PART 2: Activities to Promote Inclusivity

Freeze Inclusive Dance

Teach locomotor movement and still shapes in a game of freeze dance, the activity adapts to any type of challenge, especially in this case for students with physical challenges.

This dance uses locomotor movements, wheelchair movement and still shapes. It can be used in inclusive and self-contained classes. While the music is playing, the children travel through the space using different directions and tempos. When the music stops, they freeze in a still shape. You or the students can decide on the movements for travelling in space and the type of shapes.

Students will learn creative movements.

Students will hold a pose “freeze”.

Students will stop when music stops.

Inclusive dance activity in class.

Physical

Performance Art

30 minutes

Inform the children that when the music is on, they will move in the dance space, and when the music stops, they will freeze in a shape.

Children who are deaf or hard of hearing can watch the other children, and you can use a visual stop signal to indicate the music has stopped.

Children who are blind or have a visual impairment can hear the music and move in the space while the other children watch to make sure they are not bumping into the child.

This dance is also appropriate for children using manual or power wheelchairs, walkers, or crutches. They can use all or parts of the body to make the shapes. Use the paraeducator or peer helper with children when needed to reinforce the directions and cue words.

music on laptop, any song appropriate for dancing

//

Do it yourself and play by yourself

Making and instrument with materials we can find (maraka), Develop new instruments, understand how sound occur, make music as a group

Music

40 minutes

1-Paper glasses are examined, ideas are about what it does.

2-The teacher put a handful of rice into the glasses and the cups are stapled.

3-Every student paints his/her maraka with the colour he/she wants.

4-Whole students both sing along and accompany the song “Shake Maraca” with their marakas.

• Paper cup or carton roll

• Lentil, bulgur wheat or rice

• Wire stapler

• Croyons

1-Did all students in class design their own instrument?

2-Could they make the rhythm with the instruments they made?

3-Could they accompany the song using their own instruments?

Do yourself and play yourself – Onur EROL (EĞİTENKİTAP)

Superdiverse

Participants become aware of physical differences and the many other differences that can characterise people. People will learn the concepts of visible and invisible differences and of super-diversity

Challenges to inclusion addressed (main): physical

21st skills promoted: Social and Intercultural skills

Visual arts (Photography)

(in minutes)

2 sessions: 45 + 45

Current issue: People are different in many aspects. The physical aspect is immediately visible and it highlights many differences such as gender, ethnicity, age. Other differences are not so evident, i.e. socioeconomic status, school achievements etc. The actual world is characterised by super-diversity (Vertovech, 2007).

Steps

Part A

part B

 camera

photos of portraits

 GOAL: Has the goal been achieved or not? To what extent? 

At the end of the session students should be able to answer the following questions:

- as concerns  inclusion

- as concerns artistic tool

Vertovec, S. (2019). Talking around super-diversity. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 42(1), 125-139.

Vertovec, S. (2007). Super-diversity and its implications. Ethnic and racial studies, 30(6), 1024-1054.

Theatre games without vision

Improving the visual awareness of students via building confidence of expression – physical and vocal, enhancing creative thinking, motor and teamworking skills, and building empathy.

Improving the inclusion of students with impaired vision.

Theatre / performing arts

90 minutes one-off session, which can be expanded into a series of 60 minute sessions should the school, the appointed facilitators and the students themselves demonstrate a deeper interest and/or need.

Phase I: Preparations

This particular workshop is developed for the purpose of improving the inclusion of students with impaired vision and level of general understanding and visual awareness of all involved students. This workshop should be used in schools that have integrated students with impaired vision for the classes attended by these students, as well as for the entire school community. The facilitator should investigate the needs and requirements of the members of the group, beyond those of the visually impaired child/children in order to formulate the assignments, she/he is going to give the children, as well as the possible ways, in which these assignments can be carried out or the explanations modified, in case of need. The facilitator of such a workshop needs to prepare her/himself by checking content available on the topic of impaired vision – abilities, skills, risks, environment, wrong concepts, etc. – created under the V.I.S.I.T.ON project (see the list of sources).

What would be important for the facilitator to read is “Visual impairment – presenting various conditions and different types of sight loss” in order to understand what limitations students with different conditions may have.

The facilitator should also carefully read “The Perils of Playing Blind: Problems with Blindness Simulation and a Better Way to Teach about Blindness” by Arielle Michal Silverman (see the list of sources) in order to prepare as appropriately as possible.

Last but not least, the facilitator should consult his/her agenda and test the exercises with at least one visually impaired student in order to foresee and eliminate avoidable mistakes or wrong assumptions. The facilitator should also be aware that different types of visual impairments may require different adjustments and preparation.

The facilitator should be flexible enough to be able to pick from a list of games depending on the group – what challenges are presented within the group and are there exercises and games, which might be inappropriate (e.g. a close physical contact game in a mixed group with muslim and non-muslim boys and girls).

The facilitator should make all possible efforts to observe the inclusion tips, to install the group agreement and again, especially in case of close interaction/contact games or physio-psychological discomfort caused by the loss of sight, to provide the possibility of “not playing” a certain game or simply observing the entire workshop. No child or adult can be completely certain about his/her reaction to activities in the dark. Even if they consider themselves quite capable of doing those, there might be surprises.

Phase II: The actual drama workshops

The facilitator may begin with a get to know each other circle. All participants announce their names individually. Then do the circle again, this time with name and gesture (or sound) – after each name+gesture (or sound) the rest of the group repeats the name+gesture (or sound) synchronously. Then the name+gesture (or sound) is done a bit quicker, with synchronous repetition by the rest. Then the direction in the circle changes and this time the participants only do the gesture (sound) but very slowly. The rest need to repeat the gesture (or sound) with the same speed. Next we only pronounce the names very slowly and distinctly.

As far as the above opening and get-to-know-each-other exercise is concerned, the facilitator needs to put several important issues on the scales, before deciding how to approach it:

- if the group includes a participant or participants who are completely blind and would omit the gesture part entirely, the facilitator may replace the gesture with a distinct sound;

- if the group includes a v.i. student or students with some useful vision, the facilitator may decide to include some additional explaining or tactile demonstration of the gestures used (especially if only a small part of the gestures needs explaining) in a tactile manner;

- Whatever the decision and the scenario, the facilitator should be aware how important gestures are for the inclusion of people with v.i. and might use this or a specially dedicated exercise, for working on gestures together with the v.i. students in the school. Gestures mean little to them, however sighted gestures are an important part of “normality”. The facilitator should point that out to the group and probably also focus their attention on eye contact, as the two topics go hand in hand.

N.B. Where the group includes.

After this the participants may remain in the circle and share with one word how they feel on this particular day and in this particular setting.

Before commencing to the no-vision exercises, the facilitator can do a few extra warming up exercises.

For example “pairs connect”. The exercise is done in pairs. The facilitator calls out things that usually come in pairs and the couple needs to make a representation of these things with their bodies on the count of 10 seconds. E.g. bowl and spoon / shoe and shoe-lace / a musician and their instrument / a tree and a bird and so on and so on. This is a fast exercise. The facilitator should keep changing the pairs so that young people get a chance to work with as many people as possible. Every time when there is a change of partner, the young people need to introduce themselves and shake hands. After the exercise, they need to thank each other. This is particularly useful for groups that do not know each other as it helps to remember the names.

The exercise can go beyond couples and into larger objects – for example a dinner table, a bedroom, a family photograph, a giant toothbrush etc. – involving larger groups of young people 3, 4 or even more, which transforms the exercise into “the giant’s house”. Each group again has about 10 seconds (with each next assignment time should be getting shorter) to form the object or group of objects, the only requirement being that all participants in a group need to be physically connected. 

The above two can be mixed in an exercise, requiring participants to form pairs and do an object, then form groups of three persons with different partners and do another object, and so on, up to groups of 5 or 6. The facilitator gives quick instructions to the participants, shortening the time for execution, repeating the same objects for pairs, groups of three, groups of 4 and so, asking them to quickly find their partners and regroup, which helps build the theatre muscles of the group, the resilience of its members.

Now imagine doing the above with eyes closed – finding your team-mates and recreating the shapes/objects, which were assigned. This can be the first exercise “in the dark”.

Then the participants may be asked to find a spot in the room, stand still and listen to the music that the facilitator plays for them. At one point they should all start walking with their eyes closed, paying attention not to collide painfully with other group members, just exploring the space, eyes closed, trying to follow the dynamics of the music and to feel the group. The facilitator can ask them to imagine they are in a forest, surrounded by sounds and smells and sensations. Or on a long beach with soft winds blowing from the sea.

After a while the participants are instructed to stop, eyes closed, and search for someone nearby – a partner for the next game. Each pair is given two 1 metre long bamboo sticks. The pair needs to balance those with the tips of their forefingers. The facilitator plays music in the background. The partners stand facing each other, balancing the sticks, legs firmly planted, slightly apart for good balance. The facilitator should ask the pairs to start slowly moving in space, first keeping the feet planted on the ground and when the pair is confident enough – the pair can also start moving around the room. Their purpose is to keep the sticks in the air with eyes closed, sensing when it is time to lead and when it is time to follow. There will be no spoken agreement as to who is leading and who is following. Understanding should come to the pair without discussions. The idea of the exercise is to explore all directions in space without using vision and to learn to partner with anyone. 

Japanese greeting. After this exercise, the facilitator can ask the group to make a circle again. The conductor helps the group concentrate, feel as one, with eyes closed. The facilitator asks the participants to stand straight and relax, as neutral as possible, listening closely to the rest of the group. The facilitator picks one member of the group and assigns them the role of the conductor. This conductor has to take a step forward and stretch out an arm (left or right) towards the centre of the circle and say loudly the vocal sound "HA". As the conductor starts this movement, the whole group has to attempt to do the same movement and sound in perfect synchrony together with the leader. Eyes closed. Then all participants return to their starting position, ready for a new try with a new conductor. If a conductor fails to make him/herself clear enough about their intention to make a move, the facilitator should allow them a second or third try, demonstrating how close the group moves to perfection by simply being still and attentive to all the others.

Paper storm. The participants are asked to create a circle again, each given a sheet of newspaper. There can be one person or several people sitting on chairs in the middle of the circle. All have their eyes closed and stand still while listening to the facilitator’s instructions. The instructor tells the people in the circle that they need to create a storm with the sheets of paper they hold in their hands – they need to imagine how the rain starts slowly, big lonely drops falling (tapping on the sheet of newspaper with finger tips), then becomes more intense (tapping more vigorously on the newspaper), then gets really mad (crumple the paper and tear at it) and then slowly return to peace again – tapping, tapping more rarely, making one-off noises with the paper and coming to a stop. The idea for the people in the circle would be to feel themselves as a group – understanding the dynamics of the storm and producing it in harmony and synchrony – and for the person/people in the centre to experience something absolutely unique – a realistic storm produced with sheets of newspaper.  

The workshop can continue with the “trust pole” exercise. Have 7-8 participants standing in a circle, in a close embrace. Participants take turns to go inside the circle. All have their eyes closed. The people in the circle start emitting a constant sound, while the person in the centre starts moving inside the circle, turning, relying on the support provided by those in the circle. The sound blanket formed around the person in the middle protects from external stimuli and fears. This safeness triggers trust in others and fosters the formation of the group and the trust in the group. The facilitator should be responsible for regulating the length of the experience inside the circle for each participant.

Trust games are an indispensable part of all theatre workshops/laboratories. These exercises improve the trust in oneself, in others and in the surrounding world. Switching vision off helps develop a greater self-presence, a greater sensitiveness and a better understanding of other senses. The training on “trust” in a protected environment such as a theatre workshop/laboratory, allows the participants to focus on their individual behaviour, in order to turn it into a fundamental contribution (together with the behaviours of the others) for a conscious growth of the entire group. 

After the exercises, the facilitator should explain to the participants that they did not have the purpose of a simulation of blindness, but rather an intensification of other senses for achieving a different and more profound experience, which in a safe and regulated space is close to the way visually impaired (v.i.) people experience their environment. Demonstrating how a v.i. A person 's other daily tasks are a great way to close the workshop – for example pouring a glass of water, knowing what is on your plate, using a white-cane to navigate the space and others. In the best case scenario, a visually impaired student leads some of these activities, together with or even completely replacing the facilitator. If the time allows it, after this bonding and awareness raising experience, a question and answer session can be organised in order for the classmates to be given a chance to learn even more about their v.i. fellow student. The v.i. student should be ready to expose him/herself and speak about things, he/she may have considered really personal, however, such “disclosure” is important for achieving inclusion, based on understanding, appreciation and acceptance.

If more workshops are to be organised for the same mixed group of sighted and v.i. participants, the facilitator may use V.I.S.I.ON exercises (the link is above) or V.I.V.A. project exercises (see the list of sources) as well as exercises from the so-called sensory theatre labyrinth.    

Comfortable clothes and shoes, enough space, chairs, some props and scarfs if necessary and good mood, music player and speakers (for some of the exercises)

V.I.S.I.ON Erasmus+ project training programme: https://vision-erasmusplus.eu/telecharger/VISION_training_program_FINAL_EN.pdf

Silverman, A. M. (2015) The Perils of Playing Blind: Problems with Blindness Simulation and a Better Way to Teach about Blindness b, JBIR:  https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/jbir/jbir15/jbir050201.html

V.I.V.A. Erasmus+ project training programme: https://www.viva-erasmusplus.eu/intellectual-output-setp

“The problem catcher”

through the creative process to analyse a chosen youth problem and create a device that solves that problem.

 Drawing tools: pencils, markers, paper

Tools needed for sculpture: boxes, paper, plastic bottles, glue, scissors, adhesive tape.

Tools needed for collage: paper, magazines, scissors, glue.

adapted from High School art lesson by Joe Fusaro: Advocacy to Action (davisart.com)