I teach a special day class for students Kindergarten through second grade. The school I teach at is located on an Air Force Base and serves military students. The students I serve have special learning needs such as learning disabilities, autism, emotional needs as well as speech and language needs. My program is guided by the students’ individualized needs. The program addresses speech and language, mathematics, reading and language arts. In addition, we work on social skills, behavior and self management as well as fine and gross motor skills.
As a class which serves military families, many of my students have traveled and lived in various areas around the world. As well, their parents are frequently deployed to areas far away such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Germany, and various US training sites. Often times, the children understand that their family members are far away, but have do not understand where they are in relation to their homes. It can be difficult to understand why they may not be able to see their parent or why they may not be able to talk to their family members or friends often. Frequently questions arise in class about where in the world places are and what it is like there.
Most of my students are visual and kinesthetic learners. They need to be able to see and interact with their materials. The students would benefit from having an interactive globe and world atlas’ to help them dynamically engage in learning about where their families are or where they have traveled themselves. With a world wall map, we can visually track the travels of our classroom families.
These materials could provide the students with the opportunity to connect with the world their families serve in new ways. The children will learn more about the countries and states they and their families have traveled to. With your help, my students could further understand the logistics of where in the world their families are able to serve. Within our small classroom alone the military global movement would be enlightening for them to actually visualize and further discuss, and so improving their knowledge of their world.
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