxiety in social situations, to relax and enjoy themselves. An example of how to include social skills in an art activity would be to have students participate in a group art project where they must take turns, wait, and interact with their peers. Including Art in IEPs with Paraprofessionals The previous topics discussed the importance of fine motor, social skills, and art training in special education classrooms. It is important to incorporate all of these subjects in a special education classroom and how they are incorporated is just as important. Most special education classrooms have a teacher and one or more paraprofessionals assisting students in their daily school activities. The unique conditions that art lessons create often allow for students to communicate with one another while working creatively on their art (Burdick & Causton-Theoharis, 2012, p. 37). During art lessons the meaningful support of classroom paraprofessionals can help maintain and add to this unique environment. Paraprofessionals can be supported to appreciate, respect, and value students with disabilities and support them by giving them physical access, content, curriculum, communication, and eventually the fading of support so that they may

21 18 participate more independently (Burdick & Causton-Theoharis, 2012). Namely, supervising educators should prepare their paraprofessionals to recognize the importance of art and creativity in early childhood, understand the growth and development of children with disabilities as related to art, develop observational skills with relation to early artistic expression, and to appreciate and recognize aesthetic intelligence (Schwartz & Bloomgarden, 2001). If educators take the time to train their paraprofessionals on how to assist students in art, social skills, and fine motor activities, the activities can be more meaningful and better meet the needs of individual students. Students who receive special education services have Individual Education Programs (IEPs) that are developed to meet their unique needs. These programs result in a written plan, a document also known as an IEP. This document is developed by a team of people who know and support the student. An IEP clearly states what a student s education goals are and how the team is going to help the student meet these goals. In support of the arts, Gair (1980) commented that IEP teams should be aware of the fact that arts education becomes Special Education and Related Services when a child s art program is specially structured to meet his or her unique learning needs (p. 8). If a student needs support, accommodations, or modifications in order to participate in an art activity, then that should be discussed with the IEP team and added to the IEP plan. With trained paraprofessionals and appropriate accommodations and modifications, any student should be able to participate in art activities.

22 19 Summary A review of literature on children with autism and their fine motor and social skills development along with integrating art in special education classrooms revealed that art can be a bridge for students with ASD to learn about social skills and work on their fine motor development. When students enjoy what they are doing, they are more likely to engage in the activity and learn from it. Children with ASD are often highly visual learners. Art is a great way to keep them engaged while teaching them a new skill. The following chapter, Chapter 3, describes the methodology used and steps taken to develop the project, a set of lessons developed to help educators of children with autism to incorporate art into their instruction as a means of making progress toward academic, fine motor, behavior, and social skills goals.

23 20 Chapter Three Methodology As the number of children being identified and classified under autism is continually increasing, more and more of these students are enrolling in schools and receiving special education services. Depending on the severity of the students autism, they may receive a variety of services including behavior intervention, occupational therapy, speech and language, and adaptive physical education among many others. Educators and specialists work together to build programs that best meet the needs of each individual with autism. Following a students IEP can make it easy to get lost in the process and forget about how many opportunities there are in each school day to make progress towards goals without directly working on a goal. One subject that often gets overlooked as a great opportunity for growth in social skills, motor development, and behavior is art. The focus of this project was to research and develop a set six of art-based lesson plans that meet the universal needs of promary aged students with ASD in the areas of social skills, motor development, and pro-social behavior. The set of lessons answer the research question, How can art be used as a way of teaching social skills, motor development, and pro-social behavior skills to students with various levels of ASD? As researched and discovered in the literature review, teaching social skills, motor development, and pro-social behavior skills can greatly benefit students with ASD. Research also found that students perform better when they are learning through an activity they enjoy. These findings were used to create a set of art-based lesson plans that meet the various needs of students with ASD in the areas of social

24 21 skill, motor development, and pro-social behavior. This chapter will provide an explanation into the design of the project, the setting it was designed for, the intended audience, the procedures used to create the project, and an evaluation of the process used to determine the benefit of the project. Design The set of six art-based lesson plans is designed to provide teachers of primary aged students with ASD a fun and creative way of working on Individualized Education Program (IEP) goals. In planning for the format and structure of the lessons, the author decided to develop essential components of the lessons. The author wanted the format of the lessons to be such that it would be quick and easy for a variety of teachers to use the lessons in their diverse classrooms. Recognizing that it can become difficult to interpret and understand lesson plans, the author wanted to be sure that the components of the lesson design were easy to follow and would help provide teachers with lessons that could be taught with minimal preparation. Six lessons are provided using the same design. The design includes a title, grade level, content areas, time frame, class description, materials, content standard addressed, learning objective, and rationale. The lesson sequence is the same for all six lessons. It includes transition and preparation, input and modeling, group practice/ monitoring/ feedback, and future practice. The six lessons are all designed for learning through the visual arts and address goals in social skills, motor development, and pro-social behavior. All the lessons are connected to a California state health standard or a California Alternate Performance Assessment (CAPA) blueprint standard.

25 22 Setting This set of lesson plans is designed for the use of educators of students with ASD in general education and special education classrooms within local public schools. The lessons are designed to be used for primary-aged students with autism who have a diverse range of communication, social, and academic strengths and skills. Many of these students work positively in structured environments where transitions are predictable and lessons are highly visual. The lessons could easily be adjusted to work in other settings. Many primary-aged students would benefit from the skills these lessons provide. Audience Teachers of students with exceptionalities are often challenged with how to provide instruction that is meaningful for all of their students diverse needs throughout the day. In a Special Day Class (SDC) students have many diverse goals to meet individual needs. Teachers need to be equipped with lessons that provide opportunities to meet the universal needs of all their students. General education teachers that work with exceptional students face this same problem. They also need lessons that are meaningful for their general and special education students. The set of lessons developed are designed for the use of special education teachers with primary aged students with ASD. However, the lessons can be easily adjusted to benefit a more diverse population. Procedures for Lesson Development

26 23 The planning process for developing this set of lessons began with a review of literature that examined children with autism and the importance of their development of motor skills and early intervention, art applied in special education classrooms, the importance of social skills instruction for children with autism, and how to include art in a students IEP with the help of co-teaching and trained paraprofessionals. From the literature review, information emerged about using art to make progress on the IEP goals of students with disabilities. This information revealed that art can be a bridge for students with ASD to learn about social skills and work on their fine motor development. When students enjoy what they are doing, they are more likely to engage in the activity and learn from it. Children with ASD are often highly visual learners. Art is a great way to keep them engaged while teaching them a new skill. The information found in the literature review became the basis of how to create the set of art-based lessons designed for the project. The author decided that the lessons should be written with one universal format. The format includes a title, grade level, content areas, time frame, class description, materials, content standard addressed, learning objective, and rationale. The lesson sequence is the same for all six lessons. It includes transition and preparation, input and modeling, group practice/ monitoring/ feedback, and future practice. The six lessons are all designed for learning through the visual arts and address goals in social skills, motor development, and pro-social behavior. All the lessons are connected to a California state health standard or a California Alternate Performance Assessment (CAPA) blueprint standard.

27 24 Once the lesson format was designed, the six lessons were constructed using a California state health standard or a California Alternate Performance Assessment (CAPA) blueprint standard. The learning objectives included in the lessons were written to meet these standards. Rationale for the activities is provided in each lesson. The lesson sequence was designed to be appropriate for students with ASD. These students often need routine and consistence in their day, which is why smooth transitions between activities are so important. This lesson design includes a transitions and preparation component. Many students with ASD also have a short attention span and learn better through visual representation. The input and modeling component of the lessons is a visual and hands-on way for students to understand what they are being asked to complete. Group practice, monitoring, and feedback are together. This will help educators and paraprofessionals assist the students as needed and offer feedback and guidance throughout the activity. Each lesson ends with future practice, which provides a few ideas to further the activity and provide opportunities for students to practice what they have learned. In summary, when creating the set of lessons, the author wanted them to be user-friendly and easy to implement for the teacher. The author also wanted to ensure that the lessons were concise and easy to recreate with minimal time spent on preparation. These lessons provide an opportunity to teach the themes found in the literature review (social skills, motor development, pro-social behavior) in a fun and engaging way.

28 25 Summary Ultimately, being a teacher of students with disabilities, including ASD, can be very challenging. While working tirelessly to meet IEP goals, it is easy to overlook all the great opportunities in a school day to provide meaningful instruction. Art is a great opportunity to teach critical social, behavioral, and motor skills. The development of the project is intended to provide educators with lessons that can meet the universal needs of students with ASD. The lessons support the research question by providing visual art activities that make progress towards specific skills that students with disabilities, including ASD, benefit from. The lesson design is easy to follow and the lessons are easy to prepare for, leaving more time to be spent with the students. In the following chapter, the reader is guided through the six art-based lessons.

29 26 Chapter Four: Results Many children are being identified and classified under autism and more and more of these students are enrolling in schools and receiving special education services. These students may receive a variety of services, depending on the severity of the students autism, including behavior intervention, occupational therapy, speech and language, and adaptive physical education among many others. Educators and specialists work together to build programs that best meet the needs of each individual with autism. In following a students IEP it is easy to get lost in the process and forget about how many opportunities there are in each school day to make progress towards goals without directly working on a goal. One subject that often gets overlooked as a great opportunity for growth in social skills, motor development, and behavior is art. The focus of this project was answer the research question, How can art be used as a way of teaching social skills, motor development, and pro-social behavior skills to students with various levels of ASD? In response to the research question a set of six art-based lesson plans that meet the universal needs of primary grade level students with ASD in the areas of social skills, motor development, and pro-social behavior was developed. Lesson Format The lessons were written with a simple, universal format. The format is easy to follow and breaks the lessons into simple, concise steps. The format includes a title, grade level, content areas, time frame, class description, materials, content standard addressed, learning objective, and rationale. The lesson sequence is the same for all

30 27 six lessons. It includes transition and preparation, input and modeling, group practice/ monitoring/ feedback, and future practice. The six lessons are all designed for learning through the visual arts and address goals in social skills, motor development, and pro-social behavior. All the lessons are connected to a California state health standard or a California Alternate Performance Assessment (CAPA) blueprint standard. Lesson Descriptions The first lesson, appearing in Appendix A, is titled Taking Turns and Sharing With Others-Friendship Bracelets. This lesson uses the art of making bracelets to teach cooperation and sharing with others, which is a California health standard. Beading the bracelets themselves is a great exercise to increase fine motor development. In this lesson two students work collaboratively to produce two bracelets. Each student gets to keep one of the bracelets that the pair makes together. The lesson requires few materials and provides a fun opportunity to work on fine motor skills, and cooperation and sharing with others. The second lesson, appearing in Appendix B, is titled Taking Turns and Sharing with Others- Autism Awareness. In this lesson students work together to produce a class Autism Awareness ribbon poster. This lesson also works towards cooperation and sharing with others, a California state health standard. This lesson is designed around tear-art. The students tear construction paper to produce visual art. Tearing the construction paper is another exercise that increases fine motor development. The class works as a whole to produce the ribbon and promote Autism Awareness.

31 28 The third lesson, appearing in Appendix C, is titled Future Writing Strategies- Letter of the Week. This is a lesson designed to be taught once a week until all 26 letters of the alphabet have been introduced. The students work toward a California Alternate Performance Assessment blueprint standard. This standard is to hold a writing implement and make marks on paper. In this activity students tear construction paper to make the letter of the week. Tearing the construction paper increases fine motor development, which will help them hold a pencil and write. This activity can be followed up throughout the week with different lessons about the letter, writing the letter, and saying the sound the letter makes. The fourth lesson, appearing in Appendix D, is titled Future Writing Strategies-Number of the Week. This is a lesson designed to be taught once a week until numbers 1-10 have been introduced. The students work toward a California Alternate Performance Assessment blueprint standard. This standard is to hold a writing implement and make marks on paper. In this activity students tear construction paper to make the number of the week. Tearing the construction paper increases fine motor development, which will help them hold a pencil and write. This activity also works towards a CAPA standard to count and identify numbers from one to ten. This activity can be followed up throughout the week with different lessons about the number, writing the number, or choosing the number from a field of three. The fifth lesson, appearing in Appendix E, is titled Cooperating and Sharing with Others - Tic Tac Toe. This lesson works towards the CAPA standard of holding a writing implement and making marks on paper, and the California heath standard of

32 29 cooperating and sharing with others. In this activity students play tic tac toe with paint and sponges cut out in the x and o shape. The activity of grasping and releasing a sponge into paint and on paper will help them with their fine motor development. In the end the student have produced a work of art while playing a game with a peer. The sixth lesson, appearing in Appendix F, is titled Classroom Friendship Garden. This lesson works towards the CAPA standard of holding a writing implement and making marks on paper, and the California heath standard of cooperating and sharing with others. In this lesson students trace their hands on paper, cut their hands out and glue them to a large piece of butcher paper. The class then takes turns rolling a dice with colors on it instead of numbers. The color the dice lands on will be the color of the petals on the student's hand flower. The finished product is a large piece of visual art created through class cooperation and sharing. In this activity the students cut and write their names which helps with their fine motor development as well. Summary The development of the project is intended to provide educators with lessons that can meet the universal needs of students with ASD. The lessons support the research question by providing visual art activities that make progress towards specific skills that students with disabilities, including ASD, benefit from. The lesson design is easy to follow and the lessons are easy to prepare for, leaving more time to be spent with the students. Chapter five offers insight into the next steps for this set of lessons and

33 30 its feasibility as a resource for teachers working in classrooms with students that have ASD.

34 31 Chapter Five: Discussion The number of children being identified and classified under autism is continually increasing and many of these students are enrolling in schools and receiving special education services. Educators and specialists work together to build programs that best meet the needs of each individual with autism. There are many opportunities in each school day to follow IEPs and make progress towards goals without directly working on a goal. One subject that often gets overlooked as a great opportunity for growth in social skills, motor development, and behavior is art. This was the basis for the research question: How can art be used as a way of teaching social skills, motor development, and pro-social behavior skills to students with various levels of ASD? As researched and discovered in the literature review, teaching social skills, motor development, and pro-social behavior skills can greatly benefit students with ASD. The author also found that students perform better when they are learning through an activity they enjoy. In response to the research question a set of art-based lesson plans that meet the universal needs of students with ASD in the areas of social skills, motor development, and pro-social behavior was developed. This chapter will provide a brief summary of the project, the author s future plans for developing the project, the limitations that were present, and ideas for future research and projects. Summary of the Project This project, entitled Meeting Exceptional Students Individualized Education Program Goals Through the Arts, is a set of lesson plans, which provide special

35 32 education teachers with six lessons designed to further students with ASD in their social, motor, and pro-social behavior skill development. As more students with ASD are placed in public school programs, the demand for opportunities to meet the IEP goals of multiple students in the class has increased. The lessons developed offer teachers six beginning visual art lessons that have the ability to meet multiple students IEP goals in the areas of social skills, motor development, and pro-social behavior skills. By following the lesson design and using the six lessons as examples, teacher should be able to develop lessons of their own that will meet the needs of the students in their diverse classrooms and settings. Plans for Implementing the Lessons The author s plan for this set of lessons is to make it available to teachers of primary-aged students with ASD. This includes general and special education teachers. With students of such diverse needs, opportunities for meaningful wholeclass instruction can happen less than opportunities for individual work. These lessons can be a useful resource in supporting teachers to create opportunities for meaningful whole-group instruction in their classrooms. The author plans to offer these lessons to parents of students with ASD to provide them with ideas of how to make learning critical skills fun. Early intervention is important for students with ASD. If parents are given useful resources, they can work to support their children in making progress at home. These lessons can be used as examples and parents can create art activities of their own that promote growth in social skills, motor development, or pro-social behavior skills.