i

ii
Introduction to Discover Successful Learning Patterns

Educational success partly depends on determining a child’s learning pattern as soon as possible,
i.e. (for parents) before a child enters school and (for educators) before beginning any lessons.
The purposes of this book are to
*Provide insight into learning patterns by explaining how to understand, evaluate and teach non-
traditional students, including dyslexics.
*Prevent negative mislabeling of our youngest preschool and older children,
*Inform parents and teachers on how they themselves can screen and teach within a child’s
learning strength, without detriment to fellow students or to the school or class curriculum,
*Ensure educational success for all students in a classroom.

Learning Patterns are simply defined as visual, auditory and tactile-kinesthetic preferences
with right or left hemisphere dominance and all combinations of these abilities. For this set of
books, Learning Pattern is defined as a method of learning determined by a combination of
genetic heredity factors, brain dominance and sensory strengths. Learning Patterns have little to
do with personal choice as they are laid down quite early in each brain. It is important to
recognize and understand the natural tendencies and differences in our sensory responses to
incoming information as they affect learning. These differences may cause conflict with
effective learning from traditional instructional methods. However, once a student’s natural
sensory and dominance patterns are recognized and understood, multisensory teaching
methods enable easier and faster learning for many children who otherwise might be labeled
“educationally challenged”.

The following email is from R.W.Keller, EdD,School of Education, Stanford University

I’ve spent the last two evenings reading through the text of your three volumes: and Jane
has read through some of them as well. We cannot find words to express how truly amazed we
are at the thorough and explicit way you have set forth the substance of what no one, until now,
has expressed by way of insight into what needs to be known about this intricate and perplexing
subject. Most teachers and other educators simply have only vague perceptions of how to deal
with the problems you have so expertly examined; the result being that many intelligent children
have been written off as incapable of achieving the success for which they clearly have the
potential. …this is a most remarkable contribution to the field of education.

The author, Lois E. Rockefeller, has obtained her M.A. in education from Stanford University,
holds a B.S. from Wittenberg University as well as having been licensed as a registered
physical therapist in N.Y. & CA. and holds several teaching, counseling and Resource
Specialist credentials in CA. She has worked for more than thirty years in California with
children of all ages; mainly with classes for the educationally and emotionally challenged,
dyslexic and orthopedically handicapped, but also with children from preschool through college
not been labeled by a school system. The majority of these students had normal intelligence.

Publishing of this material has been delayed due to the author’s severe deterioration of both
cervical & lumbar spine requiring many surgeries between 2001 and 2008 followed by
rehabilitation and chronic pain. It is her greatest joy to offer this information to enlighten all
who live with Dyslexia or learning difficulties. Ms. Rockefeller’s gratitude and
acknowledgement go to John Lebel and Christian Mendelsohn for helping to get this book to
you over the internet free of charge.
 iii
Discover Successful Learning Patterns by Lois E. Rockefeller

This book responds to two questions from teachers who read my earlier magazine article.
They asked, “How can we effectively screen students for dyslexia in the classroom?” and “How
can we help them as a classroom teacher?” Parents are also addressed as are any who are
interested in understanding and helping children with learning difficulties.

Part One, The Sensory Dominant Foundation of Learning, explains and supports this
teacher’s discoveries concerning children’s learning patterns and the meaningful pre-
kindergarten screening developed in line with these patterns. It discusses how the developmental
model defines a disability, while the sensory dominant model defines a learning pattern.
Laterality and brain dominance and their relationship to the learning patterns of many people
with learning difficulties are explained. A review of the brain’s importance to learning patterns
is given as is the importance of visual perception abilities and learning. The present educational
system relies on developmental screening, which compares a child’s accomplishments to those
of other children of his age. This screening ignores how a person takes in information through
his senses, brain and body. Through years of experience, I developed screening which checks on
one’s sensory and dominance capabilities. The developmental screening gives results as normal,
advanced or retarded or slow. Only more time or retention is provided as possible help for being
slow. With the sensory dominant screening, an understanding of how a student is learning is
offered with suggestions as to how to alleviate learning problems by teaching to strengths.

Part Two, Sensory Dominant Screening describes compensatory behavior in students

and the A, B, C’s of sensory dominant screening and scoring as well as the several areas of this
screening. Each item to be screened, such as hand dominance, is named with the objective
given. Instructions are then clearly defined. Scoring is given as 2 for serious problems with the
objective, 1 as minor problems and 0 as no problems. For each objective a description for each
scoring is given. For each area screened, such as dominance, a total score of 0, 1, 2 is recorded.
The back of the book contains the Learning Profile Response Form plus pages needed for
particular visual screening items such as Visual Memory and Albini’s Capital E Chart.

 Part Three, Sensory Dominant Instruction describes methods and specific ideas on
how to provide instruction that includes non-visual learners. It is divided into the following
areas for education: WIG for Warm Inclusive Group in the WARM classroom, SIR for Sensing,
Imaging and Relaxation and the Auditory, Visual, Tactile-kinesthetic and other Senses, SMAT
for sensory motor activities with a mat, MELT for memory and learning techniques including
mind maps and mathematics with dice and AAA for Arts, Acting and Activities.
 iv
Discover Successful Learning Patterns
“After careful reading to gain a true sense of how your approach differs from that so widely
employed – I am tremendously impressed with your insight into the intricacies of dyslexia,
a most important and perplexing educational problem. So much of what I have seen is
merely perceptual. This is the first examination that to me is truly prescriptive. It would
indeed be a social crime if the substance of this material were to be denied to those who have
responsibility for working with children. I would like to see a copy of this treatise on the desk
of every elementary school teacher.” (School of Education, Stanford University – Ralph W.
Keller, Assistant Dean)

“I feel very privileged indeed to have been given the opportunity to read your book. In a word, it
is nothing short of brilliant. The entire book is fascinating, but in my opinion, the best of the
book is that you gave the first real description and explanation of dyslexia in all of its many
forms that I have ever seen. In addition, you spent a great deal of time explaining how to
determine each child’s learning pattern, urging that each child be individually examined
and evaluated. And finally, you explained how and why dyslexia occurs and manifests itself
from an anatomical and physiological standpoint. I learned a great deal. Publish! This book
is too important to be ignored.” (Robin E. Beare, Attorney at Law – has dyslexia)

“This is a break-through book on dyslexia. Most importantly, it addresses the parents of

dyslexic children as well as teachers, students, administrators and all those interested in
improving the educational system in this area of dire need.” (Richard Price, Ph.D., Psychologist
and author – dyslexic)

“This book is for parents and teachers seeking alternatives for helping intelligent, but
learning-challenged children succeed. The author shares her profound insights into the role
that natural variations in the dominance patterns of our visual and auditory senses have in the
success or failure of learning –especially reading. (These natural variations occur in highly
intelligent children and are not rare.) Reinforced by many years of special-education classroom
experiences, she translates these insights into practical techniques for achieving positive learning
results for all children—including those who struggle in traditional learning environments that
better serve students born with the more typical dominance characteristics found in the general
population.” (Laurene Campbell, retired kindergarten and 1st grade school teacher, parent and
grandparent)

“Discover Successful Learning Patterns helped explain to me why learning is not a one-way
fits all process and, thereby in the same classroom, why some succeed and others fail to achieve
their inherent potential.” (Frank Campbell, retired earth scientist and concerned parent-
grandparent)

“Thank you very much for sending us your book on Learning Patterns and Dyslexia. It is an
excellent treatise on the subject. It does need to be published and shared with others.”
(Everyday Learning Corp., Thomas B. Wise, Vice President)

“Easy to read, hard to put down.”

(K.E. Rockefeller, Hospitality Industry, multi-talented with dyslexia undiagnosed in school.)
 v

Discover Successful Learning Patterns

Part 3. Sensory Dominant Instruction
Copyright 1996, 2000 by Lois E. Rockefeller, B.S., R.P.T., M.A., R.Sp.

No part of this manuscript may be reproduced, transcribed or transmitted by any means, mechanical or
electronic, including photocopy or recording or stored in any information storage or retrieval system without the
expressed consent in writing from the author or publisher.

Those screening pages noted as Reproducible Pages may be duplicated by the classroom teacher or a parent
for immediate use in the classroom or in one family in a number not to exceed twenty five (25) of any one page.

Reproduction for an entire school or other systems larger than the limited classroom of twenty-five (25), or
for more than one family of up to, but not exceeding five (5) children, is strictly prohibited. No part of this book
may be used commercially.

Names have been changed where it may be necessary to protect the identity of individuals.

The author disavows any claim, legal or otherwise, or any responsibility whatsoever for the outcome of
using the material as set forth in this manuscript.

This book was written to be helpful and informative and is not designed as a research document.
References are mentioned where they occur in the text. Definitions of terms that may be unfamiliar are given where
they first appear in the text. The aim has been to keep the text easy to understand for those whose background is in
other subjects even though interest in the text subject is present. The subject of Learning Patterns touches every
human being.
 vi
Discover Successful Learning Patterns Acknowledgments 1992−2000

Any large project benefits from the input of many even though it may mainly be the work of one
person. Therefore special thanks are in order to those who gave freely of their time and energy
towards the effort to bring these books to those who will benefit from them.

I am especially grateful for the support, encouragement, ideas and practical help of my three
adult progeny: Merilee, Nancy and Ken Rockefeller and of my dearest cousin, Marshall Stuart
Caswell and his wife, Eleanor. Thanks beyond measure to Stanford University’s Dr. Ralph
Keller and wife, Jane, who for many years have supported the publication of this project. Their
son, James W. Keller, a busy college chancellor and parent, has been invaluable as graphics
engineer and creative aide. Dr. Frank Campbell and wife, Laurene, brought me a first, then
second newer computer, providing instruction and a great deal more to bring this project to
fruition.

Special thanks to Tim Madden, wife Joan, and to Christy and Billy for the first computer and
their devotion of time and energy during the initial struggle to format the book. Bruce Cates,
computer dean of Pacific Grove Adult School, made insert pages, graphs and the first complete
printout of the book in 1996. Thanks to Susan, Bruce’s secretary, for being so gracious and to
Jason Spencer and Jack Herbig for their help in computer problem solving.

Thanks to Dede, my Reader Assistant at the Talking Book Library in Sacramento, CA for
finding and sending books on the brain to aid my research for this book. Love and thanks to
Carmen Courtney and to her son, Jim and to all my students and their families. Grateful
appreciation to the following: My lifelong penpal in France, Francoise Paraire, sent book cover
ideas and texts on “Dyslexie”. Artist, Vincent Amicosante, helped with the early cover design.
Ellen Lyon provided computer adaptable cover designs and more. Multi-talented Heather
Johnson-Spiegel drew the hands signing letters and numbers. Richard Price, Ph.D., gave his
special insight as one who grew up with severe dyslexia, well aware of its stigma.

Thanks to “Teaching Today” editor, Betty Ann Codere who said that readers wanted to know
much more than was set forth in my original article. For their guidance and input, thanks to
optometrists: Richard Koleszar, Charles Pearson and E. Borsting. Also to teachers: Ruth
Barnett, Ruth Peace, Sarah Gordon, Sylvia Ortiz, Jennifer Wirth and Carol Catalano. And to
principals: Dr. Peter Crasa, Dr. Harvey Takigawa and Virginia Ziomek for their roles in
permitting me to screen children and speak to teachers. Thanks to attorney Robin Beare for her
encouragement.

Thanks to my extended family, St. Mary’s By the Sea, Pacific Grove, CA, for their prayers for
strengthening and personal help, especially to Father Dwight Edwards, Rosi, Helen Reames,
Ripple Huth, Martha Witcher, Ann Wilson Doelman and Anne Bailey. My gratitude to my
medical doctors who have tried to keep me functional: Kathleen Smalky, Michael Mahig,
Michael Herhusky, and Christopher C. Carver.

Heartfelt appreciation to all who helped this book arrive at its destination.

Lois E. Rockefeller
 vii

Discover Successful Learning Patterns

Table of Contents
Part 3. Sensory Dominant Instruction

Lois E. Rockefeller ....................................................................................................................................................1

Chapter 1. Joys of Success Or Scars of Failure........................................................................................................2

Chapter 2. Laws of Learning................................................................................................................................15

Chapter 3. WIG: A Warm, Inclusive Group in the WARM Classroom -............................................................25

Chapter 4. WIG, How Does One Create A Warm Inclusive Group?...................................................................37

Chapter 5. SIR: Sensing, Imaging and Relaxation: The Auditory Sense.............................................................59

Chapter 6. SIR: Sensing - the Visual Sense.............................................................................................................71

Chapter 7. SIR: The Sense of Touch – Tactile-Kinesthetic Sense.........................................................................79

Chapter 9. SIR: The Sense of Direction and Space................................................................................................91

Chapter 10. SIR - Imagery and Relaxation.............................................................................................................96

Chapter 11. SMAT: Sensory Motor Activities with a Mat..................................................................................106

Chapter 12. MELT: MEmory and Learning Techniques for Everybody..........................................................116

Chapter 13. MELT: The Mind Map - Spatial Organizational Techniques........................................................136

Chapter 14. MELT: Mathematics With Dice and Dollars...................................................................................142

Chapter 15. AAA: Arts, Acting and Activities.....................................................................................................160

 viii

Discover Successful Learning Patterns

Part 3. Sensory Dominant Instruction
 1

If when you went to school

Where textbooks are the rule
And you didn't delight in
All that reading and writing,
This book could hold the clue
To what's the matter with you.
So you ought to check it out
And learn what it's about.
Then you won’t have “apoplexia”
When you learn you have dyslexia.

Lois E. Rockefeller

Chapter 1. Joys of Success Or Scars of Failure
Success is necessary to learning
It is normal and correct for any of us
to wish to build on our successes. We are all
aware of how discouraging continuous
failure is. Once any of us have felt that
we’ve repeatedly failed at a specific task, no
matter how that task is approached again, we
don’t want any part of it.
Tony’s response to kindergarten failure
One of my “special” students was a
6½-year old Mexican boy who had failed,
and was now repeating, kindergarten
because he had not learned the alphabet.
Now he faced repetition of the same class
with the same teacher. The only difference
the second year was that he would work
with me in the Resource Specialist Program
for 15 minutes a day.
This boy’s IEP (Individualized
Educational Plan) for that year said that
Tony would be taught to recognize the
letters of the alphabet by sight, sound and
form in this short daily period. This was the
task he had failed the previous year. Little,
adorable Tony was not crossed dominant.
He was bi-lingual. At home, his family
spoke only Spanish and this was their first
year in the USA. In spite of this language
difficulty, the school psychologist and that
kindergarten teacher decided that Tony was
below average in intelligence and in
language ability and that he was immature.
After a period of time working with
Tony in English only, Tony convinced me
that he was not below average in anything,
but he was fearful. He was terrified of
anything to do with the alphabet. When I
tried to show Tony a letter. He would not
look. I tried to have him trace the letter with
his finger or just make the shape in the air.
He would not. Let’s just say the letter’s
name or sound. “Nope.” He shook his head.
Tony had shut himself down when it came
2
to letters. He refused to look. He refused to
have anything to do with the alphabet.
The scars of failure
Very many times I held Tony in my
lap, rocked him and worked at building a
trusting relationship with this frightened
boy. He was frightened because he was so
sure, due to previous failure, that I was
asking him to do something impossible for
him. He cried. He had tantrums. He used
every capability he had to resist the
perceived pain of dealing with letters.
Patiently, comfortingly, but
persistently, repeating the task at hand with
several methods, we worked. Eventually,
after much wiping of tears and the use of a
limited phonetic approach, with kinesthetic
and auditory reinforcement, Tony finally
learned that this letter’s name is “A”, and its
sound is “a” as in at. Then he learned that
this is “T” and it says “t” as in at or ta.
Soon he understood that sliding the
two sounds together, like sliding different
colored blocks together, as in aaa ttt we have
the word “at”. Then we slowly added other
letters to make cat and hat. Sometimes we
used the colored blocks to present the
different letter sounds in different
sequences. This method of using a sequence
of colored blocks to represent sounds is

detailed in Lindamood’s “Auditory
Discrimination in Depth”.
Somehow, finally, the miracle
happened. This little boy understood that
letter symbols represent sounds and the
sounds slide together to make words and
Tony finally learned to read. And then there
was no stopping him. We had won. I
believed he could do it and he stuck it out
with me and finally, VICTORY! Ole!
A mode of instruction be changed rather than
whole new personality
Now Tony delighted in reading every
little book he could handle. Whenever I was
busy with another child, Tony was reading a
little book, or the screen of a reading
machine. He was so happy. He was a
whole new personality beaming with hard-
won self-confidence and joy. He had come
through that frightening experience of
continuous failure out into that wonderful
light of comprehension and success.
Now just think what the story could
have been if Tony had not had to go through
that first, very painful year of failing, of
failing to comprehend the tasks of
kindergarten. How much easier it would
have been for this precious boy and for his
family if Tony had been assured success the
first time around.
Time spent early on
We must ask ourselves, “What is
happening to struggling children who are not
cajoled into trying again?” There is no need
for children to be forced to fail a task
because their parents or teachers fail to learn
and teach to the children’s abilities so that
3
these children are successful. Children like
Tony may need multi-sensory teaching
methods and perhaps a tutor or a slower
pace so that a difficulty will not develop into
a sense of failure. The slower pace and
multiple methods are situations where peers
can help each other. The time spent early on
in the educational process will be less than
the time needed to overcome the notion that
one is incapable of handling a task - if there
is a second chance.
The place where SUCCESS is inevitable
For example, if a child can not catch
the ball you threw you need to move closer
until you find the distance at which this
child CAN catch the ball. This may be close
enough to hand the ball to the child. FIND
the place where success is inevitable for the
learner. This will often require that the
repeating attempts in the same mode.
Repetition helps only after the learning tract
is already laid down in the brain. You can’t
repeat something that isn’t there. If the
mode of instruction for an idea or action
doesn’t make a connection in someone’s
thinking, that idea or action doesn’t exist for
that person. If you don’t hear what someone
tells you, you won’t be able to repeat it. If
the child doesn’t see or understand the
connection between a symbol and its
meaning, how can he repeat it?
Fallacy of specialists or experts
There truly is no specific test for
“Dyslexia”. The parent of a 6 year old boy,
whose teacher had suggested that this boy
might have dyslexia, wrote to the news
column doctor for help. He told this parent
to take her son to a psychologist who
specializes in reading and language
disorders. The doctor’s message was that
the psychologist had the special tests that
would confirm whether or not the boy had
dyslexia. The psychologist can give a test
meant to measure intelligence, or a test for
auditory or visual memory, but tests like

those have been around for longer than
dyslexia.
The only tests that teachers or
parents need to help any child succeed in
learning are included in this book set as Part
Two - Sensory Dominant Screening.
The path to inevitable success
We can test someone for dominance,
which will indicate a hemispheric thinking
mode. We can easily learn whether we are
working with a person who is predominantly
visual, auditory, kinesthetic or a recognition. The t in tin and the p in pin are
combination of two or all three modes of
thinking. To avoid having intelligent
children struggle and fail, it is our responsi-
bility to find out how each student learns,
how each takes in and recalls information as
soon as instruction begins. Discover the
learning strengths and lesser strengths for
particular children. Then use them
Useful information to help us better
understand a person’s particular learning
abilities can often be gained from individual
and family history, including health data,
family dominance patterns, etc. Saying, “I
have dyslexia, at least now I know what’s
wrong with me.”, is not especially helpful
for educational planning. The term dyslexia
may say that we know you’re not crazy. We
know that you have some learning or
organizing differences compared to school
expectations, but the term dyslexia does not
tell us what needs correcting nor how to
correct it. Instead, if someone says, “I’m an
auditory learner.”, THEN we KNOW HOW
TO approach this person’s education on the
basis of a known strength.
We do not want to continually frustrate
If we find that a particular student is
weak in visual perception, or visual
memory, that does not mean that we would
bypass the visual path of learning altogether.
At the same time, we would not want to
continuously frustrate that student by
insisting that the visual path be the first and
main approach to that person’s learning.
4
The sensible thing to do after we’ve
ascertained a person’s dominance and
sensory learning path is to first provide
lessons keyed to the learning strengths of the
child.
In other words, if the student shows
weaknesses in visual abilities, but strength in
auditory abilities, avoid paper/pencil tasks
until he or she has a grasp of the lesson
through auditory and kinesthetic channels.
That news column doctor added that reading
improves with training in phoneme
phonemes, the smallest units of sound in a
language. This auditory, phonics approach
to reading is similar to that used for Tony.
Creative approaches to learning
The task of recognizing a letter of the
alphabet could be handled with a number of
tactile-kinesthetic methods of instruction
reinforced by auditory input, much as you
would teach a blind person. Placing
together in primary classrooms, auditory and
blind students who both learn through
hearing and touch, would probably be a
boon to both. On the other side, children
who have severe auditory processing
difficulties might work well learning “SEE”,
Signing Exact English, the sign language
used with deaf students when grammar is
important.
Extreme deficit not a requirement
The use of Braille and sign language
should not be relegated only for extreme
cases of sensory deficit. As languages, they
are interpreted in the left brain language
center and as second languages they should
be learned early in life. To learn the Braille
alphabet requires one to recognize with the
fingertips, a specific pattern within a matrix
of six dots, placed as two vertical columns
of three dots each. Early in alphabet
instruction, the visual and imagery
recognition of simple dot matrix patterns
will be easier for many children than
remembering the shapes of printed letters.

This is proven by the easy recognition of dot
patterns on dice.
Signing, a kinesthetic tool
Sign language is a visual-kinesthetic
tool in that it requires visual attention to
hand movement, facial expressions and body
language. This visual attention is less taxing
than the close-up visual attention required
for reading and writing. When one is legally
blind or legally deaf comes down to a
subjective decision in the end. Making these
languages available to larger populations not
only benefits those populations, but builds
bridges in society as a whole.
At first some teachers or parents may
not understand the value of instruction in
Braille or SEE for sighted children. Some
may view instruction in SEE and Braille as a
waste of time, or a stigma. Parents, teachers
and educational boards need to work
together in these educational endeavors.
1. Educational Success for children is the
priority.
2. To help adults overcome their resistance,
use adult education and trial periods so
that those who see these languages as
strictly for severely disabled, can learn
otherwise. They begin to see these
languages helping more than the deaf
and blind.
Sign successful where sequence failed
The dyslexic students we speak of
are intelligent and often outstanding
verbally. SEE and Braille can expand their
intelligent minds. Instructors could
experiment with the sign alphabet for
spelling with dyslexic students. The
kinesthetic method of sign spelling has
proven successful where visual-sequential
spelling has failed. Sign spelling is a
reinforcement tool for good spellers and an
inclusion tool for poor spellers.
For the visually frustrated student the
sign alphabet is easier to learn than are
written alphabet symbols. Starting at the
point of successful interaction, the child
5
imitates the sign for b while making the “b”
sound. Do the same for “c” and “d”. Once
the child is comfortable relating sign, name
and sound of some letters, THEN ask her to
write the alphabet symbol, not the other way
around. This instructional mode is discussed
in Chapter 7, The Sense of Touch.
SEE and ASL
Use of signing for children who hear
well, but who have weak visual or sequential
strengths, requires SEE, Signing Exact
English, as the proper tool. ASL, American
Sign Language, inhibits learning the correct
usage of the English language needed for
correct speaking and writing. The hand
alphabet and many signs for both languages
are the same, but ASL leaves out or
transposes many parts of correct oral speech.
In ASL one signs, “Mother me
likes.” Whereas in SEE, one would sign,
“My mother likes me.” When a child is
having difficulties with the visual symbols
of the alphabet, SEE can provide a
kinesthetic bridge of language and
association. The child then concentrates on
making sense of letter sounds, syllables and
words without constant interference from his
or her crossed or right hemisphere
dominance or poor visual convergence.
A lifetime gift
SEE hand configurations are easy to
learn and should be used as a kinesthetic
reinforcement whenever spoken or written
alphabetical or numerical symbols are
presented to students. When American
schools use SEE on a daily basis in
classrooms from pre-school through at least
third grade, the knowledge gained will be at
an automatic level and will be a lifetime gift.
Getting on automatic pilot is crucial
Most children attain good visual
coordination of both eyes by the time they
can walk, around 12 to 15 months of age.
Most children have attained bodily
coordination by two years of age. Before
entering kindergarten, most children have

learned to sit, walk, run, climb, dress
themselves and speak fluently with a
vocabulary of 4000 to 5000 words. They
usually do those things at an automatic level.
When children are not mentally retarded, but
are not able to do several of these things
easily, the cause may be poor eye-hand
coordination related to crossed dominance or
some sensory deficit.
Our brains are not capable of really
concentrating on more than one task at a
time. We can do two things at once if one of
those things is at an automatic level in our
brains and does not require concentration.
When the coordination abilities that should
be on automatic by age five are not on
automatic, there will be problems. This
child may have to consciously concentrate
on following a task with his eyes and thus be
unavailable to concentrate on the subject
matter of a lesson. Or, with inner ear
damage to the labyrinthine mechanism for
balance, a child may have to concentrate so
hard on sitting in his chair and not falling
off, that he again is not able to concentrate
on simultaneously presented information
from the teacher or even from a book.
Future educational system based on how
In the future the best evaluation and
educational systems will be based not only
on what children know, or what they can do
at a particular age, but more importantly, on
HOW they are learning. How are they
taking in the information needed to perform
in areas of their capabilities? This calls for a
radically different approach to evaluation
and follow-up education. No one likes to
stick out in a crowd, or call negative
attention to him or herself. At the same
time, no one wants to be called by someone
else’s name. We are individuals. In spite of
excellent intelligence, we do have our
6
differences. Textbook, visual learning, is
not best for everyone.
Plan instruction to fit the learning pattern
All of the crossed dominant students,
who were the majority in classes for the
learning disabled, were weakest in visual
skills, stronger in auditory tasks and often
untutored in using their tactile-kinesthetic
and imagery abilities. This tells us a lot
about how to make the learning experiences
of these students successful and positive.
Dominance screening can be the key to
understanding reception modes of
students. Educators need to plan a variety
of instructional methods to mesh with the
variety of learning strengths in their
students.
Visual memory weaker in 44%
Vision specialists tell us that 85% of
school learning is a visual task. That is a
high percentage. Consider that about 34%
of the population with crossed dominance,
plus another 10% or more of straight
dominant people with vision deficits are all
weaker in visual learning compared to those
with straight dominance or perfect vision.
This means that as many as 44 out of every
100 people and students are weaker in visual
memory than in auditory memory.
Many children develop visual
perception problems. It takes time and
practice to learn to coordinate what the eyes
see with what one wants their body to do.
Neuroscientists suggest that binocular vision
has developed in babies around 3 to 12
months of age. Normal development of
depth perception and other visual motor
skills depends on the toddler being given the
opportunities needed to crawl and climb and
move about. The use of TV as a babysitting
tool denies these needed opportunities.
9
Visual Sign Language gives important Information without the use of words.
National Park Service signs
1. Ranger Station 1. 4.
2. Telephone
3. Shower
4. Bear Viewing Area .
5. Tunnel 2. 5.
6. No Fishing
7. Swimming
8. Drinking Water
9. Pets on Leash 3. 6.
10. Grocery Store
11. Campfire
12. Falling Rocks
13. Handicap facilities
Not wasting anyone’s time
Good development depends on
trying as many multi-sensory approaches to
learning as can sensibly devised. A large
proportion of children has difficulty with the
usual visual-sequential presentation of new
learning tasks. Before asking for a response
to a purely visual-sequential stimulus,
encourage mastery of the task, such as the
memorization of a few alphabet letters, with
auditory and tactile-kinesthetic methods.
Singing while signing is an example.
Signing numbers is an excellent
kinesthetic memory tool for all students. It
reinforces visual and auditory number
systems. For example, 6+4=10 can be
performed with the hands and voice as well
as on paper.
Heather on signing the numbers
Follow along with the drawings
provided. With 6-9 - pull fingers down
again to thumb. Ten, 10, is made with
shaking a twisting wrist. With 11, 12 -
move fingers up and down, #’s 13-19 - wave
at self, # 20, move index finger up and
down, # 21 - thumb moves up and down. A
hundred is C sign, how many hundreds is
the # in front of the C sign. A thousand is
the B sign sideways while the other hand
moves into the palm. Arrows to right mean
and 14. Some International Highway Signs
7. 10. 13.
8. 11. 14.
9. 12.
move hand to right. The number of
thousands or millions is the sign for that
number given first. Big numbers face the
signer, little numbers face away or out to
reader. For more clarification see people
who use ASL.
Instruction for both sides of the brain
Instruction in spatial imagery along
with sequential ordering of thoughts and the
use of kinesthetic input as well as lecture
presentations will help straight dominant
children develop both sides of their brains.
Multi-sensory instruction is not wasting any
student’s time. Selecting instruction in a left
brain manner only, is a way of encouraging
failure in the spatial-imaging, right brain
dominant learner. Giving preference to one
type of learner only is a waste of
everybody’s time and energy. Instruction
needs to include every child’s learning
pattern.
Required listening
Today’s children have excellent
audio-visual learning tools that were barely
developed for school use a generation ago.
Although extended TV or other screen
viewing is detrimental to the total well being
of children, when used correctly, audio-
visual instructional method is especially
beneficial to the dyslexic student. There is a
special, free “Talking Books” section in the
Library of Congress for students diagnosed
with dyslexia and other visual problems.
The specific reasons for various
instructional modality needs are disclosed
with the sensory dominant screening. From
the earliest screening, books on tape should
be required listening for children with
stronger auditory learning strength
compared to a weaker visual tract for
learning.
Comprehension feedback is part of
this instruction, much the same as required
for good readers. This same books on tape
method is required instruction for advanced
students whose screening discloses specific
reasons for their not keeping up with the
pace of reading at their grade level. Visual
reading and writing instruction would
continue synchronously with this auditory
and tactile-kinesthetic instruction. All
intelligent children will learn to read and
write, but not at the same pace.
Disastrous news for the district
One of the things in schools that
retards our progress in discovering a
student’s learning pattern is The American
Psychological Association’s insistence that
all tests pass their statistical requirements
for: reliability, validity and standardization.
In 1990, a school district superintendent and
the leader of the educational testing seminar
attended by district teachers and school
psychologists, myself included, said that all
school districts in the county had decided
NOT to use sensory testing. The reason for
this omission? They could not find a way to
make sensory screening fit their test
requirements. This was disastrous news.
This is a perfect example of throwing the
baby out with the bath water. There are
some easy sensory screening procedures that
need to be included in every child’s
screening whether or not they can be
standardized by psychologists’ rules.
Informed teachers and parents are as
capable as doctors, nurses or psychologists
of performing the simple sensory and
dominance screening procedures that are
offered in this book. The inclusion of such
screening before expecting a child to fit in at
school is only common sense.
Receptive learning strengths
Children are receptive to learning
• When they are approached on the track
of their receptive strengths
• When they experience success
• When their efforts are praised
When our approach and their
strengths are on different tracks, we bypass
each other, causing confusion and frustration
for the child and for the instructor. The
child soon tunes out these problems while
the instructor believes that the child is not
trying.
If we give a paper and pencil visual
task ten to fifteen inches away on the
desktop to a child whose eyes focus only
two inches away from his face, the task will
be difficult, if not impossible, for this child.
In this case, the child’s vision is a weak
receptive mode and instructors must remain
cognizant of this. Insisting on the paper and
pencil tasks taxes a child’s weak visual area
and bypasses his stronger auditory or
kinesthetic receptive modes.
The non or less visual learners are
those who have difficulty with those “F’s of
Vision”: Focusing the eyes, Fusing,
Following or tracking, Fixating for near and
far vision, Form discrimination, Figure-
ground distinction and Fine motor
coordination of the eyes and hands. The F’s
of Vision are discussed in parts one and two
of this book. These less visual learners may
find tactile-kinesthetic, fingertip impression
patterns, or hand signs, easier to remember
than printed visual symbols. Abilities or
disabilities in the F’s of vision affect Visual
Memory and the general ability to learn
reading and writing even if the person has
20/20 or better visual acuity.
Taxing to the visual student
The way learning letters is
approached in kindergarten and earlier is
mainly through visual methods. After all,
reading is a visual task. Reading skills
rather than comprehension has been the
primary goal of the educational system, e.g.
How many books one reports having read
receives the prizes, not how many books did
you understand enough to report on. The
children are shown a letter, they’re asked to
repeat the name and sounds of the letter and
with their rudimentary, developing, fine
motor skills they’re asked to draw the letter.
These varied skills require strong
effort on the part of the average, straight
dominant child of normal intelligence. The
crossed dominant, or otherwise less visual
learner, will probably find these tasks
overwhelming. These children will need
auxiliary teaching methods to learn to read.
The auditory and kinesthetic learners can
learn visual methods also, but as shown with
Tony, they must first find success before
they tune out.
Not always fact
The best thing any of us can learn is
to use all of our viable senses equally well.
That we could pick up and remember
information through our auditory, visual,
kinesthetic and various other senses, equally,
would be ideal. It’s not often the fact. The
more important fact is that we have some
success in our attempts to conquer a new
problem. Parents and teachers have to find
ways to make success inevitable for each
and every child in our homes and
classrooms.
What mode are we in?
To ensure each student’s success in
school we need to ask these questions.
1. What is this child’s learning strength?
2. Is this person primarily a visual, auditory
and or kinesthetic learner?
3. Is this child more left or right
hemisphere oriented?
4. Does the child grasp patterns better than
linear-sequential presentations?
Perhaps the child utilizes all
receptive modes equally well. Whichever is
the case, every child should be coded V for
visual, A for auditory, K for tactile-
kinesthetic, plus R for right hemisphere
dominance as in being left handed or left eye
dominant, or L for left hemisphere
dominance as in being right sided or X for
crossed dominance. Remember that the
dominant near-vision eye usually controls
hemispheric mode. Screen children and
devise identification for receptive modes
before any instruction begins. Keep track
daily of the multi-sensory instructional
methods needed for each child.
Skill levels are NOT the needed clues
Many people in this world have had
a trying time learning to read and write for
reasons that have nothing to do with
intelligence levels. In the majority of these
cases we can not lay the blame for their
inability to handle the presented curriculum
at the students’ feet. It is the fault of our
educational system, which does not train
teachers to find out what each student needs
in order to learn. Nor does the present
system show teachers how to screen and
help atypical students in the classroom.
Until now, there has been NO
evaluation in use that has any real meaning
as to how to reach and teach the student.
There are only developmental age or grade
levels for pre-determined tasks. It’s
interesting to know a student’s grade level.
It’s interesting to know where you start and
where you end in some lesson, but the more
important thing is to know how you are
going to make that progress. This is the
question that needs an answer. How is this
person going to take in the information you
want to give so that the information is
comprehended and remembered?
Head in the sand approach
Every school has its language and
speech specialists. Most school districts
have at least one school counselor or
psychologist. Most schools have pre-
kindergarten screening. All of these
people’s evaluation procedures are
concerned with where a student’s skills
should be at a certain age or grade
compared to where they are at that age.
Schools and society as a whole have
neglected children’s visual deficiencies and
differences in learning patterns unless these
problems became extreme.
While it is usually possible for
newcomers to the USA to learn English, at
least by the second generation, we have put
little to nothing in motion to change the
visual-only approach the educational system
has used since its inception. Our ‘head in
the sand’ approach to a student’s learning
difficulties has usually been to blame the
students, the families, society, brain
abnormalities, anything but the way testing
and teaching are done.
Don’t blame the children
In a recent newspaper interview with
students about teachers, students agreed that
the “all-time least favorite line” teachers say
to students was and is “You could do
better.” If students are below an expected
grade level in any subject most people still
think that enough repeated drill in that
subject will eventually lead to success. If
not, then the student must be lacking in gray
matter or in caring about schoolwork and
personal success. Does anyone want to
understand why a perfectly normal, happy
child suddenly does NOT do better? This
lack of adult comprehension compares to the
poor craftsman who blames his tools for the
poor job he’s done. “How could I do better
when the tools I’m working with are so
bad?” Success is also unlikely when one
drills for hidden oil or water without
required knowledge on how to find either.
Teach what, when?
One would think that kindergarten
was one place where a multi-sensory
approach to teaching is predominantly
available. The kindergarten teacher, Cindy,
did her best to provide a multi-sensory
learning environment, but she had to follow
newer district and state demands that
younger and younger children learn letters
and the basics of reading and writing in
kindergarten and now in pre-school. Group
socialization and play, music and movement
are squeezed out of the places where they
belong. Those who are writing these
demands do not understand children’s needs.
Andrea’s children – What’s enrichment?
If you have enjoyed the cartoonist,
Cathy Guisewite’s, daily cartoon “Cathy”
over the decades, you will be familiar with
Cathy’s friend, Andrea, whose first baby,
Zenith, is instructed by recordings and
mother’s lectures from the time the unborn
is in the womb. This “education” continues
after birth by way of flash cards and
constant tutoring by over zealous parents.
Zenith turns out to be a normal, messy,
demanding toddler. By the time Andrea has
her second child, all that tutoring fell away
with no unhappy after effects. There is a big
difference between enriched and excessive
environments and between readiness and
excessive pressure to respond before one is
ready. Those who lack this knowledge add
anxiety and failure where it doesn’t belong.
The other side of excess
On the other side of a rut, many
children’s visual motor systems will not
fully develop if the majority of their free
time is spent watching television or playing
video games. What young children need is
the opportunity to develop naturally in a
pleasant environment. They need to play in
fresh air throwing, catching, jumping,
climbing, tumbling with others, playing
marbles or hopscotch, dancing to and
making their own music and doing all those
activities that were so taken for granted
before television became the accepted, even
preferred, pastime of growing children.
They need to learn early from the modeling
of appropriate behaviors. Understanding
the alphabet is probably not an appropriate
behavior for the majority of 5 to 6 year olds,
especially if these children are denied the
visual motor exercises that develop their
brain’s visual circuits.
Creating failure where none existed
As we continue traditional practices,
we continue to create “failures” where none
existed before their educational process was
begun. When non or less visual children
become frustrated by overwhelming task
requirements in school, they will naturally
rebel, act like clowns, become disruptive
and generally give the teacher the
impression that they are “immature” when
that is not the case at all.
Although the term multi-sensory
instruction has come into the vocabulary of
some schools, measures to implement or
even understand how to deliver multi-
sensory education are largely lacking. How
to maintain multi-sensory educational
methods is not in the teacher’s curriculum.
Instruction in all schools remains visual
instruction (only reading is acceptable
learning) with no pre-school vision
screening and certainly no dominance
checking or follow-up remediation. Some
teachers try multi-sensory instruction,
meaning they occasionally experiment with
it before first grade. Multi-sensory
educational methods need to be used
consistently and beyond grade one.
Wipe out majority of dyslexia failure
If we will enlarge our vision of
education for every student so that we
include right brain, auditory and tactile-
kinesthetic instruction as well and as often
as texts, lectures and written compositions,
perhaps we will wipe out the majority of
dyslexia and learning disabilities. Not that
individuals wouldn’t still have serious visual
difficulty with printed symbols, left brain
sequencing and so forth, but these
individuals would have their own path to
success within each classroom. They would
not be singled out as failures. Most first
grades already have fast and slow track
reading groups, but with no understanding
of why these two groups exist. The
difference is always blamed on immaturity.
With sensory dominant screening and proper
instruction the groups will be restructured as
visual and auditory-kinesthetic groups with
equal expectations and success from each.
Dovetail screening and instruction
Initiative, understanding and real
concern for the welfare of all types of
learners is required of all educators,
including parents, to be sure each student is
included within all daily lessons. Those
who instruct the instructors are going to
have to show teachers how to maintain the
inclusion of all types of learners within each
lesson.
New methods that vary significantly
from the predominantly text and lecture
methods need to be devised and practiced
consistently and daily in every grade. Until
the relationship between sensory dominant
screening and instructional methods is
understood and until screening and
instruction dovetail, students will fall by the
wayside in school and in society. Instead of
excluding differently able children from the
regular group, draw a circle that includes
them. When our vision of education is
enlarged, those who were once sent away
from the group to learn are fully able to
participate as normal members of
classrooms and of society. All Benefit.
 Chapter 2. Laws of Learning
The strong connection between the
screening results and the resulting lesson
plans based on that screening will make
learning easier and more fun for children
and less stressful for adults
The sensory dominant method first
finds out the child’s learning pattern and
then provides lessons that incorporate
teaching to that child’s strength in learning.
Usually these right as well as left brain
methods and auditory and kinesthetic
reinforcement of visual material benefit all
students, straight as well as crossed
dominant.
A better strategy
Instead of, “Here’s my strategy for
the school year based on state requirements,
textbook instructions and what is expected
of teachers and children in this grade”,
prioritize differently. Refer to your records
of sensory and dominance screening. SAY,
“Here’s my strategy for the school year
based on what I know about my students’
learning patterns, their abilities and
instructional needs. Then add the state
requirements and material you’re expected
to cover this year.”
Passion for passing on knowledge
Education has been passed from
teacher to student since there were parents
and children, animal and human. Teaching
was built into our brains somewhere in our
early evolution. Education used to simply
answer the questions of the young: the what,
why, which, how, how many, when and
where. During the last fifty years, video and
other technology have compacted our sense
of others with whom we share our planet.
The what, where, which, how and why of
our basic curricula have been in constant
flux as we try to make room for the myriad
diverse cultures that make up our nations,
states and communities.
The adult concept of the “Learned
Person” must be more specific than ever as
to learned in what. Each group will continue
to struggle over just what makes up a basic
curriculum for their members. The when
and where these curricula will be taught are
also up to each community and state.
Learning from another’s experience
The main question still left to most
professional teachers is related to how we
will transfer our knowledge to our students
in the area of the chosen curriculum. Ideas
that were found helpful when teaching
students of elementary and junior high ages
are presented here. These were all students
who had difficulty with the classroom
curricula as it was presented to them.
Discovering how to reach these students
enhanced learning for the teacher as well.
Every person has his or her own
special talents and methods of presentation
of any curriculum. Listing some of my ideas
is done only to encourage your own thinking
about the subject. A most important part of
the how, whether in school or home, is the
atmosphere and attitude, which the teacher
brings to this important work.
Only bridge to wisdom is trial and error
Supportive management from
administration to teacher to student is
essential if any creative use of our minds is
to be pursued. This means that as managers
of school boards, of schools and of
classrooms, we must support the trials that
didn’t work as well as those that are
successful. If we pull our support away
when ideas don’t work as was hoped, fewer
new or creative ideas can or will be tried.
The only bridge to wisdom is trial and error.
Mistakes are part of the process toward
achievement. As friend and poet, Ric
Masten sings, “Let it be a dance we do.
May I have this dance with you. Through
the good times and the bad times too, let it
be a dance.”
Advise, support and encourage
The following ideas about education
focus on making it a positive experience for
all: teachers, parents, administration and
especially for the students. Good
management, whether at home, in the
classroom, or from the administration
advises rather than dictates, is supportive
rather than repressive and encourages rather
than discourages.
Author, Wayne Dyer, Ph.D.,
encourages us not to be against anything, but
to translate our differences into being FOR
something. Dr. Dyer states that he has
found the most destructive personality traits
to be judgmentalism and criticism. Constant
rebuke can tear down or destroy a person’s
spirit. For the betterment of humanity, we
must learn to replace manipulative,
controlling, negative traits with
encouragement, acceptance, compassion and
love. Our happiness, our enjoyment of life,
incorporates our need to feel in control of
situations affecting our lives. A major
lesson for adults is to learn how to share
control so that each retains a sense of control
in a given situation.
Unfortunately, most of us will run
into people who have an emotional need,
due to lack of inner control or comfort, to
control the people and situations outside
themselves. Being aware and finding other
means for personal support can help us
maintain our integrity.
Different opinions, seeds of creativity
As mentioned earlier, most
administrators rebuffed ideas about sensory
or dominance screening. Sensory dominant
screening suggests change and an
amendment to the screening system. The
irony was and is that the teachers who did
not find answers to their student problems
using conventional methods found ways to
go around the “controllers” to have these
students screened the sensory dominant way.
Differences of opinion are difficult for
“controllers”. They are not FOR any
changes in the status quo. Their refusal to
accept ideas new or different from their own
devising, negates creative problem solving
as well as partnerships based on equality of
worth as human beings.
Be for belief in self
Controlling personalities make it
ever more important for creative people to
forgive, to persevere and to bring into being
more positive attitudes. We need to
accentuate the positive and eliminate the
negative. We must believe in ourselves and
encourage others to believe in themselves.
Teachers and parents can create an
awareness and reminder of positive or
negative attitudes by making a poster for
home or classroom where everyone
contributes ideas on what each of you can
strive to be FOR instead of against.
Make it relevant
Another word of great importance
for teachers and leaders of all kinds is
“relevance”. When you ask the student to
write something, have available something
in which his writing may be published, even
if it’s a class newsletter. Maybe each
student could keep a portfolio of writings or
drawings about their discoveries in learning
for the semester. Relevance is in things they
used to think, and in what they have learned
that has caused them to rethink some of
those things. Make reading relevant to
research, to finding answers to their
questions and just for fun.
Get thoughts into action
To encourage an interest in the
relevance of any subject have the children
imagine a world where that subject is non-
existent. E.g., What would their lives be
like if no one could read or write, if there
were no books? Let them be entertainers as

they work thoughts out in action. Have
them try to tell each other about recipes,
horse races, whatever you or they think of,
and not mention numbers. Make it all a
game. Try not to say that the reason for
compliance with instructions is “because I
told you to, that’s why.”
How about learning what it takes to
be astronauts, letter carriers, computer
programmers, psychologists and hey,
teachers. Encourage students to think about
the day they will no longer be the students,
but instead, will be the teachers, the parents,
the helpers, the adults of the world. And
children need to be allowed to remind us
adults of what it is like to be children.
Understanding the dynamics of how
we remember and communicate with each
other takes on greater value in the Twenty
first Century. Service jobs, where we must
find mutually agreeable ways of working
with each other around our planet, will
increase to at least 75% of the job market.
Production jobs will be far fewer, especially
in developed nations, as we try to save and
perhaps restore some of the natural wonder
and beauty of our planet.
Glue of cerebral connections
Basic information on the central
nervous system and its role in education can
be compared to way the inclusion of eggs in
many recipes provides the glue that holds
the product of these recipes together. The
central nervous system holds together our
newer ideas on how education evolves in
each brain and over time, in communities.
References to that system of education, and
the ways we believe it functions, follow.
Tell me a story
The first is the idea that memories
are stored in our brains in story form. This
idea is detailed in “Tell Me A Story: A New
Look At Real And Artificial Memory” by
Roger C. Schank. Mr. Schank suggests that
in order to remember an idea one must be
17
able to tell that idea in one’s own words. In
the student’s mind she must be able to make
the parts coalesce into a whole and come
together in a relatable story. Only then can
she store new information in her mind
according to her personal index for storage
and retrieval.
If she fails to repeat in her own
words or to create a story about what she has
heard or discovered through her senses or
through her insight she will not be
successful in recalling this information.
When you have shown and described an
activity to a student such as how plants take
in nourishment through their leaves and how
ground water is pulled up in root hairs to
travel up plant stems, in other words, how
photosynthesis works, allow time for the
students to retell and redraw the story.
Getting a handle and retelling
It is very important to work with
students on building the framework for their
story in which they relate to teachers,
partners or small groups, the details they
remember and the sequence of events (see
mind mapping). This way they can get a
handle through oral or written language on
what they are learning, what is essential,
what is extra. Graphics and other activities
that enhance the story telling are helpful
also.
Through retelling and discussion of
new information with each other, all of us
can refine our stories and corrections can be
made early in the formulation of these
stories. When the students go home,
encourage them to retell their newly
formulated “stories” to parents, siblings or to
the dog or cat if no one else will listen. By
doing this and by reviewing these “stories of
information” the information will be
assimilated into and strengthened in the
long-term memory.
Experiences into language and imagery
Experiences are perceived through
our senses, but they are given meaning and
comprehension through imagery and
language. We think and communicate with
each other mainly through language ability,
through oral, code or hand signing. Our
routes of storage in our brains may differ
from each other, but we can usually relate to
another person in story form that which we
believe.
A right-brain person will definitely
have a different route for storage and
retrieval than that of a left-brain person. My
experience has been that crossed dominant
dyslexics tend to be more right than left
brain oriented. Right brain storytellers may
be helped with the use of story reception and
retrieval when they are permitted to be more
dramatic and artistic. Facilitate their
freedom to act out, dance or draw their
stories.
Relating information in a story form
does not necessarily import that the story
tellers will be understood, but the fact that
ideas and information are organized into a
story form for our own comprehension must
certainly improve the transfer of the
knowledge. Revisions and retellings are
useful in improving brain organization. As
parents and teachers we must give our
students whatever help we have available, so
that each of them is able to retell in their
own words and actions what we’ve been
trying teach them.
Personal value-relevance
For one to put out the energy
required to remember something requires
that the event have personal importance.
Roger Schank says that our story-based
knowledge expresses our concept of life.
That concept guides our decisions on what
we remember. New information must find a
connection in our minds to information
already in there and it must have personal
value to the student.
Effort and involvement
Remember to make auditory and
kinesthetic connections and preferably in a
right brain mode in order to reach all of your
learners. If someone tells us the best story
ever in a language we do not understand we
will never understand it. When we hear or
see something we want to remember, we
must make the effort, not only to find ways
of remembering it, but of deciding how we
will store this image. How will this
information be useful to us later on?
Dyslexics must be convinced of the value of
learning on more than a visual reading level.
Themes for retrieval
We organize events of an episode
around a theme. The theme will be our clue
to retrieval. We build up generalizations of
our world into which we can add new
information from new experiences. This
ability gives us a dynamic memory system.
We can reorganize patterns of memory by
breaking memories into component parts,
which is necessary to learn things cross-
contextually. Brainstorming can help us
break memories out of one context and
move them into another, allowing for
creative approaches to recalling events.
We often rehearse events that make
up our stories by talking to ourselves or to
others. My son must have a special
compartment in his brain for jokes, a
compartment the like of which is totally
lacking in my brain. At the same time, I
notice that my son rehearses jokes that he
enjoys, which gives him the advantage of a
quick route in his brain for storage and
retrieval. Certainly, telling jokes well is
more important to his life concept with his
friends than it is for mine. Knowing before
we begin our lesson, what is important to a
person’s self esteem and what piques his
interest, is of great value for teachers,
including parents and our peers.

Gestalt figure and ground
The second reference to how our
brain helps us perceive and remember comes
by way of Gestalt psychologists. Most
educators have learned more about what we
call Behaviorist Theories. The behaviorists
believe that complex behavior is built up
through simpler learned responses. If you
give a child an M&M each time he makes
the correct response, he will learn the correct
behavior. This theory of immediate rewards
has been shown to backfire when people
expect rewards for performances. In fact,
recent studies show that people perform
better without external reward systems.
Whole is greater than its parts
Gestaltists have shown that the
human mind does not perceive information
as the addition of parts as Behaviorists had
theorized. Gestaltists believe that our
experience and behavior contain basic
patterns, which cannot be reduced or
analyzed into simpler components. Our
minds perceive as a whole, a figure and
background, and the whole is greater than
the parts. The figure usually has a well
defined presence: a clear contour, shape,
depth or other attention getting attachment.
The ground is the less well defined
Figure Ground drawing
background for the figure. Sometimes
figure and ground can change places or be
different for two people. Which is which
can depend on our mental concept or what
we are looking for at a given moment.
19
Figures and mental file folders
Perceptions, which depend on the
facts of our experience, are organized into
wholes of figure-ground due to automatic,
spontaneous consequences of our perceptual
apparatus according to the Gestalt theorists.
The visual perception ideas of the Gestalt
psychologists receive more attention in the
chapter on memory and learning techniques.
Our brains organize our experience
into figure-ground patterns. The figure part
of our perception usually determines the
mental file folder for storage in our brains.
The neuronal connections, the paths in our
brains to our file folders, become express
lanes with repeated use. But the mental
reception as a totality, instead of as separate
papers or facts in individual folders,
provides us several clues for retrieval.
When someone is telling us of one of their
experiences we can usually find something
in our own memory files that seems to
somehow relate to what we hear.
Laws of primitive organization
The Gestalt psychologists say that
there are “Laws of Primitive Organization”,
which explain how our brains organize
information received through our senses.
These basic laws of our brains give us
speedier access to information so that we
think faster and more thoroughly than say - a
machine.
The law of proximity
One of these laws is the law of
proximity. 22 22 22 will be seen as three
pairs, or three sets of 22 rather than as six
twos. Events that are experienced close
together in time or space will be grouped
together in our minds.
The law of similarity
A second Gestalt law is the law of
similarity. We see, hear or sense
information in patterns rather than as
isolated units. The corps de ballet, the group
of dancers that move and look alike, are seen
as a unit rather than as individual dancers.
Once we’ve learned to read, we see words
rather than letters. The dots on dice are seen
as one pattern, not as separate dots.
resembles the Gestaltists’ contribution to
insight, the sudden realization of
relationships, which can lead to solution of a
problem.

Principle of closure
The principle of closure says that we
read unity into our experiences. If we see
only the dog’s head, we assume that the rest
of the dog is there too. If we hear a few
notes of a familiar melody we complete the
melody in our minds, or we at least,
recognize the melody from the few notes.
We can make assumptions about a whole
with only pieces of the puzzle. For instance,
when you are familiar with, and then hear,
the first four notes of Tchaikovsky’s Piano
Concerto # 1, “Da Da Da Dum!” - there is
an expectation for a particular sequence of
notes to follow. If you’ve heard the story of Insight comes into play when we
“The Prodigal Son” one has only to say “the want something, which appears to be out of
prodigal” and the story and all its nuances reach. Tension is set in motion in our minds
are immediately available to your mind. when a problem is not understood or the
With young children, the words “Mary had a solution is unclear. In order to resolve the
little ____” will be filled in with “lamb” or tension we restructure our thinking, search
“Twinkle, twinkle ___” with “little star”. for new relationships and look for new
These marks ][ ][ ][ ][ show the law of possibilities. This struggle will often lead to
proximity. While these [ ] [ ] [ ] show a successful new way to approach the
problem, an understanding and reduction of
tension. This is the process Einstein used to
solve the tension between light as waves or
particles. If you didn’t figure yet what you
closure. What do these marks show?
were looking at, turn it sideways.
These Gestalt theories were
The principle of pregnance
formulated before we gained new
The principle of pregnance says that
knowledge into our two brains, through the
our perceptions will find the most stable
split-brain research of the 1960’s and 70’s.
form under the circumstances. This most
It appears that the Gestaltists were more
stable form will be the one that reduces
tuned in to the right brain or whole brain,
tension and improves meaning. This idea
while the behaviorists clung to the

sequential preference of the left brain.
Insight would appear to be a whole brain
method of using imagery and reasoning.
Insight in chimpanzees
A scientist named Wolfgang Kohler
set up an experiment with caged
chimpanzees. He hung some fruit up out of
reach in their enclosure. He placed several
wooden boxes around the enclosure. The
chimps were faced with a new dilemma.
How could they get the fruit they desired.
Eventually some of the chimps maneuvered
the boxes under the fruit. In order to make
them high enough, they figured out how to
place one box on top of another. Once the
process was figured out, all the chimps in
that enclosure understood and used it.
This was the process known as
insight, at work. Once the animals had
procured this insight for themselves, they
not only retained this information, but they
were able to apply this insight to new
situations. Insight can be a mental trial and
error process. We try different possibilities
in our minds until we find something that
gives us our solution.
Insight requires involvement
The important concept of using the
insight method for teaching is that it forces
us to become involved in finding solutions
and thus provides us with excellent recall
and flexible application to new situations.
This method of teaching and learning is the
discovery method. Dr. Fritz Perls said that
discovery is the only method of learning.
When we start a curriculum area with the
discovery method, instead of using only the
lecture method, the desire to learn more will
surely follow. The lecture method tends to
have an opposite and deadening effect.
Discovery, no errors, only trials
Verbal instructions leading to
discovery are great. Creative questions are
great. The discovery method can include
21
learning from watching someone who may
have solved the problem, or from others who
have a different approach from those already
tried by the learner. We must also
remember that when one is learning, there
are no errors, only trials. It’s like watching a
baby learn as he grows. It’s all scientific
inquiry building toward easy automatic
performance of much of our behavior.
Canaries learn to take a bath
Watching a family of canaries: mom
and dad and three, six-week old youngsters,
is for me restful and enjoyable. Canaries,
like most small birds need moisture in order
to be healthy and comfortable, but they have
to learn or be taught how to take a bath.
A clear plastic birdbath with an
opaque bottom and with ½ inch of water in
the bottom is hung in an open cage door.
The parents jump up on the inner edge of the
bath, take a drink, and then jump into the
water with both feet. They splash the water
all over themselves with their wings and
beak.
Then they jump out, wiggle their
tails, shake themselves thoroughly and then
jump right back into the bath again. It must
feel good because they’ll jump in and out of
the bath as many as ten times, until there is
hardly any water left on the bottom of the
bath, but the floor of the cage will be
soaked.
One day, a couple of weeks ago, one
of the baby canaries jumped up on the bath,
lost his balance on the lip of the bath and
landed inside with both feet in the water. He
didn’t know what to do in the water, so he
stood there transfixed by the view all around
himself through the clear plastic walls of the
bath. Eventually the youngster turned
around and jumped out.
This day while I was observing, all
three youngsters tried to jump up on the
edge of the bath at the same time, which
made it a bit crowded. They squabbled just
like siblings, but they clung to the lip for all
they were worth. They tried to splash with
their wings and beak without getting into the
water. Sometimes two were on the lip of the
bath at once. They chattered at each other
for the right to be there. Even though the
parents had modeled the bathing procedure
many times, these little canaries weren’t
ready to let go and jump into the water.
Finally, after many times on the
edge, one little fellow landed in the water
with both feet and this time he knew what to
do. He splashed himself with his wings,
jumped out shaking his new little tail, turned
around and jumped back into the water
again. The other two fledgling canaries
hadn’t yet gotten their feet wet, but one day
soon after, they did.
Non-judgmental trials
If we could communicate in canary
chatter, would it occur to any of us to say to
the youngsters who weren’t ready to jump
into the water, “No, no, not that way. You
must jump in with both feet.” Yet we do
this with our human youngsters all the time.
I’m as guilty of this as anyone, for that is the
way we were taught. Is it any wonder that
our youngsters freeze in fear in their trials to
get something “right”?
Somewhere along this continuum of
educating our youngsters, we can learn to
become aware that there are no errors, only
trials or attempts. With enough modeling,
patience, awareness of the individual’s
learning pattern to provide needed success,
affirmation of the individual’s ability,
encouragement, praise and new challenges,
all children can learn to the best of their
abilities. There are no mistakes, only trial
runs. “Good try. Let me put my arm around
you and we’ll do it together or I’ll model the
way for you.” If it works for dumb birds,
surely it can work for intelligent human
beings.
Jacques D’Amboise loves to teach
In my files is an article in which a
famous dancer tells us why he loves to teach
children. Jacques D’Amboise says, “I show
a child what is possible”. Jacques left the
main stage in New York City after four
joyful decades as one of our finest classical
dancers. Jacques was financially secure, had
a good marriage and four delightful children.
Jacques D’Amboise says he reflected on
how he had become a dancer and he decided
to give something back.
He recalled how when he was seven
years old, he had to watch his sister’s ballet
class as a way of keeping him off the streets
of New York City. Like normal children his
age, sitting quietly was not possible. He
says he made little, noisy distractions to gain
attention. Jacques remembers the dance
teacher, Madame Seda, as “very wise”. She
ignored him until the end of class when
everybody did big leaps in place. At that
point she challenged Jacques to see if he
could jump as high as the girls.
Jacques says, “So I jumped and I
loved it. I felt like I was flying.” Madame
Seda said, “Oh, that was wonderful! From
now on if you are quiet, I’ll let you join in
the changements.” The changements were
the big leaps.
So Jacques says he learned to be less
disruptive, waiting to join in the big jumps.
Then Mme. Seda challenged him again, to
not make any noise when he came down
from the leaps. She always praised her
students while continually challenging them.
The next challenge was to use his arms and
hands more gracefully and so on until
Jacques says he was hooked.
When reminiscing about how Mme.
Seda got a bored little kid to become a
dancer, Jacques says, “She challenged me to
a test, complimented me on my effort and

then immediately gave me a new challenge.
She set up an environment for the
achievement of excellence and cared enough
to invite me to be part of it.”
You have taken control of your body
Jacques then realized that “Dance is
the most immediate and accessible of the
arts because it involves your own body.
When you learn to move your body on a
note of music, it’s exciting. You have taken
control of your body and by learning to do
that you discover that you can take control
of your life.”
So after all his success, Jacques
decided he would try to engage young
children, especially boys from the same
streets where he grew up, in the dance
experience and the arts. His goal was not to
make them into professional performers, but
to create an awareness of personal control in
these children by giving them the
opportunity to experience dance.
Jacques started The National Dance
Institute in 1976 and has since taught dance
to thousands of youngsters, not only in New
York City’s public schools, but in schools
all over the world. Jacques says, “In each
class, I rediscover why teaching dance is so
important. Each time I can use dance to
help a child discover that he can control the
way he moves, I am filled with joy. At a
class I recently taught at P.S. 59 in
Brooklyn, there was one boy who couldn’t
get from his right foot to his left. He was
terrified. Everyone was watching.
Let’s do it together
He kept trying, but he kept doing it
wrong until finally he was frozen, unable to
move at all. I put my arm around him and
said, “Let’s do it together. We’ll do it in
slow motion.” We did it. I stepped back
and said, “Now do it alone, and fast.” With
his face twisted in concentration, this boy
slammed his left foot down correctly on the
note. He did it! The whole class applauded.
23
He was so excited. But I think I was even
happier, because I knew what had taken
place. He had discovered he could take
control of his body, and from that he can
learn to take control of his life.
Dance, Jacques says, is the human
art form used to express time and space.
“When teaching, it’s important to set up an
environment where both the student and
teacher can discover together. Never teach
something you don’t love and believe in.”
Can you do this?
To a new class, Jacques says, “Can
you do this test? I’m going to give all 100
of you exactly ten seconds to get off your
seats and be standing and spread out all over
the stage floor. And do it silently. Go!”
Then he starts the countdown as the children
run and yell and arrive with seconds to
spare. He tells them, “Freeze. You all
failed. You made noise and you got there
too soon. I said ‘exactly ten seconds’--not 6
or 8 or 11. Go back to your seats and we’ll
do it again.” He says he has never had to
repeat this test more than three times.
The beginning of knowing yourself
His advice, “Demand precision, be
clear and absolutely truthful. When they
respond, and they will, congratulate them on
the extraordinary control they have just
exhibited.” “Why is that important?”, he
asks. “Because it’s the beginning of
knowing yourself, knowing that you can
manage yourself if you want. And it’s the
beginning of dance. Once the children see
that we are having a class of precision, order
and respect, they are relieved, and we have a
great class.”
Jacques adds that there will always
be differences in ability in children in any
class, for a variety of reasons. “But
whatever the differences, someone admiring
you, encouraging you, works so much better
than the reverse. You can do it, you are
wonderful”, he says. “It is a tragedy when
no one takes the time to find out how to
teach some children.”
Jacques’ desire to pass on, with a
loving heart, the best humanity has to offer,
is the motive behind the success of this
extraordinary teacher and wonderful human
being. He is an excellent model for the rest
of us.

Remainder Part 3, Five educational areas

The remainder of this book is
divided into five areas of educational
methods with the reminder that many
methods or learning tools may fit into or
overlap several categories.
Area one is called WIG for Warm,
Inclusive Group. Area two is SIR for
Sensing, Imaging and Relaxation. Area
three is SMAT for Sensory-Motor Activities
with a MAT. Area four is MELT for
MEmory and Learning Techniques. Area
five is AAA for Art, Acting and Activities.
All of these learning areas can be
experienced simultaneously. Most of these
learning areas are applicable to home and
school. The activities suggested can help all
children learn with greater ease and with
more enjoyment for student and instructor.

Include rather than separate

The main purpose of Part 3 is to
indicate ways to include those youngsters
who might previously have been separated
from the regular classroom because of their
minority or non-visual type learning
preferences. The educational ideas here will
not only include most dyslexic children in
regular classrooms, but will also help
“traditional” straight dominant learners as
well. Whatever we are labeled, we are all
multi-sensory learners with two cerebral
hemispheres incorporated into a brain and a
body designed for movement.
 Chapter 3. WIG: A Warm, Inclusive Group in the WARM Classroom -
What is a WIG?
Learning requires a secure
environment from which one can move out
to experiment with new ideas or actions.
That is what a WARM classroom is about:
Writing, Arithmetic, Reading and Meetings
that encourage community. The regular
class meetings where students are able to
discuss issues, ideas, or whatever is
pertinent to them in a safe, secure
environment becomes the community called
WIG for Warm, Inclusive Group.
Community provides for most needs such
as: trust, recognition, security, confidence,
and also for responsibility and better task
performance than can be achieved without
community.
Group structure and support
The family or class is composed of
diverse individuals each of whom brings his
or her own perspective to the group.
Children look to the group structure for
support, encouragement, and validation of
their individuality. Therefore building
group rapport should be the number one
concern of adults at home and in schools.
This means that we have to establish honest,
open communication ties with one another.
The most important way we adults,
parents, teachers, whoever, can teach and
influence our youngsters is to provide a
mature, secure environment for them in
which they feel comfortable enough to share
themselves. How do we do this?
Prepared to lead
First, we ourselves need to be sure
that we have learned what it means to be
mature, responsible and prepared for
leadership. It is most important that we have
developed our own self-awareness to the
point that we are not projecting our
problems on to others. In other words, we
must be aware of our own responsibility for
our behavior so that we are not blaming
children, or anyone else, for our mistakes.
We must know that regardless of whether or
not we like our options, we always have
choices and the responsibility to make our
best-informed choice for each situation.
Victims make poor leaders
The main ingredient of maturity is
the knowledge that we are the only ones
responsible for the choices we make. We
must each learn to accept our innate, God-
given power to make our own choices. This
may take some personality rework on our
part, but if we see ourselves as victims of
our circumstances, then that is what we are.
Victims make poor leaders. If instead we
see ourselves as deciding, as best we can,
how we react to our circumstances, then we
will be in charge of our lives and better able
to lead others. We will all be tested by life
in many ways. Our responses to our trials,
our attitudes, will determine how life will
affect us and how we will affect life.
Not just any set of people
One of the best places to learn self-
awareness and how we are dealing with our
circumstances is in a WIG, a warm inclusive
group. Not just any collection of people
forms a group. The line of people at the
movie-theater is not a group in the sense that
a family is a group. The sense of whether a
classroom of people is a group or just a
number of people in the same room depends
on how these people see their relationships
to each other. What the teacher or facilitator
does with the people in a room to focus their
awareness and trust of each other will decide
what kind of group develops in that
classroom. If the instructor directs most
communication solely between himself and
any student, the people in that room will not
become a cohesive, dependable group.
Building a “group” depends on building
interpersonal relationships among all the
people in the container. It must be inclusive.

Learning to relate as humans
As all of us deal with the difficulty
of human relationships as adults, we can see
the value of providing early instruction in
caring communication for children. Our
need to communicate effectively with each
other stems directly from our participation
as members of groups from birth onward.
Early survival depends upon nurturing and
acceptance within our families. Without the
group, whether it be family, class,
community, state or planet, individuals
would not be able to survive or become
contributing members of society.
Concentric circles
Humans are social beings. Human
beings need to be recognized as members of
several groups, which surround, include and
protect them, like personal concentric
circles. These circles start with the family,
move out to encompass the community in
which we live, the school or work place and
widening circles of government.
Reinforcing our social natures is each one’s
strong desire to be acceptable and accepted
by our groups, to be included.
Mowgli recognized and named
An analogy of the needs and benefits
of group recognition and acceptance is
found in Rudyard Kipling’s wonderful story
of Mowgli in “The Jungle Book”. Mowgli
as a toddler escapes the tiger’s attack on his
human family. He wanders into a wolf’s
den where he joins the wolf cubs at the
mother wolf’s breast to eat and to sleep.
This wolf family decides to accept the boy.
They give him recognition by giving him a
name. They call him “Mowgli”. The wolf
family’s acceptance of this very different
baby assures survival for Mowgli.
The pack or neighborhood
As Mowgli grows into boyhood, it is
quite another subject for Mowgli to be
accepted by the wolf pack. If he is not
accepted by the pack, while he is still very
young and vulnerable, his survival would
again be called into serious question. His
teachers, the panther and the bear speak at
the wolf council for Mowgli’s acceptance
into the pack.
Law of the jungle
Like all groups, the wolf pack has its
laws with which the total pack must
cooperate for companionship and survival.
Adherence to the group laws and
cooperation within the pack are
requirements enforced by the leader as well
as the groups’ members. For all groups
within the biosphere of that jungle there are
other laws by which all creatures must
abide. The members of each group have
input into these laws, which guide their
community, but the many species must
cooperate for the benefit of all and for the
preservation of the eco-system.

Most intelligent animal groups
acknowledge male and female members as
equivalent in value. They play different
roles, but the males and females work
together for the survival and training of their
young. If Mowgli, which means little frog,
had been a girl toddler who wandered into
the wolf’s den the story would have
proceeded in the same manner.
Migration away from families
Where once there were tribes, clans
and extended families, children were
prepared for their roles as parents and as
members of a civilized society through
observation and by the modeling behavior of
capable adults, also by receiving guidance
and experience in a close, protective,
communal environment. This is rarely the
case today especially in the USA where
individual mobility over thousands of miles
is the rule rather than the exception.
Animals migrate together as groups, but
most Americans migrate away from their
families and their childhood neighborhoods.
The multi-cultural environment in the USA
could be compared a little to varied animal
groups in one ecosystem. Cooperation is
necessary to keep the system in tact.
Search for replacement groups
With the isolation of families and the
break-up of family units, the need for
individuals to find safe communities is ever
more important. Beyond the isolation from
migrating, the need for support is great
because of the facts that most people grow
into adulthood without learning adult
communication skills. Many adults are still
having temper tantrums as a way of trying to
control others. Couples become parents
without any real understanding of the
concepts of what parenting involves.
Human parenting by the laws of nature
should be a cooperative venture between
two emotionally mature adults with the male
and female involved, like canary families.
Ideally, discussions and answers about
families and parenting are started early in a
child’s life and continued late into
adulthood. The two mature parents would
guide their children toward a life that
benefits the family, their society and their
planet. The schools could certainly help
here also. With adult supervision, students
should be able to test their ideas and hear
from their peers. Even if we had ideal
families it would still be beneficial to
children to have community in their
classrooms, especially in a country of many
cultures. Through education, we need to
build on how to communicate effectively
with each other and provide acceptance and
understanding of variances.
Where is parent preparation?
The unfortunate case in most
American families today is a rushing
through activities without much actual
community building communication. There
is usually a complete lack of preparation for
parenthood or even for adult relationships.
Neither home nor school provides this
important education. This can cause
feelings of abandonment and isolation in
many individuals. It can lead to teenagers
fantasizing about having babies just so they
can feel loved or like adults. But they see
their babies as if they are dolls - toys to be
pushed aside when the parent is tired of the
needed caring required.
It’s often said that one is required to
have a license to have a pet dog in one’s
possession, or even to catch fish, but there
are no requirements for the possession of
human infants. People usually read and find
out how to take care of pets, but preparation
for parenting? Where is it? That caring
begins at home is true, but so does neglect
and poor modeling. Supportive, adult led
communities are needed to care for all
children who are brought into this world.
Without the gift of positive, inclusive, love
and acceptance for infants, misery spreads
throughout society.
Flaw of omission
Boys and men have traditionally
been exempted from parental roles and
parental responsibility. Those males who do
or who want to take on a parental role are as
ill prepared for that role as are the girls who
are now mothers. There are parenting
classes in some high schools for young
mothers or pregnant girls, but the young
fathers are again omitted. This flaw of
omission of fatherhood in our society forces
repetition of the weakness in dual parental
sensibility and responsibility. This lack of
parental sharing allows the male gender to
vilify women and vice versa. Where is the
benefit in cursing females who prefer not to
attempt to raise an infant alone or in
poverty? Where is the benefit in cursing
fathers as “dead-beat dads” who are pushed
away from those roles by societal
circumstances?
They are not ready
At a meeting concerning the subject
of teens who had produced children, the
parents of the boys who impregnated the
girls insisted that their sons were not ready
to take on the responsibilities of fatherhood.
Their sons had their futures to think about.
What are the concerns for the futures of the
girls, the mothers, and for the futures of their
children? Either our attitudes toward
educating all of our children about family
needs and responsibilities must improve or
we spiral downhill as a nation, forever
victimizing the female gender on AFDC and
the males as unconcerned and uncaring.
Emotional immaturity
The satisfactory fulfillment of each
infant and child’s physiological and
emotional needs form the base on which we
are then able to reach these children in terms
of further education and acceptance into the
human family. When those becoming
parents have not themselves matured to the
place where they feel confident and
prepared, or prepared to educate themselves
on their role as parents, what happens to
their children? Like Mowgli, their survival
is at stake. Their bodies may survive, but
their emotional development will be less
stable than that of their emotionally
immature parents. As society’s members, it
is time to investigate our roles in
propagating this negative, exclusive system.
Dr. Erikson’s developmental stages
Most educators and psychologists
accept psychologist, Dr. Erik Erikson’s
developmental stages in which he describes
two opposing paths of development
available to human beings at particular ages
during their growth.
The education process begins at
birth. If the path leading to positive growth
is taken, the path leading to the confirmation
of self-fulfillment and of physiological and
emotional needs, the person is able to move
successfully to the next phase of growth.
If the negative path, with its lack of
confirmation of the self and denial of needs
is taken, there will likely be serious
problems in the future for that person.
Trust vs. mistrust
The first of Dr. Erikson’s stages is
trust versus mistrust. The baby is
completely dependent on both of his parents
during the first year of his life. When his
needs aren’t met, including the need to
recognize and be recognized by his parents,
the child may not be able to trust that his
needs will ever be met.
In such a divisive issue as parenting
in the USA, children are fortunate and
perhaps exceptional to have an
understanding of the family as a warm,
inclusive group with the security of strong,
consistent, caring leadership. When both
parents have to work to support their
families, the parents often leave their babies
before they have built a secure bond with
them. During a child’s early, formative, pre-
school years, it is difficult to conceive of any
child care personnel who can substitute for
the actual, loving parents who bond with
their children.
Personal bonding experience
My two week old, seven pound
daughter had to be taken to the hospital
weekly, to have blood drawn from her tiny
heel. My baby’s distress and crying during
these procedures was so disturbing to me
that I chose to wait where the nurse would
return her to me when the tests were over.
When the nurse returned my baby to
me she laid her on a bed. My daughter was
red-faced, screaming and raging as only a
very distressed infant could. Intuitively, I
began talking, calmly and soothingly while
walking toward my screaming baby. To my
everlasting surprise, she stopped crying to
listen to my voice.
Since the nurse had held her and
talked to her also, I had to conclude that my
tiny girl recognized my voice and trusted
that her stress would be eased by my
presence. This simple experience and others
convinced me that infants recognize and
need the availability of their caring parents
until the infants have developed trust in their
surroundings.
In 1997, “Turning Point”, an ABC
television show, aired “Romania: What
Happened to the Children?”. The permanent
damage done to those orphaned children
through an absence of individual caring and
building of trust is absolutely confirmed.
Sharing the misery
Unless we improve education toward
better relationships and unless parents learn
to be comfortable with and bond with
children, children will not be the only ones
to suffer. People tend to share their misery.
Government people who make laws
demanding that parents take menial jobs and
leave their infants and toddlers to strangers
will find these laws backfiring on society.
The children won’t be comforted. This is
another area of thinking and politics that
victimizes women. The parents will remain
undereducated and return from work too
exhausted to care for their own children
during those crucial first 3 years of their
lives. These abandoned, terrified and
terrorizing children in gangs are examples of
shared misery and exclusion.
The need continues
The need for WIG, a warm, inclusive
group in which to share, is essential to our
well being throughout our lives.
Understanding, caring and sharing, these
make the glue that holds any and every
group together. There needs to be a greater
effort on everyone’s part to make each of us
conscious of being a valued, secure and
happy human being. What children are
deprived of in their families and in their
schools, they will seek out wherever they
can find it.
If the adults in their lives have been
unable to provide security and trust, the
warmth of the caring and sharing that the
children need, then these children will look
to each other for the support that should
come from mature adults.
WIGs vs. gangs
Until adult leaders reach out and
nurture all children, we will have gangs of
children seeking this glue of acceptance and
nurturing in immature ways. A GANG
could be defined as a Group of Angry,
Adversarial, Negative Guys and Gals with
Guns. WIG is not like a gang, which
excludes others and defines enemies. WIG
is more like a family, which communicates
freely, works together, makes visitors feel
welcome and sees members of other
“families” as friends. WIGs and families
have size limits, but while not rejecting
others, they would help and encourage new
WIGs instead of GANGS come into being.
Survival
If Mowgli had not been accepted by
the adult wolf pack, he would have become
an outcast in his environment. This would
make it extremely difficult for him to
develop the skills needed for mature
relationships and thus to survive in his
jungle. Communication would have been
cut off. He would have to be a loner or join
other outcasts. Such outcasts inevitably see
the group that has shut them out as their
enemies.
There is a strong correlation here
with what is the reality of our world and the
cultural clashes of our society. Being FOR
acceptance and integration instead of
berating cultural differences is crucial to
everyone’s survival. Integration as
Americans instead of the “Us versus Them”
mentality begins in each family unit. Since
the beginnings of families, people have
treasured their traditions while maintaining
membership in the larger community. It just
takes time and effort toward integration.
Adult support groups abound
We adults have recently seen rapid
growth in the number of support groups for
specific needs. Most newspapers list names
and purposes each week of hundreds of such
groups. This is proof enough that an
interconnected group of people can be the
best basis from which we can learn and
support each other. A support group can be
any special group of people who get together
fairly regularly. A group’s strength is its
commitment to be there for one another.
The “Serenity Prayer” from AA,
Alcoholics Anonymous, has become one of
the most widely known prayers in the USA.
“God, grant me the serenity” to accept the
things I cannot change, courage to change
the things I can, and wisdom to know the
difference.”
This simple statement reminds us
that we are not able to control everything in
our lives. We hope we have the courage to
be responsible human beings. Such a
statement of daily personal guidance might
be especially comforting to struggling or
dyslexic students or to immigrant children
and their families trying to integrate here.
What are they looking for?
While trying to increase my
understanding of the growth of gangs in our
country, I was most interested in what the
children are looking for when they become
gang members or leaders. It was surprising
to read some of the simple needs these
children stated.
These quotes are from “Gangs In
Salinas” by Nicole Volpe as printed in “The
Coast Weekly” of September 23, 1993. One
of the “older” boys, 16 years of age, said he
started his own gang, on the model of the
prison gangs in which he had two uncles. “I
wanted to belong to something. I wanted to
run something. My dream was to be looked
up to like my uncles.” “I’m trying to get
out. I just don’t know any other way.”
This boy grew up in the gang culture,
becoming active in the gang when he was
nine years old, doing his first drive by
shooting when he was 11. Is this just sad or
is it testimony to cruel abandonment by the
adults in this child’s environment? That
environment included elementary school,
but the first responsibility lay with his
family, those parents who brought him into
this world.
I want to belong
What did this boy need and want? In
his own words, “I wanted to belong. I
wanted to be looked up to.” He simply
wanted acknowledgment that he was
considered to be valuable by others. Many
children feel left out in school, often because
the limited, left brain approach does not
include them. When several warm,
inclusive groups, instead of one large, barely
related group, is the class format, children
can not only belong, they can learn to take
charge as well as learn to relate positively
with peers.
No alternative group exists
Another teen gang leader said, “I’ve
been expected to take care of myself since I
was 10.” Nobody asks, “How come?” We
just shrug with these kids. The streets
offered gangs and crime in his
neighborhood, but no WIGs. Both of these
teenage gang leaders have fathered children.
Neither father wants his son to follow in his
footsteps, but who will guide these gang
member’s children on a positive, relational
path? The chances of these teen age fathers,
gang leaders, being around to
psychologically or financially support their
sons and daughters when these offspring
reach age 10 or 12 or 16 years of age, are
pretty slim.
Gang enemies, revenge, raw power excite
Another 16 year old, now in prison
said, “I was six years old when the Crips
were started.” It was an “enemy”, a war
mentality, which eventually saturated
California. “I wasn’t fully aware of the
gang’s strong gravitational pull. I knew, for
instance that the total lawlessness was
alluring, and that the sense of importance,
self-worth and raw power was exciting,
stimulating, and intoxicating beyond any
other high on this planet.”
Surely there are more fulfilling ways
of feeling important and powerful than
committing felonies and being jailed as
adults at age 15. This same young man also
said that he learned combat training from old
war movies. Then he added that his writing
and reading were bad. “I couldn’t compose
a decent letter or even read a whole comic
book.” This young man probably saw
himself as not belonging, as excluded at
home and at school. His self-affirmation as
an outsider was then responded to as such.
Schools or classes can help fill the void
An ex-gangster himself, Brian
Contreras is trying to help kids who want to
get out of gangs. He says that kids must
become involved in something positive that
could take the place of gang life. He notes
that these kids need to change their way of
thinking, as well as their dress. Contreras
says the fact is that these young people
knew no other way of belonging and no
true satisfaction with themselves since early
childhood. HOW COME? What is going
on in those families? Could it be the
resentful “us vs. them” modeling of parents
who have not found ways to release their
own resentments? Perhaps they have not
learned how to belong in a culture different
from their own. Contreras insists that these
facts make the task of redemption all the
more difficult. No kidding!
Educators of young children may
have the best opportunity to counterbalance
the negative environments in which such
children find themselves. Schools can
provide positive, caring environments for
children with class meetings that listen to
children and help them make life-enhancing
decisions. This effort must begin at the
earliest age possible. Basketball for older
boys is far too minimal, gender prejudiced
and much TOO LATE to make a difference.
It is no secret that it is easier to prevent
character disorders and diseases in general
than it is to cure them.
Political leaders of conscience
We all know that taxes spent on
caring for children from birth on through
their school years are put to better use
compared to putting that money into
penitentiaries and police enforcement after
the problems of totally negative
environments with their poor relationships
are ingrained in individuals. Trained and
satisfactory school groups are more likely to
succeed with youngsters than jails are likely
to succeed with hardened criminals. We
must demand that our tax money provide for
smaller class loads, for more and better
teacher education and for better pay for
teachers in line with the amount and cost of
higher education demanded of them. The
better-trained teachers can then work on
Warm, Inclusive Groups for all children.
Changes needed
With so many young people and
their parents lacking confidence in and
respect for the educational system, the first
issue school and community leaders have to
deal with IS building avenues within the
schools and classrooms which lead to
respect for and enjoyment of students,
teachers and administrators. The long
struggles for uniform education and
credentials, for educational equality and
opportunities among the states of the union,
must not be thrown aside, but improved
upon. Privatization of education is and
always has been exclusive. It it not a
sensible policy for a united Democratic
nation.
None of us single handedly can take
on the problems of the world or of the whole
educational or dysfunctional family system.
We can set the parameters of what we feel is
acceptable behavior within our schools and
classrooms and try to integrate ideas that are
working. Perhaps adult WIGs made up of
school and community members can work
together to come up with mutually
acceptable agreements on just what
parameters are acceptable for them.
On assignment
Last year, when called on to
substitute at a continuation high school,
although I arrived on the job early to prepare
for my assignment, there were no written or
oral instructions regarding lesson plans for
the students.
The teacher’s desk was barren of
anything to write on and there was not even
a pencil with which to write. There was no
attendance sheet. When I searched out the
lead teacher in a room next door, she told
me that the students all knew their
assignments and that they would do them
without any help from me. I was to be a
sitter for these teenagers who ambled into
the room at various times. One girl arrived
five minutes before the lunch recess in order
to receive credit for being present.
Bored resignation and hostility
There were two couches in this
unattractive, dark and unkempt room. The
back half of the room was filled with a
dozen or so, power machines. The one piece
of information given me by the lead teacher
was that the students, mostly boys, were not
to touch these machines.
When I introduced myself and
greeted those students who had arrived on
time, they ignored me. Their looks and
attitudes sent a message of bored resignation
and hostility regarding their presence as well
as mine. They were clearly presenting
passive resistance.
Teacher intimidation power play
A second group of boys arrived at
the beginning of the second hour. Every one
of them immediately went to the power
machines and turned them on. Their silent,
sullen question to me, was, “What are you
going to do about it?” I went up to each
one, placing my hand firmly on their tall
shoulders or arms, and told them to turn the
machines off and sit down.
I expected them to mind me and they
did. If I had stood back and yelled at the
whole group I would have lost control,
which would have played into their
challenge. Knowing that school funding
was based on school attendance I also went
to each student to ask their names which I
wrote down on my own pad with my own
pen.
Two of the boys on arriving, lay
down on the two couches pulling their caps
over their eyes. Most of the students were
quiet, but they did not study. Instead they
came supplied with comic books which they
looked through while placing their feet on
other chairs or desks.
Enabling teacher
Although I had come prepared with
possible activities for the students, the
rebellious attitudes of these youngsters
convinced me that I would be wasting my
energy. This classroom was a sham.
The activity that caused me to realize
this, even more than one boy attacking me at
my desk and grabbing my color pens, was
the lead teacher’s arrival in the doorway of
this “classroom” to take each student’s order
for specific varieties of bagels. “And which
filling would you prefer on your bagels?”,
she yelled as she wrote down their orders.
This activity took about twenty minutes.
The snack break, itself, took another thirty
minutes.
Bed and breakfast inns
Schools like these have clearly lost
track of the parameters of the school’s
responsibilities to the communities they
serve. Schools were never meant to be bed
and breakfast inns. It is difficult to imagine
such student and teacher behavior in a
private school, but maybe I’m naïve. The
real purpose of most schools is to provide
quality, meaningful education regardless of
whether children come from dysfunctional
families. Schools have managed to stay
with that goal of educating youngsters
through generations of dysfunctional
families.
Community involvement and action
If children arrive at school without
adequate breakfasts or sufficient sleep
perhaps the community needs to come
together to find solutions to these problems.
To dump these tasks on the schools and the
teachers, as has been done for too many
years, is certainly not a suitable answer.
Teachers and schools have played the part of
the victim, the political scapegoat, for far too
long.
The fact that our educational system
is not working is not a matter of who is to
blame. Instead, the present mess of
overcrowded classrooms, overwhelmed and
undereducated teachers and administrators,
underwhelmed, unhappy, uncommunicative
students and parents, must be eliminated by
those who are victimized taking back their
power and refusing to go along with this self
destructive system. When class size exceeds
twenty or twenty-five students, teachers
must make themselves very clear as to why
overcrowded classrooms are deleterious to
everyone. If education is to continue to be a
favorite political football, the message of the
game must change. Instead of finding blame
politicians and educators must work together
toward the best possible solutions for all of
our citizens, not excluding any.
New prescription needed
When children come to school
hungry, the school working with the
community and with the politicians, together
must find ways of dealing with this
unacceptable problem. The brain does not
function properly without a continuous
supply of glucose. Glucose is not stored in
the body. That is why we break the
overnight fast with breakfast and replenish
our nutrient supply before going to work. If
students can not function in school because
they did not eat a nourishing breakfast, or
because they are tired and anxious, this is
not the school’s dilemma. These are
community problems.
Who is minding the shop?
The school’s parameters must be
clearly brought into focus. Its function is
education suitable for all students in an
environment conducive to enhancing that
education. The school’s curricular
parameters must also clearly be defined.
The elementary and secondary schools can
no longer be expected to handle every social
dilemma that comes up.
Television news recently informed
the audience that homosexual and bisexual
teenaged children were going to elementary
classrooms during class curriculum time to
explain their “lifestyle choices” to other
younger students. Such incomplete,
subjective use of curriculum time is a
serious flaw in someone’s judgment.
Should we have 14 year old marijuana
smokers tell their peers about their dropout
lifestyles during class time? Who is
minding the shop, the classrooms?
Human anatomy, physiology and
general health education are valuable
subjects in which “lifestyle” questions may
come up. At that time an objective
discussion may be led by knowledgeable,
credentialed teachers or qualified
professionals, but certainly not by teenagers,
who themselves are searching for answers
for their own lives.
Community solutions
Concerned groups of citizens,
including students, can come together and
come up with some sensible solutions to
social problems which have too long been
dropped on and been accepted at the
teacher’s doorstep. Then teachers can return
to the job of managing their classrooms for
planned educational purposes guided by an
acceptable curriculum.
Dr. Thomas Gordon has written
books on “Leader, Teacher and Parent
Effectiveness Training” which might
enhance the process of providing win-win
solutions to problems. Win-win solutions
are necessary for people to live and work
together in communities.
Stressed relationships
Signals of stressed relationships
become clear if all can agree that the main
predictors of bad relationships are:
• negative criticism
• defensiveness and denial
• contempt, disrespect with built-up
resentments
• withdrawal from dealing with the or any
relationship.
• Counter measures are:
• praise and encouragement
• acceptance of responsibility,
• acceptance, respect and love or caring
for each other
• confrontational methods toward win-win
problem solving, dealing with feelings
and release of resentments.
One person may be the leader, the
parent or the person in charge who takes the
main responsibility for outcomes, but one
person is not superior to a subordinate. The
leader, who often has the right and
responsibility to make the decisions as to
what must be done, must remember to
communicate those choices in ways that
show respect for others. Good relationships
are based on mutual caring, not controlling
or overpowering behavior.
Tried and true classroom rules
Two rules that improved the study
atmosphere during times of quiet
concentration are:
1. Pencils may be sharpened only during
breaks and recesses.
2. Ditto for going to the bathroom.
Do these students expect as much
from their teacher? Do they expect you to
come to class tired, grumpy because you
didn’t eat breakfast and are unprepared to
help them with their learning? No! Then
you expect no less of them. School is a two-
way contract--each gives.
The teacher’s overall goals for their
students include these.
• Help students become more autonomous.
• Help them to become self-confident.
• Help them to become aware of their goals
and develop skills for attaining those goals.
• Help them learn to work as supportive
team members.
• Show them how to enjoy and value
learning, discovering new ways of solving
problems with new insights gained on their
own. Create an eager learning environment.
A very special WIG
The classroom will aim to be a very
special WIG where all members will be able
to talk to each other regularly and learn how
to be excellent communicators. These are a
few important things you may decide to
expect of each other, the things you will be
FOR in order for school to provide
youngsters with a good education and for all
of you to enjoy an overall positive
experience together.
1. Good attendance.
2. Promptness.
3. Readiness, which includes several,
sharpened pencils or pens.
4. Attentiveness, which includes active
participation in class.
5. Cooperation, a willingness to maintain a
helpful and clean class environment.
6. Homework assignments complete,
accurate and neat.
7. Pull your own weight in class, which
includes neat, accurate work (structured
for the individual) started and finished
on time.
8. The noise level will be comfortable and
no one will have to yell to be heard.
Teacher’s or administrator’s add these.
9. Instruction will open avenues for
individual discovery.
10. No meaningless paper work will be
assigned, nor more paper and pen or
computer work than each can
comfortably handle.
11. Seated work at table, desk or computer
will be alternated with activities, mat
work, guided imagery, relaxation
exercises, memory and learning
techniques, art and acting, fun and
laughter.
 Letting go of dark thoughts
Suzy Marta’s Rainbow WIG Suzy held up a bottle of bleach
A special WIG, called “Rainbows” labeled Forgiveness. When she poured the
which has found its way into 4000 schools bleach into the black liquid, it “changed to
in 45 states and nine foreign countries. many different colors and then became
Rainbows was started by a mother who saw clear.” Then Suzy told the youngsters, “This
her children’s suffering caused by the is what happens when you forgive; your
parents’ divorce. One of her sons said to heart takes on all the colors of the rainbow
her, “Mommy, you have found other and you become like sunshine inside.”
divorced parents you can talk to about your
feelings. Where could we go to be with Qualifying the called
other kids of divorced parents?” Marta felt The article just quoted was printed in
unqualified as she set out on her mission to the July 1993 edition of a powerful little
provide such a group for grieving, unhappy magazine called “Guideposts”. This article
kids. A wise person told her, “God doesn’t expresses another reason for the need for
call the qualified. He qualifies the called.” warm, inclusive groups. Here, also, is the
fact that almost anyone who cares enough
Forgiveness has big role can be a qualified leader. Group topics can
Suzy Marta’s group for children of be wide ranging. Everyone needs safe
divorce started out as a retreat with the help places where feelings about varying
of seven co-leaders trained to be caring, experiences can be expressed. The rainbow
loving listeners. Each adult took a small lesson is a marvelous example of a multi-
group of three to five children and sensory lesson, which touches us at many
encouraged them to express freely how they levels. This is also a great example of the
were feeling about the divorce of their value of WIG’s.
parents. Many children blamed the care-
taking parent for the absence of the other
parent or they blamed themselves. Suzy
says that forgiveness became a big part of
their retreats.
She relates that in one session the
leaders placed a clear Pyrex bowl of water
on the table with nearby bottles of food
coloring. “As the youngsters told about
their sadness, anger or guilt, we encouraged
them to step up to the bowl and squirt in
some food coloring. Some would give a
dozen angry squirts. By the time all of them
had finished, the water looked black...The
bowl of water is just like your heart when
you store lots of painful feelings in it,” Suzy
told them. “It becomes dark and burdened.
But when you forgive people who have
caused you those feelings, whether it’s your
mom, dad, sister or brother this is what
happens.”
 Chapter 4. WIG, How Does One Create A Warm Inclusive Group?
As a teacher of a new class you can
think to yourself or aloud, “Here we are, by
chance or by choice, a group of people
placed together for some period of time and
for some purpose. Could these lessons
include how people relate honestly and
civilly with each other?”
Planning a trip together
Imagine that instead of working in a
schoolroom that you and the children are
embarking on a lengthy journey together on
a bus. How would this situation cause you
to rethink your lesson priorities?
School bus or van
Could you imagine a greater value in
temporarily putting aside the A,B,C’s and
the 1,2,3’s for the first few days of the
adventure so that you can encourage this
group of individuals to begin to function as a
community? Could a little more time spent
at the front end of a trip ensure a smooth,
pleasant trip together?
If you are an experienced teacher
you may say that every class develops
community sooner or later while presented
with lessons from day one. Perhaps you also
recall how much lesson time was devoted to
monitoring problem behavior during the first
weeks or even months. A few children who
crave attention often disrupt lessons to
achieve their aim.
Getting comfortable together
Taking some time in the beginning
of your venture together to have fun and to
get to know each other will bring benefits
that far out-weigh the costs. You’ll see
more cooperation within the group when the
individuals move beyond the “me versus
them” feeling. As you guide the children
through experiences that are fun and that
help everyone feel more comfortable with
each other, the children will begin to see and
trust who you are as the group leader.
The group journey
Cooperation between the individuals
and yourself will improve when you take
time to build a community based on mutual
trust among members. The development of
an open communication process with the
children and leader(s) should reduce much
of the tension that is naturally present when
strangers are grouped together in a confined
space. Community Building is needed here.
What about the lessons, the A,B,C’s,
the 1,2,3’s? Hopefully you can hold off on
academic lessons until you understand each
child’s learning pattern and until you and the
children are comfortable together on your
journey. With increased community there
should be fewer behavior problems that can
disrupt the lessons to follow.
Including the learning pattern
screening with community building will
increase the probability of a pleasant and
scholastically rewarding trip for all of you.
What you hope to teach will likely move
along much faster and with less frustration
with this two pronged approach to teaching.
1. Build trusting relationships and 2.
Dovetail sensory dominant screening with
successful instruction.
Community building 101
There are many ways to begin
community building. Here are some ideas to
add to your own. To begin, think of a few
age appropriate activities that will include
and be fun for everyone. For the first couple
of days together provide activities
emphasizing the active until the children are
beginning to remember each other’s names
and to relax in each other’s company.
Intersperse active games with quiet
activities like guided imagery. You could
have everyone wear nametags (first names)
until each knows the names of the others
including you. Use first names whenever
you address a child and help the children to
do this with each other.
Experiment with group projects
Find an age appropriate, colorful,
picture puzzle which has enough pieces to
give each person, including yourself, one or
two pieces of the puzzle. Encourage
everyone to take part in putting this puzzle
together. Each one will place his/her own
pieces. Have the children trace around the
outline of their pieces so that they can
differentiate the shapes they are looking for.
Or make a big collage together with
each placing something that represents him
or her self. When the collage is completed
allow each child a one-minute period to tell
the story of how the piece represents him or
her, what memories the piece brings forward
now and how he sees his piece as part of the
group process. Group members may share
similar memories and conversation begins as
long as no one is allowed to monopolize
time and energy. If time allows go around
again to add to the original conceptions.
The youngest children may enjoy
playing card or other games together, where
they learn to call each other by first name.
The US is All of US
Depending on the total number of
students, divide the total into an equal
number of task size groups by counting off,
1, 2, 3, 4, or red, yellow, green and blue, or
bunnies, chicks, pups and kittens. For
ability appropriate, fun tasks, pair groups
until everyone has worked or played with
everyone else and has learned everyone’s
name. Combine Team 1 with 2, and 3 with
4, then 1 with 3 and 2 with 4, then 1 with 4
and 2 with 3. For instance: Teams 1 and 2
combine to build their clay or block town
over here while teams 3 and 4 make theirs
over there, or engage in some other activity.
Emphasize calling each other by name.
Reorganize team membership regularly
enough to avoid any “Us versus Them”
thinking. The US is ALL of US.
Use guided imagery
Use guided imagery stories that also
aid in getting to know each other. Read the
chapter on Imagery for details on how to
lead guided imagery. Here is only a sketch
of such a guided imagery.
With relaxing music as a
background, with slow, deep breathing and
relaxing techniques begun and eyes closed,
suggest that each one travel by their own
special magic carpet to their very own
beautiful, peaceful place. Encourage them
to become aware of where they are and to
sense every detail there.
Favorite things are kept in this
private place. Suggest that they find one of
their favorite things: a costume, a toy, a pet,
a flower, whatever makes them happy. Be
sure to include lots of suggestions for
seeing, hearing and other sensing details of
this trip: details of the carpet, colors,
weather, the type of special place and how
they got there, the favorite item and so forth.
Suggest that when they find their
favorite item they carry on a dialogue with
it, including telling it what it is that makes it
so special to them. Tell them to imagine
they are having fun or being happy with
their favorite thing. Help the children sense
and imagine a whole scene. If some
children say they can not imagine
themselves being happy, tell them to see
what others are doing that makes them
happy. They can tell about that. Later when
they learn how to act out both polarities of a
situation, they can become the watcher and
the actor of happiness.
Leaving the scene, returning to now
Before long it is time to say good-
bye to their favorite item and to their special
place. They can promise not to forget and to
return another time. Now it’s time to come
back to their classroom. Finish with quiet
breathing and, or sighing.
When everyone has returned
mentally to the room, ask how they enjoyed
their trip. Would they like to draw pictures
and then tell about their magic carpet, their
place, their favorite item and how they
enjoyed themselves?
Suggest that each one draw him or
her self within the picture. Later have each
of the children take turns telling the others
about their imaginary trip and what they
enjoyed most. The children will enjoy each
other’s stories more if a time limit is
observed. Everyone will get to know
something special about the others.
Individuals to members
Now is a good time to set up a warm
inclusive group, a WIG, Circle Time or
whatever you choose to call your group.
Circle Time is to be a time when all the
members of the family or class come
together to air and share views without
judgment or hostile criticism.
Suggest that the group will need a
few rules to make getting together and
getting along together more enjoyable for
everyone. The Gestalt Rules that follow are
used to smooth out rough spots in
relationships.
Keeping momentum
How do you begin to develop a WIG
that will gain momentum as the journey
progresses? Start with the easy things like
possible equipment and plans that should
help the group make its transition from
individuals to members. Some equipment
items that are helpful for organizing group
sessions follow.
1. Moveable chairs, or a carpeted area
where the group can sit comfortably in
circular fashion, facing each other.
2. Time limit for meeting noted at start.
3. The leader’s clipboard with participant’s
names and space for comments.
4. The leader’s stop watch.
5. The rules or guidelines for “Circle
Time” to be shared gradually.
6. List of activities that will help members
begin to know each other and themselves
without feeling threatened.
Activities for Circle time meetings
1. Open ended discussions e.g. A scary
thing happened to me when ….Set up
the situation without giving away how
you handled it until everyone has had a
chance to think of how they might have
managed it. Ask, “What do you think
you would you have done in a similar
situation?”
2. Rules of responsible communication
where all are included with 1-minute
individual time limits, with more evenly
dispersed minutes as time allows.
3. Gripes and Appreciations
4. Sunshine Notes

Circle diameter
For social interaction where
everyone needs to see and hear each other,
the diameter of the circle should be between
four and twelve feet across. Circle members
should not have to be in each other’s
personal space, approximately 10 to 12
inches on either side, front or back. If you
have more than twenty participants and an
adult aide, then, when everyone understands
“the rules” of how meeting time works, you
may want to divide into two smaller groups
to allow for more interaction and comfort.
Alternate the leaders and members for the
two groups. Always avoid “us and them”
mentality.
If there are more than twenty
participants, the seating could be arranged
into inner and outer circles. The inner circle
should leave spaces between each person
large enough so that persons in the outer
circle can sit in those spaces, but close
behind the inner group. Double circles are
not preferred and should be used only
temporarily, or for initial and ending
sessions.
Where there is a will …
Another suggestion for having
manageably sized groups is to ask another
teacher to watch group one while you work
with group two and vice versa. If that
teacher is interested in providing community
for his class you could share these
responsibilities. Where there is a will there
is a way.
Keep track of participation
The names of those in the inner and
the outer groups should be listed so the
leader can keep track of and alternate places
of members at appropriate times. The
groups could change places on alternate
days and members of the outer circle should
observe a member opposite themselves in
the inner circle in order to provide feedback
to that person as the group develops over
time.
The list of names in your hands is
valuable for checking the names of those
who have participated and for being sure
that each person has had an equal
opportunity to participate. The leader needs
to have an awareness of which students are
outspoken and which are more withdrawn in
various activities. Keep a tally of which
students you tend to call on more than
others. Are the aggressive children
receiving more attention while the quieter
ones fall through the cracks? With new
awareness through the checklist or with
videotape, you can remedy any disparities.
Stopwatch
The stopwatch is a useful tool. Its
use may seem arbitrary at first, but it helps
group members become aware of their own
tendencies with relation to the group’s time
and attention. Once the rules of group
participation have been introduced and tried
out with the students, use the stopwatch to
make sure that each student has one minute
to talk or to have the rest of the group’s
attention.
This method derails monopolization
of group attention by a few and gives quieter
people the opportunity to be the center of
attention. If the shy children prefer not to
talk right away, their time could be used to
let them know that they too are valuable
members of the group. This group would
not be the same without them. Members
might want to encourage the shy ones. Tell
them they would like to hear the shy
person’s thoughts and feelings on a subject.
But it is important that others not be allowed
to usurp the shy child’s time. That child
should have a full minute center stage while
the members send positive energy her way.
She’ll get over her shyness.
When each one knows that they will
be participating in some way at each Circle
Time, the participants are more likely to be
attentive than if they thought they might be
passed over.
Time and schedules
The stopwatch helps keep the group
on target, not running off on too many
tangents. Timing individuals is also helpful
when the “Circle Time” is being fit into a
schedule with a number of other activities.
If you meet daily for this activity, thirty
minutes is usually a reasonable time
allowance, even for hyperactive and very
young children. Longer periods are good for
older children and for fewer than daily
circles or meetings.
Managing disruptions
The WARM classroom, where the
“M” stands for Meetings among the usual
subjects of: Writing, Arithmetic and
Reading was developed from my experience
with Gestalt and group therapy and from the
screaming needs in the classes for the
educationally and emotionally handicapped
that I experienced in Marysville, CA.
Circle Time originated in my
classroom when I recognized that too much
of my attention and energy were being
diverted to constant disruptions and
squabbles between students. “Teacher, Paul
kicked me.” “Tom took my pencil.” All
day long, complaints of unpleasant behavior
followed each other like pesky mosquitoes
biting my neck on a hot, muggy day. How
could we deal with the unpleasant behavior
and accomplish some scholastic work and
play as well?
After lunch recess
The students were told that in order
to attempt to work through some of their
complaints or grievances we would have a
thirty-minute class meeting every day after
lunch recess. No complaints or other chatter
would be heard at any other time during our
school day.
It would be up to each individual
with a complaint to keep track of his or her
gripes until Circle Time. The post lunch
recess period was chosen because as most
teachers know, recess is a time when the
bullies and hurtful behavior often go
unchecked. What developed from this
experiment was the miracle of “The WARM
classroom.”
Meetings are key to WARM
The meetings bring about the
democratic classroom where adults and
children share with and learn from each
other. All are mutually appreciated human
beings with a voice and a choice. In such a
classroom people can learn that boredom,
resentment for authority and dislike for
school can give way to caring, laughing and
excitement about learning. The “M” for
meetings was the key that changed WAR to
WARM, but the changeover process
involves a re-education in education.
Whether parents, teachers or youth leaders,
we need to examine some of our
misconceptions about authoritarian
relationships between adults and youngsters.
Dr. Tom Gordon
Dr. Thomas Gordon states in his
book, “Parent Effectiveness Training”, that
while children want to know where the
adults’ limitations are, the purpose of such
knowledge is to aid the children in making
their own decisions. The children are trying
to accommodate their behavior so as to
retain the mutually beneficial relationship.
The children do not want limitations
dictated to them. Such dictation may be an
effective control with young children, but
not without high costs. The power struggle
between persons derives from the desire to
control another’s behavior, thus removing
the freedom to experiment with one’s own
choice.
When the child is a toddler who must
be stopped from entering the street or doing
other potentially harmful things, adults must
enforce limitations. The result of continued
restriction beyond necessity has to be
resentment and rebellion. It seems to be a
universal response of human beings at any
age to feel deeply resentful and angry
toward someone on whom they are
dependent for gratification of their needs.
The dependent ones wish they were in
control of satisfying their own needs. My
daughter always told me, “I can do it
myself.”
Control vs. control
We all develop ways of retaliating to
domination and authoritarian control. Some
of these retaliatory responses are: acts of
aggression, put-downs, severe criticism, the
silent treatment, lying, stealing, hiding
feelings, blaming others, tattling, cheating,
bullying, needing to win, hating to lose and
forming alliances against those in power.
There’s also, submission, compliance,
conformity, apple-polishing, lack of
creativity, fear of trying something new,
withdrawing, fantasizing, regression and
escaping and more.
Dr. Gordon relates that the
submissive, compliant, obedient children
who continue these traits into adolescence
and into adulthood suffer most from
authoritarian parental power. He says they
are the ones who may retain a deep fear of
people in power and that they deny their
own needs and more often than not require
psychological counseling.
Power struggles
As people begin to understand power
and authority more completely, the dire
results of power struggles may become
apparent. The use of power or control, as in
one person overpowering another in an
effort to control the other, is unethical. We
need to continue to search for creative, new
ways to relate without power struggles.
Authoritarian power does not
persuade, convince, educate or motivate
people to act in specific ways. Controlling
power compels or restrains behavior. Power
hungry individuals do not take into account
the needs and desires of those who are
forced to submit to their domination.
Rebelliousness and active or passive
resistance are the consequences of
authoritarian leadership.
Win-win situations
Reading any of Dr. Thomas
Gordon’s books on effectiveness training
gives instruction on how to develop win-win
situations with those with whom you live
and work. It is important for any individual
to recognize his/her own power and to take
responsibility for its positive use. Too many
people are too quick to relinquish their
power to others in order to avoid personal
responsibility for decisions that affect
themselves and the whole group. Very often
those who become victims of unethical uses
of power have themselves to blame when
they chose not to become involved before
the outcome. Cults of followers are possible
only when people relinquish their own
power to an emotionally unbalanced
individual or cause.
Goals of Circle Time
The activities in Circle Time are
intended to develop the following positive
traits in the participants.
• self and other awareness and honesty,
• social emotional and intellectual growth,
• language use and ability to relate
constructively,
• a sense of belonging to a caring group,
• acknowledgment of and safe experiment
with one’s own power.
• taking responsibility for one’s thoughts
and actions
Hearing from peers
Group members develop a clearer
awareness of themselves and others. They
can also gain new insights concerning topics
of discussion. They usually grow in their
ability to verbalize their feelings and to
examine their own actions and the
consequences of those actions. They will
hear reactions of others related to their
behavior, good and bad.
Hearing from one’s peers can lead to
examination of possible alternative actions,
which could bring about more desirable
behavior. All this can lead to self-
motivated, desired behavior modification
and enhanced self-control and self-esteem --
the sensible use of one’s own power.
It’s Circle Time
When the adult in charge announces
it is Circle Time, everyone is expected to
bring their chairs, or sit on a carpet in a
cleared area of the room, in the form of a
circle. Everyone faces the center of the
circle. All papers, pencils or other objects
are to be left elsewhere, except for the adult
leader’s tools and items for activities
planned for that meeting. You might want
to try Jacques D’Amboise’s technique of
telling the children to move into the circle in
a specific number of seconds, without any
noise. Don’t forget the PRAISE when they
perform well.
Eliminate distractions, relax
The group should be as free from
distractions as possible. If interruptions are
common, plan ways to avoid them during
Circle Time. Make sure everyone went to
the bathroom at recess. Put the phone on
quiet or leave a message. Hang a sign on the
classroom door that requests no disturbance
unless there is an emergency.
The atmosphere should be relaxed.
Start off with slow, deep breathing.
Changes in activities should be brought in
gradually as the group members indicate
their ability to accept what is going on and
as the leader becomes comfortable with the
group and with this group process.
Talk about rules
Tell the children that you have some
rules that you believe will be helpful when
you are together. Follow up with having
each one think of some rule they have
already learned. Ask what traffic rules they
know and why they think those rules exist.
How about family rules, school rules,
safety rules, etc.? Say something like, “See
if you can tell me why I think this rule is
important and state one of your rules.” Tell
the children to think of rules that would help
the class in a specific way.
Make a big mindmap clustering
similar ideas together. Or make several
mindmaps with the children or even with the
parents: one for home rules, one for public
safety or government rules, one for school
rules and one for this group’s rules.
Rule number one
Only one person talks at a time. We
do not interrupt each other, but we can set
time limits on each person’s expression. In
other words, we take turns and we don’t
verbally, or otherwise, attack one another.
Sometimes it is helpful to ask group
members to listen carefully, so that they can
relate back to the speaker, what they believe
the speaker was saying before they are
permitted to jump in with their own ideas.
The relating back to the speaker what
the hearer thinks was the essence of the
speaker’s message is called “feedback”.
Feedback can become a useful tool in
helping group members understand each
other and themselves.
Circle Time agendas
Once the group is seated attentively
in a circle the leader announces what is
planned for that session and what
specifically the leader would like the
students to cover during Circle Time. Aside
from managing squabbles, which needs time
limitations, other activities chosen for Circle
Time should be open-ended, interesting
topics with no right or wrong answers. A
spinner in the center can be used to choose
who talks first. Check the member list to
make sure each one has a turn to be first.
Kim was first yesterday, so today is Amy’s
turn to start.
The adults should take part in the
activity, but they should wait to express their
ideas so as not to influence the children’s
thoughts before they’ve expressed
themselves. When time allows, members
should be allowed to give a new
interpretation based on what they have
learned during the discussion, or on another
day after mulling things over in the mind.
The Gestalt Rules of Levitsky and Perls
“The Rules and Games of Gestalt
Therapy” by Abraham Levitsky and
Frederick S. Perls, published in 1970, has
been my guide for directing Circle Time
with family or students. Following are some
of Fritz Perls’ guidelines for group
interaction shaped by my years of use in
class and home. They are rephrased in my
own words, from my own experiences, and
hopefully expressed so as to make them
more amenable for use to you. If you find
better rules, use whatever you find most
comfortable.
Owning our words
Use “I” Messages rather than “YOU”
messages and No Blaming. Rather than,
“You make me so mad.” or “Look what you
made me do.” teach the children and adults
to express their anger or other feelings as
their own and to LOOK at the PERSON you
are speaking to. Use that person’s name
when speaking to him or her.
Leader, “Tom, if you think you are
feeling angry at Juan will you say, Juan, I
feel angry with you.” instead of “You make
me angry.” This is called owning one’s
feelings. As you can see it puts quite a
different spin on the feelings and
attentiveness of both individuals.
Awakening awareness
To follow up with Tom you might
say, “Tom, perhaps you can tell Juan and the
rest of us what Juan did, which gives you
angry feelings toward him.” Tom might
then say, “I’m angry because Juan hurt my
feelings. He said I was lazy. I’m not lazy.”
From this point the leader can help
the two children to dialogue their way
through their differences without one
blaming the other. The aim is honest self-
scrutiny regarding where each one is coming
from within oneself. When this awareness is
awakened in individuals the seemingly
difficult situation between two or more
individuals will be defused and harmony
restored between those individuals as well as
in the group.
Overreactions aggravate
Look what YOU made me do, can be
expressed more civilly as, “I spilt the milk
when I tripped over your foot, Irv. Would
you please move your foot out of the path?”
If Irv answers sarcastically with something
like, “Hey Sal, next time look where you’re
going you clumsy oaf.”, then there is another
blaming situation, instead of a responsible
one, with which to work.
The leader’s job is to help Irv and the
other class members own their feelings and
be responsible for their actions. Through
this method the individuals will learn to care
for themselves and for each other. Then the
group will be rewarded with the satisfying
experience of building community.
Individuals within the group will
learn that sometimes we all jump to
conclusions, we assume something other
than what was intended, we misinterpret
someone’s message. Our reaction could be
an over-reaction because unconsciously:
1. we become defensive or
2. we’re already upset over something that
happened at another time.
Over-reactions will always aggravate any
relationship. To have better relationships we
need to find out what someone intended with
their words or actions before we react.
Leaders listen
The leader can speed up this learning
process for all members of the group by
listening carefully to each member. Then
the leader, and later on group members, can
reflect back what the speaker was trying to
say. Or the leader may ask specific
questions to guide the speaker to find
answers within his or her own capabilities.
The speaker may need and should be given
time to think through his responses.
The leader must be careful and sure
that she is not unconsciously inserting her
own feelings into a situation. The leader
must consciously attempt to be non-
judgmental, impartial and fully accepting of
each child, while attempting to instruct
members to take responsibility for their
speech and actions.
“It” doesn’t think, feel or do
Use “I” Messages instead of “IT”
Messages. Again “it” places ownership of
one’s statement outside of oneself. Who is
it? Most of us use “it” messages so often we
never think about who or what “it” is. “It’s
hot in here.”, needs to be related as “I feel
hot in here.”
When Bill says, “It’s not my fault.
It’s her fault.” Bill needs to learn to clarify
what he is talking about. What does he
mean by “it”? How is he judging fault?
Tell him to express himself without blaming
or making excuses. Speak directly to the
person called her. Help Bill identify his own
message and feelings.
The dialogue with Bill, the girl and
the leader would go like this. Bill, would
you explain what it is that you are talking
about when you say it is not my fault?
Bill might answer something like
this. “We lost the ball game because
Margaret wasn’t paying attention when I
threw the ball to her. I’m feeling angry at
her.” Leader, “Are you feeling angry or
disappointed? Are you disappointed that
your team lost this game, Bill?” Bill takes
time to think and judge whether his feelings
are more appropriately labeled
disappointment. If so, the tension has been
lowered a peg and Bill has a better handle on
his feelings.
Talk to someone
Leader, “Bill, Margaret is here.
Would you please say you instead of her and
look at Margaret’s face as you speak to her
and not speak about her? Please say what
you have to say to Margaret.” Bill says,
“Margaret, I’m disappointed that we lost the
game. I think losing the game was your
fault. I don’t think you were paying
attention when I threw the ball to you.”
After Bill directs his message
directly to Margaret, this girl should be
encouraged to respond directly to Bill. She
might tell Bill that she didn’t see the ball
because the sun was in her eyes. Whatever
happened, not catching the ball, was not
something she intended to happen. She
might tell Bill that she too is disappointed
about the game, but there will be other
games.
The leader could follow up by
having Bill and his classmates answer other
questions that could defuse similar
problems. How could you improve playing
this or other games? Is blaming a helpful
solution?
Feelings are okay
Then the leader or members may
point out the advantages gained from Bill
having expressed his disappointment to
someone in the group rather than continuing
to be angry and blaming. Margaret and
others can now commiserate with and show
empathy to Bill and to each other. They
have also cheered each other up. Bill
released his feelings peacefully, instead of
allowing them to rage inside himself.
Everybody learned that expression of
feelings in this group is okay.
Disappointment at losing a game is okay.
We can learn to express our feelings without
having to blame anyone. Blaming causes
“Us versus Them” schisms. Children are
quite amenable to common sense
explanations and to constructive ways of
relating to each other. Also, if we don’t
learn to express our disappointments
peacefully, we may blow up at the wrong
people or at the wrong time. Discuss the
“kick the dog” syndrome. How does poor
anger control lead to crimes like “road
rage”?
I am not we or you or one
Use “I” instead of “WE, YOU or
One” Messages. The use of “I” advances
personal responsibility for my actions.
Saying “We” instead of “I” is another
common method for misplacement of
personal responsibility. “We were just
kidding. We didn’t mean to hurt him.”
Also many people disown their
power by saying “you” or “one” when they
mean “I”. A man being interviewed about
his fear of flying said, “You feel powerless.”
He was not acknowledging his own out of
control feelings, the core of his own fear. A
woman said, “One supposes that is true.” Or
“One would not want to appear foolish.”
What is she really saying? What’s behind
the common use of “You know”? What is
someone not admitting to when he says,
“You know”.
In all of these statements, no one
takes responsibility for the action or feeling,
so no one feels remorse for hurtful actions or
in touch with his or her own feelings or
desires. Each one needs to accept their
personal responsibility for his or her
involvement, even in a group action. “I was
just kidding. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
Now I feel something personally. “I feel
powerless when someone else is flying the
plane” “I feel foolish if I wear a hat.” “Do
you know what I’m feeling when ….?”
We don’t talk about, but to people
This is the No-gossiping rule. No
gossiping is permitted in the group
meetings. This means that no one may talk
about someone who is not present or who is
present. If the person is present, the speaker
talks to that person directly. Instead of
gossip like, “Mary didn’t do her work last
night.” The speaker must say this to Mary if
she is present. The leader says to the one
who gossips, “Please look at Mary and
repeat what you want to say to Mary.”
Or if Mary’s not present, the
statement is NOT allowed. The speaker is
reminded “We don’t talk about people, only
to them. If the person isn’t here, wait until
she is here.” Members need to be taught to
make visual and verbal contact with others
and they should explore how that contact
makes them feel inside. What feelings are
awakened in you when you talk directly to
someone? If you feel some anxiety at first
that’s okay. Practice will improve one’s
comfort with this important relationship
ability.
No gossiping outside the group, either
Since the group members need to
feel secure and comfortable within the
group, no one wants to be talked about
outside the group. The rule is that no
gossiping about anything or anyone in
WARM meetings is allowed outside the
meeting. During a group session, each
member needs to confirm to the others that
she doesn’t want to be talked about outside
of Circle Time. In turn, each member
promises that he or she will not talk about
anyone in the group, outside of the group.
Discuss how talking about the members
outside the group affects the trust within the
group.
To whom are you speaking?
There is to be no “Talking to the
Air.” If someone says, “This is stupid.” or
“This is boring.” ask them to whom they are
saying these statements. Tell them to direct
their message to someone. Then tell them to
repeat the statement using the name of the
person to whom they are talking. Only then
can they make contact or become aware of
what they are really feeling.
When Dina says, “This is boring.”
Say, “Dina, direct your words to someone.”
To whom are you saying, “This is boring”?
Instead of, “This is boring or stupid.” say, “I
feel bored, or I feel stupid.” Why not
express how “stupid” feels to you. Is this
how you feel sometimes? Always direct
your statement to someone. You know
what, Angie? I feel stupid right now. We
accept our power with responsibility for our
statements and actions.
I can’t vs. I won’t
Instead of, “I can’t do this.”, say “I
won’t do this.” Repeat each statement a
couple of times until you know which one is
correct for you. Say, “I can’t. I can’t. I
can’t.” and then, “I won’t. I won’t. I
won’t.” to see which fits your actual feelings
best. Then perhaps this child could add
some movement or exaggerate natural
movement changes that occur with each
statement.
“I can’t.” is not very empowering
whereas, “I won’t.” is all power. See if this
child (or adult) can express in actions the
differences felt between, “I can’t.” and “I
won’t.” Most often some form of physical
exercise and possibly making loud sounds,
in a safe place, can help rid us of pent-up
emotions and help us find our personal
power.
Present tense, here and now
Keep your statements in the present
tense. This is referred to as “staying in the
now.” The leader or one group member
might ask another “What are you feeling,
NOW. Or, What are you aware of, NOW?”
We don’t talk about things that happened or
of something that might happen. We talk
about what is happening, now. Now is all
we can control or manage.
What is going on with you, now?
Instead of fearing what might happen in the
future, be there now. Use movement and
imagination. Imagine the scene. Act that
scene out and see if feelings change or if you
can make changes that feel more
comfortable. This play-acting now can help
you check out what you fear in the future.
You can work out your fears so that they
disappear.
Taking back control
The base line of Perls’ guidelines is
to help people lose their “deadness”, to
become aware of what they are feeling,
thinking, doing, now, in order to take back
control of their lives and become “alive”
again. Perls called this process, “the
Awareness Continuum.” We ask ourselves
and each other, “What are you aware of,
now?” in order to get away from too many
words and rationalizations and get back to
our senses, our experience.
The awareness of our senses and our
perceptions is the source of our certain
knowledge about ourselves and about our
environment. This awareness, staying in the
present, provides the perception we need, so
that we understand better what we are doing
and how we are doing it. What does your
voice sound like now? Are you acting the
part of a victim? Be the victim, then move
to the opposite side and be the one to whom
the victim is talking. How do feel when you
change roles now? When are you in touch
with your power?
Change questions to statements
 No manipulative questions are
permitted during Circle Time. Tell the
questioner to change their question to a
statement. If someone asks, “Why are we
doing this?” Ask the person to change their
question to a statement. They might say, “I
don’t want to do this.” “I’m bored now.”
Children need to learn how to listen to each
other, especially if no one really listens to
them. Most people don’t know how to talk
directly to each other and most don’t know
how to listen. These skills need to be taught.
Working on feedback helps.
Other examples of manipulative
questions follow. Why is he doing that?
How come we have to close our eyes?
What’s the matter with her? When are we
going to be finished? I’m sure you can help
children change questions like these to I
statements. Some questions are supportive
and permitted such as, What are you feeling
now? Where is the power, now?
As much as possible, stay away from
questions that start with, “Why?” The only
plausible answer to “Why?” is, “Because, or
I don’t know.”
Owning our power
Comfort rebellious spirits. If group
members say something like, “I don’t want
to talk about my feelings.”, reassure them.
No problem. No one can force you to do
anything against your will and no one here
wants to force you, in any way. Encourage
each individual to become aware of his or
her, own will and power and to own it.
Once we own our power we can be more
aware of how we use our power, now.
When we are aware of how we are using our
power we can then take responsibility for
how we want to use this power. We are also
aware of attempts to control. Thus, a no-win
situation.
Gestalt dialogue games
Gestalt work engages any number of
what Perls called “games”. These are games
of dialogue meant to bring about a more
integrated functioning of a human being.
People polarize themselves as well as issues.
We feel that we have a good side and a bad
side, or a lover and a fighter, and so on.
Top dog, bottom dog
Perls called one game, Top dog
versus bottom dog. These are both parts of
ourselves. The top dog is usually bossy,
demanding, condemning, full of shoulds.
The bottom dog is playing the part of the
victim, whining, making excuses, delaying
action, avoiding responsibility. Each is
trying to control the other. The idea is to get
the two polarities, the two sides of oneself,
into a dialogue with each other with the aim
of having the person become aware that both
sides exist within oneself. The person then
becomes aware of which side plays the
dominant role within her or him self. Then
she or he can attempt to work out a better
compromise between these two sides of the
self in order to get on with life.
Gestalt acting games
In a similar way, a person can role-
play her projection. “No one really cares.”
Be the person who doesn’t care. Or, “I can’t
trust anybody.” Play the part of the
untrustworthy person. In this way we can
discover our own inner conflict, what it is
that we dislike in ourselves. We can begin
to see choices and integrate a part of
ourselves that we have here-to-fore
projected onto others.
Another, similar game is “Playing
reversals”. “I’m stupid.” Play the really
smart person. Exaggeration is often used to
help a person become aware of something
that appears on the surface to be
insignificant. When a person is swinging
her foot, or tapping his fingers, you might
suggest that they exaggerate that movement,
perhaps to the point where their whole body,
mind and voice are involved, and they
become aware of what feelings evolve from
that movement.
Show us
Sometimes we can use action in
place of words when we are out of touch
with the meanings of our own words. The
leader or another group member might
suggest that the person act out what bad
feels like. Can you show us how it is for
you to feel bad? When the person can move
to express a feeling, that person can often
get back in touch with the feeling and even
with who or what “it” is. Sometimes the
awareness comes slowly, but just asking the
person to clarify his expression can start the
unraveling of meaning.
No pressuring
At no time should group members be
forced to move beyond a point of their own
security. Encouragement is helpful,
whereas, pressure can be hurtful and cause
one to withdraw. Remember, we may
appreciate insight and learning, but no one
can force it on us. We need to retain control
of our own decisions and our own timing.
Each one’s attempts to verbalize
need to be accepted without positive or
negative reaction from the leader. The
leader may clarify the student’s expressions,
or ask questions that may help the students
clarify their own expressions by providing
active listening skills. E.g.: “I hear you
saying that you might be afraid to take any
action. Is that what you meant?” The
students should also ask each other
questions for clarification. At the same
time, frequent or irrelevant interruptions are
to be avoided. Activities need to be planned
with variety and student interest in mind.
Safe environment for full expression
Safe methods should have been
worked out with the group to provide for the
safe release of anger, sadness, laughter and
love. There needs to be someplace where
every person feels safe to express their
feelings, before they are expressed in baffled
rage, and on innocent people. Each group
member must also feel safe. See pressure
release valves under SMAT, punching
pillows, stomping and yelling together
outside where no one else will be disturbed,
et cetera.
As leader, don’t be afraid to practice
and don’t be afraid to ask supportive persons
for guidance. When the group or any
member seems to be getting out of hand,
STOP THE MEETING. Say we’ll return to
this issue, after we’ve calmed down, or after
we’ve had time to think things over.
The presence of a co-leader, or just
another objective, supportive adult in the
meeting can be a big benefit. This isn’t
always possible so we must do our best to
remember our own guidelines of breathing
deeply and calmly, of admitting our own
confusion and/or need to withdraw.
Need for withdrawal
There was a time for me when
stopping the meeting and thinking things
over was needed. Instead, I reacted without
thinking through the consequences of my
hasty decision. The students wanted a break
from the work atmosphere of our classroom.
This atmosphere had been set in stone by the
principal. My commiserations were with the
children and I encouraged them to write
letters stating their feelings. Writing out
feelings is a great way to release them. But
that release should be within the group or
done privately. My huge mistake was in not
clearly comprehending that fact at that time.
Parents and administration were soon
involved. The principal was furious. He
forced me to abandon Circle Time and told
me I was unfit to teach. His reaction was
even more impulsive and destructive than
mine. The children were equally upset with
the consequences of their power. They had
not wanted the disbanding of the class and
they felt guilty.
There is an example of a great “If
only.” That situation could easily have been
avoided had I said, “Let’s hold on to our
letters and think over any consequences
before we come to any conclusions. We’ll
schedule another meeting tomorrow.”
Everyone needs times of withdrawal
as well as contact. Perhaps, there’s a feeling
of confusion, or of just being tired or
overwhelmed. You can tell them to close
their eyes, concentrate on their breathing and
go in their minds to a place where they feel
secure, safe, or comfortable. They could
describe that place, the scene, the feelings
and when they feel ready, they can come
back to the group or class.
Integration
One of gestalt work’s activities
which was easy to use and especially
effective with students and with my own
children, and even with myself, was the
game of role playing the dialogue and
actions of the opposing polarities of a
situation. The objective of the role-playing
is to bring the two polarities of our own
creation into our awareness and to find a
place within ourselves where we can allow
for the presence of each side. In other words
we learn to integrate parts of our
personalities, which we have somehow
learned to deny.
The monster nightmare
One night, when my son was nine
years old, he awoke, quite frightened. He
said that he had a scary nightmare in which a
monster was trying to get him. I told Ken
that I would be the monster and that he
should talk to me as the monster.
Confronting me as the monster was better
than confronting his imagination or nothing.
“Ask the monster what he wants”, I said.
“Then, if you want to, you can tell the
monster to go away and leave you alone.”
“What did the monster say?”, I
asked. Ken began to direct the scene from
his imagination. When I sounded too gruff,
Ken told me how to be the monster, more
gentle like. We carried on a little dialogue
with Ken’s direction until Ken told me that
the monster just wanted to be his friend.
“The monster didn’t mean to scare me,” Ken
said. “He was a friendly monster.”
Well that was the end of that
nightmare, forever. The important thing to
note here is that I did not try to interpret
Ken’s dream for him. I let him reveal his
own dream for himself. This is one of the
things that I love about gestalt work. With
an objective, supportive person to guide us,
we can make our own very important
discoveries which have a far more lasting
effect on us than anything anyone can tell
us, especially advice. Discovery is a
hallmark of all good education. So is
patience.
Personal responsibility
Recall some goals of the warm,
inclusive group, WIG, or Circle Time as
self-awareness, taking responsibility for our
own thoughts and actions and learning to
relate in constructive ways.
It is to be able to say, “I am in control. I
am not a victim. I don’t need to blame
others.” We can learn that our angry
feelings most often come from our, possibly
unreal expectations that we put upon
ourselves, or on to others. We can learn the
difference between shoulds and realities,
what we would like and what is. When we
learn to manage our expectations, we can
lower the level of our resentments and
frustrations. We can not take it upon
ourselves to tell another what he or she is
feeling, or thinking. We can speak only for
ourselves. For instance, we might say, “I
hear anger in your voice. Is that what you’re
feeling?” “I notice that your voice becomes
weaker when you say that. Were you
feeling weaker when you said that? Where
did you leave your power?”
We could attempt to find humor in a
situation, to laugh with, not at another.
Comedians know that exaggerating some
characteristic to the point of being ridiculous
can be insightful and very funny. Try it.
We can learn to love ourselves with our
imperfections. It is absolutely okay to be
imperfect. What the heck is “perfect”
anyway?
Gripes and Appreciations
When I started Circle Time, I called
it time for “gripes and appreciation”. For
every complaint one person had against
another, I asked each one to come up with
something appreciative that they could tell
that person. If gripes seemed to pile up
against any individual, at any particular
meeting, I would insist that each of us take a
turn and tell that individual something that
we appreciated or liked about him.
There were times when appreciations
for some individuals were hard to come by,
but even if it were the color of his shirt, we
each tried to say something positive and
different than what others had said. Of
course, it was totally acceptable to offer an
appreciation without a gripe. The students
soon became more aware than they had ever
been of kindness and caring behavior.
Things I know now
Sometimes, I asked my students to
relate some things they had learned in class
during a particular period. Recently I came
across the papers of five students who wrote
out their answers. The statement for
consideration by the students was “What I
know about myself now, that I didn’t know
six weeks ago.” The answers of one eleven-
year old student are quoted, as written.
These answers are similar to those of others.
“I dinn know I kood work with grils
and boys. I dinn know I could do my math
in Nov. and now I can. When Lois started
the bioenergetics, I thot they were so
stoopid, I whit home laft and now I know
they hlep me a lot. I dinn know that whin
you make something you are prat [part] of it.
Whin Lois told as [us] to kloz are aiz [our
eyes] it flat skare [felt scary]. It hlep me
panch ploz. [It helped me to punch pillows.]
It was funny whin I got to hold the pillows
because I would coll them naemes. [Kids
took turns holding large pillows for pillow-
punchers. Both holders and punchers could
yell.] and then I would punch that much
harder. It was a scary feeling. I was afraid
of getting hit. Lois can help me by loving
me. I can help meslef by not bening a
bulling.” [I can help myself by not being a
bully.]
This boy was larger than his
classmates. He also had a quick temper.
He had been a belligerent bully. He learned
to take his aggression and anger out on large
pillows. As you can see, he was learning
more caring behaviors in a relatively short
time.
Awareness vs. habit
Education is about awareness, the
light in the darkness, insight. Before we can
expect improvement and change in behavior,
we must be aware, conscious of, our present
stance. We are unable to move in a new
direction if we have no conception of our
present status. Awareness can lead to
understanding. Understanding is not
available to us without awareness. To be
aware is to be in touch, in the present, to be
insightful, concerning what behavior or
choices are within our grasp. It is not
something we can force within ourselves,
nor foist upon another. Each must come to
personal awareness in one’s own time.
Habit is unaware, unconscious,
behavior. To blame others, to take an us
versus them stance, is habit. With habit, our
motives or behavior are not clearly thought
out. Political or commercial propaganda is a
conscious attempt to keep people unaware of
a true perception, the full picture.
The perception of our own behavior
is seldom fully available to us. We are
creatures of habit and rationalizations. Once
we receive the input that leads to an honest
and acceptable appraisal of how we are
perceived, new choices are open to us. We
become aware. We understand. We can
now choose a different course.
They saw and changed what they saw
An illustration of receiving
awareness and choosing a different behavior
follows. In the early 1970’s, when
camcorders were cumbersome reel-to-reel
tape recorders with camera attached, they
allowed for little if any mobility of the
camera-person. Even so, I used such a
camcorder set-up, on several occasions, to
provide excellent feedback to my students.
Our classroom had special one-way glass
windows on one wall, facing the
playground. Everything outside this window
could be seen clearly from inside, but it was
difficult for others to look into the room
through this special window.
During recess, one sunny day, I set
up the recorder on a rolling table. I held the
camera, leaned on the counter inside the
window, and began recording the actions of
my students outside on the playground.
After recess, when the students returned to
class, they sat and watched themselves on
the monitor. I made no critical remarks or
preachments. The youngsters became
somewhat subdued as they watched
themselves kicking, punching, yelling and
fighting with one another. The very next
day their behavior on the playground had
changed dramatically and permanently.
Once these children perceived
themselves, clearly and thought about what
they saw, they realized that they no longer
wanted to be perceived that way. They
could now choose to change their behavior.
But these choices were possible because we
had spent months in Circle Time. If seeing
one video of themselves was the totality of
their experience in this matter, it isn’t
realistic to think the children could be so
desirous to change their behavior.
Awareness does not remove
frustrations, but it gives us more options
from which to choose when we need to deal
with those frustrations. This partial list,
(mostly borrowed) of alternatives to lashing
out, is for any of us adults or children, who
feel our frustration rising to the boiling
point.
Peaceful Alternatives to Lashing Out
1. Take a deep breath. Step away, sit
down. Concentrate on slow breathing
until calmness is restored.
2. Think, “I’m FOR Peace. I want peace. I
choose peace.”
3. Close your eyes and imagine how you
would feel if someone in authority
berated and lashed out at you. What
does it do to you if you’re screamed at,
kicked or hit by someone you depended
upon for love and protection? Then
imagine yourself in a lovely garden, etc.
4. Lips together, breathe in slowly and
deeply, filling your lungs like a balloon.
Lips open, let all that air out and relax.
Repeat this breathing 4 or 5 times.
5. Count to twenty, recite a poem or
prayer.
6. Use a “time out” which means to remove
the child or yourself from the situation by
going to a pre-set, secure place to calm
down. With children, time outs consist
of one minute for each year of age.
7. When calm, provide for each side of the
conflict to be calmly heard. Aim for a
solution acceptable to all the parties
involved. Do not expect that the conflict
will vanish without confronting its cause.
Use I messages and no blaming.
8. Get away from the stressful situation.
Take slow breaths. Talk to someone.
Phone a friend, or phone time. Breathe
and walk.
9. If at home, take a warm bath or shower.
If at school, splash your face with cold
water.

10. When possible, go outside for a walk, or
do some jumping jacks or other
exercises.
11. Hug a pillow, or favorite toy. Punch and
yell at a solid pack of pillows.
12. Turn on favorite music or songs and
sing along, (unobtrusively, for others.)
13. Write down your thoughts, or as many
helpful words as you can think of. You
may want to keep this list for a
reference.
14. Take a large sheet of paper and crayons
and express your feelings on the paper.
Yell, sing, or accompany your drawing
with sounds and actions, if that helps.
15. If you are tired, lie down for twenty
minutes. Make sure that your children
understand and cooperate with your
need to rest. If a nap doesn’t work, lie
down just to put your feet up for five
minutes. Remember to breathe slowly
and deeply. Think peace. Think a song.
16. Munch on something hard, like an apple,
carrot or celery. Concentrate on the
experience.
17. Look through magazines, photos or
books. Work on a scrapbook.
18. Water plants or work in a garden.
19. Seek comfort with a pet.
20. Play favorite music and dance or do fun
exercises.
21. Write a list of things for which you are
thankful. Young children can draw
some of their favorite things.
22. A great bio-energetics exercise for a
whole group. Go where you won’t
disturb others. As you breathe in, lift
one foot. Let the breath out and stamp
your foot down as you say, “I”. Lift the
other foot as you breathe in. Yell,
“won’t” as you breathe out and stamp
that foot down. The idea is to
coordinate breathing with action and
yelling. As you continue, get your whole
body involved in this exercise. You can
substitute other pairs of words that come
up for you as you continue to breathe
and stamp out your frustrations. My
students loved this exercise. It seemed
to rid us of stress and freed us into fun
and laughter.
One for family, one for class
Keep this list of options in view.
Add to it, more activities that help you and
others relieve stress so that you avoid
hurting others or being hurt by others.
When children are stressed, tell them to
choose one of these options that fits the
situation and provide the opportunity for
them to work through their stress without
hurting others or themselves. Provide each
family or classroom with such a list for use
at home as well as at school.
Circle Time action activ ities
Following are a few successful
Circle time activities involving action.
1. This “game” is called “You are that.”
Have the children bring something from
home, which is especially meaningful to
them. Have each one take a turn talking
as if they were that object. Say someone
brings in a baseball. That person would
say, “I am this ball.” The leader helps
by saying, “Describe what it’s like being
this kind of ball. How are you like this
ball? Tell us things that you become
aware of in yourself as that ball. How
are you hard or round? Show us.”
2. Which animal are you? From old
wildlife magazines, have the children cut
out an animal, bird or reptile with which
they can identify. Encourage expression
of how they identify with their animal.
Record or write their descriptions.
3. Animal collage. After the children
express themselves as the animal they’ve
chosen, suggest that the group make a
collage of everyone’s animals, which
can be exhibited on a wall. Let them
draw or paint in the scenery around their
animals. Encourage quiet animal noises.
4. Moving alone in territory. Have the
group close their eyes as you tell them to
imagine that they are their animals
wandering about feeling secure.
5. Reaction to encounter. When another
animal comes into their territory, “How
would they react to this intrusion? Give
them time to imagine this encounter.
Then have them come back to the group
and tell about their experiences. Discuss
the various options available to them.
Reminder. Most animals don’t hurt each
other, unless they are predator and prey.
6. If I were a color I would choose to be.....
Describe the ways you would move or
which things you would fill in with your
color. How would your color influence
this room, your friends, and so forth?
I hug better
When we used Dr. Alexander
Lowen’s “Bioenergetics”, we often closed
group activities with group hugs. Group
hugs are politically safe and they provide us
with confirmation of our positive presence
in the world. Most people need hugs.
Another twelve-year old boy’s written
comments about his learning experiences in
the WARM classroom are these.
“I think I work better and I read
better. I do math. I get in touch with
myself. I love better. I tell about my
feelings. I tell my problems and I hug
better.”
Brainstorming
Some other Circle Time activities
could revolve around hypothetical events,
such as, “What would you do if....?” Each
one tells what they think they would do if
suddenly confronted with an emergency or
some situation that requires creative problem
solving. The group could effectively use
“brainstorming” to come up with various
solutions. Brainstorming is a method
whereby group members voice anything that
comes to mind as a possible solution to the
problem at hand, with no pre-judgment of
any suggestion. Then the group members go
through the list to figure out which
possibilities offer the best solutions to the
problem.
A good situation for students to
brainstorm about was, “What would you do
if you woke one night in a smoke filled
house?” This is one where we learn from
each other, and when time permits, each can
take a second turn to improve on the first
answer.
Several Circle Time sessions could
be used successively for continuing an
activity that remains interesting, when it will
build confidence and ability in expression
and when thinking in new ways is
engendered.
The Sunshine Box
A very different successful activity
initiated with students was “The Sunshine
Box”. A tissue sized box or coffee can was
covered or decorated for this purpose. Cut a
¼-inch by a two- or three-inch slit in the
cover and place it on your desk or other
handy and safe place. Cut several 8 1/2 x 11
inch papers into four parts and place them
beside the box. The children, my aide, and I
would try to notice kind behavior performed
during the week by class members,
anywhere in the vicinity.
We would each write a note about
something that any person did during that
day or week that made us happy or grateful.
We signed our notes, folded them twice,
wrote the person’s name on top and dropped
each note into Our “Sunshine Box”.
 Many of the youngsters drew
pictures with less writing. We would write
and draw these notes any day of the week,
but we took a specific thirty minutes or so
every Friday after lunch when everyone was
expected to write sunshine notes. Ana and I
made sure that we each wrote one note to
each student so that everyone would get at
least two positive notes each week.
Something to look forward to
Opening the box was something
good to look forward to at the end of each
week. I can’t recall anyone needing to leave
the room or go out early on Friday
afternoons. Near the end of each Friday
afternoon we would sit in a circle. Then I
would open the “Sunshine Box” and read
aloud the Sunshine Notes and hand them to
each recipient. Everyone looked forward to
this activity and the longer we did this, the
better the notes and the behavior became. It
was better than Valentine’s Day. Ana and I
still have some of those precious notes that
our students wrote and drew for us. Those
children treasured their Sunshine notes,
which they always took home to share with
their families. This made their families
smile too.
Rewards
Another area of class or family
management is the set up of a reward and
recognition system. Many such systems
have I tried, both as parent and as teacher.
Many are time consuming and stressful in
use for parent, teacher and youngsters. One
system that was manageable for me and
meaningful for students was the use of graph
paper patterns. These square patterns are
easy to outline, to cut and to paste in student
notebooks.
Clarify the goal to strive for
The students and I would clarify the
goal for which we were striving. There
would be one square or rectangle of boxes or
other shape for each goal area. This pattern
was pasted on or in the student’s notebook
titled with the subject or activity and a box
was initialed by the teacher when a
particular daily assignment was completed.
The notebook was one in which the student
and teacher kept track of their daily
accomplishments. The notebooks provided
each with some privacy. Students taught me
that they don’t like charts that compare their
progress with someone else’s. They would
prefer to compete only against themselves,
privately.

Teacher participation with child
Such a chart for each student assures
each that they can move, in many areas, at
their own comfortable pace. The
recognition of completion of the task by the
leaders initial in a particular box or pattern
piece gave students extra motivation to
complete their set of boxes for a special
privilege or prize. The teacher’s initials also
confirm the teacher’s interest in and caring
for each student. This interaction is a
priority -- a must -- to engender continued
effort on the student’s part. Also used were
Super Star cards and certificates for
completion of larger tasks, which students
could take home to inform parents of special
accomplishments.
Renew challenge and energy
Success and accomplishment renew
energy and outlook. Besides having long
range goals, set short-term goals in which
each student would experience some success
each day. Those goals need to be attainable,
but not without effort. It is important for
teacher and students to see each day as a
new day with new goals, not just another
catch-up day.
You may want to set aside one day a
week for catch-up work. We did this on
Fridays before Sunshine Notes. Besides
daily reviews of previous learning to prepare
for new learning, catch-up days allow for
resetting goals in line with accomplishments
so that there will be renewed energy for
more accomplishments along a specific goal
area.
Recognition through responsibility
Another way to give children
recognition is to give them special
responsibilities. You may elect to have a
weekly captain who would be your special
assistant and who could choose a friend to
be his or her special helper.
The captain for the week would be
the one to pass out items, including papers,
paints, whatever and maybe water plants or
help the adult in charge in other ways. They
could also earn credits for this responsibility.
The idea is to aim for flexibility and fun
along with the responsibilities and the
studies.
Stress reduction for teachers
As teachers, you try to reduce
underlying anxieties in students, parents and
in the administration. Finding ways to
reduce stress and underlying anxieties for
yourself as the leader, the teacher, the
parent, is especially valuable. Maximize the
accomplishments, the good things that
happen in your class, at home, wherever.
Set them up in big words and pictures for
everybody to see. Brag, brag, brag. School
can be a lot of work, but it can also be a lot
of fun when you are able to plan the
activities for the day, the week, or the year
and see positive results. The rewards for
teachers and students, as with parents and
Graph Paper Reward and Tracking Systems
These squares and rectangles for
keeping track of progress in just about any
area, are easy to make, cut and paste on or
inside workbook covers. They provide easy
access for instructor, parent and student
when the adult’s initials in a box is signifies
completion of a task. This system allows for
student privacy and it is less easy to forge
adult initials or to take credits from others as
happens with other systems. Special stickers
or other rewards can be worked toward and
offered when a chart is complete.
This system allows for immediate
gratification, notice of work completed, and
their children, when goals are accomplished
and relationships improved are the best
anywhere.
progress toward delayed gratification and
build-up of an internal reward system.
Place the child’s name and date or
week on all rewards. With the 2½inch
square folded into triangles, initial one
triangle as an item is completed. Allow
children to color in initialed areas as they are
completed. With the 3inch square
encompassing a circle folded into 12 analog
clock spaces, Move clockwise starting
between 12 and 1 with initials. The student
will begin to mentally identify spaces and
clockwise directions and numerals.

Chapter 5. SIR: Sensing, Imaging and Relaxation: The Auditory Sense
Wonderment
Have you ever watched a toddler
when she is experiencing something for the
first time in her life? You can not help
being taken in and reawakened in mind and
spirit by this experience. The actions of all
babies, animal as well as human, revive our
own wonderment as they awaken our
perceptions, to the environment we have
long taken for granted.
As a tiny, red ladybug crawls across
the sunny windowsill, the little girl is fully
engaged with all her senses, as she single-
mindedly watches the ladybug travel along
the smooth surface as if it were rolling. Her
enraptured face, her vocal noises and
hesitantly reaching hand express her
concentration on this little, moving creature.
She tries to touch it, but the ladybug flies a
short hop away. The child is surprised and
delighted. She laughs and you have to smile
too.
Sensory groundwork for learning
The orange juice spills over the tray
and plump little hands ecstatically slide
through the slippery, colorful liquid. Then
they bring the sweet taste and smell to her
open mouth, tongue and nose.
Twelve-month old Nancy’s curiosity
and energy, for getting into everything she
saw and could get her hands on was
unstoppable. Her hands were literally on or
into everything. One morning, after having
gone through the routine of getting toddler
Nancy and her 34 month old sister, washed,
dressed and fed and the kitchen cleaned,
mom went to take care of her own needs.
On returning to the kitchen, Nancy was
standing on a chair leaning over the table
where the covered butter dish and sugar
bowl had been left. Big mistake. The table,
the floor, the chairs and Nancy were
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smeared and strewn with her butter-sugar
sensory hand painting and tasting
experiment. She met mom’s eyes with a
wide grin. What was a great learning and
fun experience for Nancy made her mother
groan as she went to work cleaning up again.
Would you believe that while mom was
cleaning the kitchen, Nancy busied herself at
the sewing machine drawers in Mom’s
bedroom, dumping them, pulling out all
contents and tangling threads and everything
else.
Boundless vs. limited energy
It seemed to her mom that Nancy’s
senses were working overtime. Mom sure
was. Yet, in fact, all that busy handiwork
of: sliding through juice, spilling and feeling
grainy sugar, squeezing soft butter and
“painting” table, chairs and self with the
sweet mix, and always tasting throughout all
of her experiments, was rich groundwork for
new sensation comparisons. This can only
be said calmly because of the many years
between then and now.
Base of the pyramid
Discovering with our senses is the
base of the pyramid of all of our learning.
We adults need to take the time needed to
ensure success in learning how much our
senses inform us. We can have lots of fun
along the way. A strong base of reference
among all the senses needs to be established
before mentioning alphabet letter names and
symbols. Children who learn by rote
memory, such as reciting the alphabet, have
little insight, which they can transfer to new
situations regarding letters. You will surely
have nothing to lose and everything to gain
if you will be brave and put away your
alphabet cards just long enough to cover a
few sensory integration activities.
Making connections in the brain
When children draw on information
they have established in their brains, they
are able to gain new insights. E.g. Kohler’s
chimpanzees were able to build a tower of
boxes to reach their high target because they
had experimented with and knew the
qualities of their boxes. E.g.: The boxes
could be carried or moved. They could hold
the chimp’s weight. With that knowledge
accepted, new ideas were tried.
This is the structuring of the learning
paths in the brain. These are the basics, the
sensory knowledge gained through
experiment, that will be used many times
over and become automatic. This includes
the integration of the senses, the eye-hand
coordination, the physical balance, the sense
memories, et cetera.
Interconnectedness in the brain
Although the senses most related to
learning are presented here as separate
systems, in the brain they are interconnected
and awash in emotions. The greater the
number of meaningful interconnections, the
better this is for the memory. The
following lesson suggestions, dealing with
one sense at a time, are meant to remind us
that our senses are the base of every pyramid
of learning. Senses lead by way of
discovery.
Suggestions not lesson plans
The suggestions are not intended to
be complete lessons. Activities are
described and objectives noted for the
pursuit of basic sensory and cognitive
knowledge. The various ideas listed should
be helpful in structuring the learning process
so as to attain the stated objectives. These
suggestions can be used by anyone who is
encouraging the learning process in children
of various ages.
The Auditory Sense, hearing is learning
The main objective of this lesson is
to discover how much we learn through our
auditory systems. The auditory system
consists of the outer, middle and inner ears,
the auditory nerves and auditory reception
and connection areas of our brains.
Another objective of this lesson is to
provide youngsters with a foundation for
discriminating differences between similar
sounds, e.g.: sounds of cars approaching and
cars moving away in relation to the hearer.
A third objective is to encourage
children to use their vocal apparatus for
making more precise sound imitations
without feeling especially self-conscious
during the process. The vocal cords, the
spoken languages and the language centers
of our brains are intimately tied to the
auditory system.
Activities for auditory learning
Items needed for nature walks
Take the students on nature walks to
stimulate their senses, however, wherever
and whenever possible. If not nature walks,
improvise. Taking the items listed helps.
1. Your pad and pen
2. Pads and crayons or pencils for the
children
3. A portable tape recorder with tape and
batteries for later recall
4. A stopwatch for activity timing
5. Your mindmap or list of your plans.
When all of you arrive at your
destination, tell the students that all of you
are going to be very still for short, timed
periods while listening to discover the
sounds in their immediate environment.
They are to try to detect the source and
meaning of each external sound. Using your
stopwatch, give short 30-second trials for
listening. At the end of each listening phase,
the students take turns to tell the larger or
smaller group or a team member, some
sound they heard and what they think was
happening to cause that sound. When

desirable, write down or record the many
different sounds with identifying memory
stories or phrases that coincide with the
sounds they were able to identify in those 30
seconds. Using your stopwatch, give one
minute for each student to tell another what
he/she experienced by listening intently.
Once a sound is named, the children
are to try to imitate those sounds. Then they
try to locate other, different sounds that
haven’t been already identified. In other
words, don’t name every car that passes, but
listen to differences in car sounds or other
differences like those of various species of
birds, e.g. a crow, pigeon or robin. If they
heard birds, could they make sounds similar
to those birds? Did they hear cars, planes,
sirens, animals? Voices? What else can
they hear if they really concentrate?
Mystery sound clues
For the next game tell them to
imagine that they are detectives in the black
of night trying to solve a mystery through
sound clues. Tell them to close their eyes
while listening so that they can really
concentrate, without distractions, only on
sounds in the environment. Then they go
back to listening, plus telling of new or
different hearing experiences with eyes
closed.
Build up time spent listening without
making any sounds themselves. Go to 45
seconds, then 60 seconds. Tell the children
to find out if by listening only, they can
answer the following questions.
• Where were different sounds coming
from?
• How far away were some sounds?
• Could they tell by the sound how fast
cars, buses, whatever, were moving?
• Were sound producers approaching or
leaving your location?
• Can they imitate some moving sounds?
Then have them look and listen to
confirm or learn where sounds truly are
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coming from, how close, how far. They can
compare their perceptions to reality and
check their own accuracy. When children
learn to discriminate between different
sounds and sound location, they can build on
that knowledge in innumerable ways.
Who is walking by?
Another time, go to a place where
people are walking. Tell the children to
close their eyes again, be silent for timed
periods, then take turns attempting to
identify the different sounds of various
people walking. Have some students try to
repeat a walking pattern they heard and
suggest how someone with that pattern
might walk. What kinds of information
have they gained from this exercise that they
were unaware of earlier?
Can they tell from the sound what
types of surfaces the people they heard
might be walking on, or what kind of shoes
they were wearing? Compare the sound of
walking or running on earth to running on
sidewalks. How do sounds differ on wet
places as compared to dry? What else
makes different walking or running sounds?
Rhythms
What rhythms and accented beats are
they hearing? Can they repeat those
rhythms and accented beats with their own
feet, with handclaps or voices? Make
movements to match accents and rhythms.
Then try to make the sounds of
nature, rain coming down slowly - drip, drip,
drip. Then make the sounds faster, then a
big storm with wind, with thunder and
lightning. Encourage movement and
awareness of various and different rhythms.
Another time, show a video of Gene Kelly
dancing to “Singing in the Rain”. Discuss
how the rain, the music and the dancing
blend into each other. Before you know it,
you may be training future stand-up
comedians and storytellers. Learning needs
to be fun. This is a time when seeming to be
silly, as long as it encompasses the auditory
objectives, can easily be accommodated.
Return and review
Following outdoor or nature
detective adventures, return to class running,
hopping or skipping, so as to use up some
stored up energy. Have the children sit in a
circle and tell something each learned about
sounds and their hearing abilities. Give each
student one-minute on the stopwatch to tell
his/her story of being a sound detective.
Review the list of sounds you recorded
during the trip to stimulate auditory
memory. Let each one express his/her own
experience in complete sentences and in
short story form. Help them only as needed
with associations. There should be various
and different stories. Exaggeration and
movement are okay. So is laughter.
Human ear
How we hear
With the objective of understanding
something about what sound is and how
humans and animals hear sound don’t be
afraid of anatomy. Show them drawings of
the ear and the brain. Also include the
mouth, vocal cords and the brain’s language
center in the left hemisphere. Explain sound
vibrations. Explain how sound waves move
out from their source in concentric circles.
These sound circles are similar to those
circles formed in water when you drop a
pebble in the liquid. Show them.
Ranges of sounds and of hearing
Most will now be ready to learn
more about sound. The discovery exercise
awakens their curiosity. How come we
can’t see sound or wind? Mostly, because it
is like our breath, which is air moving
through the invisible air of our environment.
Think of clear water moving into or through
clear water. Like our breath as it exits our
mouths, we may feel the flow, but not see it.
How come we can’t hear a butterfly
fly, but we can hear a plane? The human
brain changes sound waves to electrical
signals within a particular range of highs and
lows. These electrochemical signals travel
to the auditory centers in the brain
hemispheres where they are identified by
our past and present knowledge of sounds.
With practice and memory, we can learn to
hear and identify a great many sounds within
our hearing range.
The human hearing range is different
from that of other animals. How can we
know this? Has anyone noticed a dog
become alert to a sound before the people in
the area were? Most animals, birds, etc.
have different hearing ranges or just hear
differently than people do. Which have
better hearing, dogs, cats or people? How
can we learn about the hearing of wild
animals and birds? What about undersea
animals, do they hear sounds?
Home sound detectives
For homework, tell the children to be
sound detectives at home. Discuss examples
of home sounds in class before giving this
assignment, e.g. Machines, pets, people,
moving objects, etc. Discuss symbols or
ways they can keep track of and remember
different sounds heard at home. Perhaps
they could draw or find other ways to

remind themselves of the various sounds in
their homes. Use a mindmap technique.
Home sounds must be those that they
actually hear when they go home, not
fantasy sounds. Good detectives learn the
facts so that they can report accurately on
home sounds when back in the group.
Again, tell them to try to imitate those
sounds. What does an electric can opener,
running water or a vacuum sound like?
Which is louder, softer...? What kinds of
sounds do their pets make? Tell them to be
ready to tell the group a short story about
their experiences with sounds at home. This
exercise will engage auditory memory and
associations.
Recordings of sounds
Another auditory activity is to play
recordings of sounds from our natural world,
like pond sounds. Help them identify
sounds of various frogs, birds, animals,
insects, walking on dried leaves, etc. Before
the availability of so much information
through various media, people lived in and
were much more aware of their natural
environment. As we have become separated
from our environment, we have been more
likely to destroy it by taking it for granted or
ignoring its care. An ecology brainstorming
session on how to protect what remains of
our natural environment is appropriate at
every age and grade level.
Musical sounds, objectives
The two big remaining lessons in
sound and hearing for humans are related to
music and spoken language. The objectives
of musical experiments are to help students:
1. learn various ways of making musical
sounds.
2. become aware of rhythm, the pulse or
beat, patterns and sequences of sounds.
3. learn about qualities of sound and words
used to describe various sounds.
Making and using simple
instruments improves eye-hand control
63
while integrating auditory input, which
equals sensory motor integration. Practicing
rhythms and timing will enhance hand, foot
and body control in coordination with
hearing while improving auditory memory
and discrimination between sounds.
One of the very best book sets or
programs on the subject of elementary
sensory motor integration is called “Music
in Motion”. It was put together by Lenny
Hart and Sunshine Pleasant, music therapists
and consultants in California in the 1980’s.
Each year new products are published or
produced, but with years of experience, we
learn that the latest is not always, or even
often, the best. The Music in Motion set is
unequaled in quality, knowledge and helpful
examples for those untutored in musicology.
It was printed in the 1970’s by Education in
Motion @ 294 N San Pedro Rd., San Rafael,
CA 94903.
Home-made instruments
Activities for music should include
the production and experimentation with
homemade instruments. The children could:
• make drums from coffee cans with
plastic lids,
• make rattles by putting beads, seeds or
pebbles in smaller, hard containers,
which can be shaken to produce a
rattling sound,
• string thin wire around tacks or nails and
across frames or sound boxes to make
harps or guitar like instruments
• make whistles and flutes from hard
tubular materials.
• Make rubbing sounds with sandpaper
covering on wood blocks
• Make bell sounds with metal or glass
crystal.
Types of sounds
Have the children discriminate how
sounds are made. Are they wind or blown
sounds, or percussion - hitting or dropping
sounds, or string - plucking or rubbing
sounds. This is a good opportunity to
introduce orchestral sounds in “Peter and the
Wolf” by Sergei Prokoffief or something
similar. Provide experiences requiring
coordination of sensory motor abilities: see
and hear, hear and move.
Music instrum
Rhythms
When each child has a simple
instrument, take turns starting simple
rhythms and having the rest of the group
attempt to repeat that rhythm. Have them
count or make sounds in time with these
rhythms. For instance, have the students
beat the drum or drop the seeds in the rattle
on specific counts. Start with: one, two, -
one, two, -one, two. Then change to: one,
two, three, - one, two, three, - one, two,
three; then: one, two, three, four, -and so
forth.
Percussion Instruments
Accented beat
Accent different numbers or
syllables. Say words like baseball, football,
musical, dancer. Most people can easily tell
which part of those words is accented.
Practice with similar words until the idea of
a stronger and a softer beat, accent or pulse
is understood. Mark the accented beat with
a movement, a stamp or clap.
Then practice saying One, two, -
one, two, - one, two; then, one, two, -one,
two, - one, two. Then say: Loud, soft, soft,
then soft, soft, loud, and so forth. Again,
mark the accented beat with a movement.
Stand and step on the accented beat; clap on
the accented beat.
Pitch and primitive band
Ask them to make high pitched then
low-pitched sounds, e.g. Hi, Hi, Hi then
Low, Low, Low. If you have access to
music specialists bring them in to encourage
new experiences with musical sounds. But
if you don’t, do the best you can. Develop
an orchestra or band of primitive
instruments and vocal sounds.
Coordination of sound and movement
Encourage the learning of songs and
movement of different parts of the body with
the sounds and rhythms. Just about every
pre-school and kindergarten in the USA
teaches “Inky, Dinky Spider”, an excellent
hand and voice coordination song.

While some students continue to
keep a rhythm with their instruments, have
others stand and move their feet to those
rhythms. Then add voices.
If possible, show and have them
imitate some various ethnic dance steps to
percussion rhythms. The steps to American
Indian dances are an excellent example, also
Hawaiian and many others. The Cha-Cha
rhythm is lots of fun. We used to move
around the room to the “Elephant Cha-Cha”,
bent over with hands clasped and arms
swinging like an elephant trunk while mov-
ing our feet in step with Cha-Cha rhythms.
Try to be sure that everyone finds
some degree of comfort with all activities.
Incorporating movement of the whole body
in time with various rhythms provides
excellent practice in sensory motor
activities. Developing confidence in perfor-
mance activities is beneficial to all involved.
The sounds of language
Ask the children, what is the most
important use of sound for people?
Language, of course, because we need to
communicate with each other. We have
been doing it all along, communicating with
each other. How do we do this? How is the
sound of the voice made? Is the voice a
percussion or wind instrument?
How did languages develop? People
decide together that certain sounds will
represent particular objects, actions or
feelings.
People from different countries have
the same objects and ideas, but they use
different sounds to represent these things.
We call these separate sounds for things
different languages. Maybe some of your
students know more than one way to name
things, more than one language. Share some
examples of different languages and
different words for the same object. What
language do we speak?
65
Objectives for language sounds
1. Become aware of human sounds of
language
2. Hear and differentiate various language
sounds from each other
3. Learn how we make particular sounds
4. Gain control over that ability.
Our language instruments
What physical and mental attributes
do we need in order to communicate by
spoken language? Most babies are born
with a normal brain, perfect hearing,
moveable jaws, wiggly tongues, a specially
shaped mouth with teeth, a nose and lungs
for breathing and vocal cords. All of these
things have to be operative, working and in
good condition, in order for speech and
language to happen. Did I mention a brain?
Try speaking without –
Have the children check all of these
things out on themselves. Encourage the
students to experiment with closing off each
and all of the named parts of the anatomy
needed for speech. They will realize how
important all of these abilities are for speech
and that the loss of any part would make it
difficult, if not impossible, to use speech.
This realization should make it easier for the
children to understand how these parts of
speech come into play when you are
explaining how to make the different sounds
of our speech.
Try the following with children.
What happens when we close off our ears?
Try to talk without moving your jaw,
mandible, then without moving your tongue,
or without breathing. Place your fingers
over the vocal cords in the front of your
throats and say, “Hello everybody.” Then
whisper, “Hello everybody.”, while feeling
the vocal cord area. This demonstrates the
vibration of the vocal cords in ordinary
speech. You might discuss what happens
when we have sore throats. You could
mention that some people do not have all
these abilities. Then they must learn to
communicate with their eyes and hands.
Sign language and Braille are just other
languages, which anyone can learn.
Building an auditory base
It is important, especially with
dyslexic children, to build an auditory base
BEFORE asking the children to tackle visual
skills. So, at this point, you may want to
engage the children in some activities, which
require them to repeat specific words,
sounds and short phrases or sentences. If
possible have mirrors available for students
to see their mouths while imitating sounds.
Express the importance of speaking clearly
and making sounds distinctly.
Rhymes and other sounds
Later on when they learn to read and
write, clear diction will help them. Try
group recitations emphasizing clear
diction. Make successive audio-tapes of
short phrases of group and individual
recitations to compare and to demonstrate
improvement in diction. Have the students
repeat some simple rhymes from Dr. Seuss
books. Ask them to listen for words that
sound similar, that rhyme or end the same
way. Let each one give a different example
of rhymes so that students who may be
having some difficulty with hearing
similarities and differences in verbal
messages can pick up from other people’s
correct examples.

What is your mouth doing?
Tell the children to become aware of
how they must shape their mouths to make
vowel sounds like: oh, oh, oh; then ee, ee,
ee, and so on. Tell them to pinch their noses
closed while they make vowel sounds and
hear the differences. Then have them
become aware of where and how they must
use their tongues in order to make other
sounds, like: t, t, t, d, d, d, th, th, th and n, n,
n, then L, L, L and r, r, rrr. Practice one set
of sounds until most children are
knowledgeable and confident with the
production of these sounds before going on
to the next set of sounds. Make up song
rhythms with new sounds.
Then have them become aware of
how they use their lips to make these
sounds: m, m, mmm and p, p, p or b, b, b and
f, f, f and v, v, v. Feel the vocal cords for the
67
voiced “b and v” sounds and the breath
sounds, “p and f”. Practice all the language
sounds: the windy sounds of W and WH, the
clicking sounds made at the back of the hard
palate with the back of the tongue: K, G,
QU, CK.
Tongue twister practice
Make up or find some practice
phrases for each group of sounds. Kick,
Kick, Go Quick. Quack, quack, Go back.
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled
peppers. If Peter Piper picked a peck of
pickled peppers, how many pecks of pickled
peppers did Peter Piper pick? There are
many, many such tongue twisters.
The present objective is not to twist
tongues, but to practice making specific
sounds correctly. For instance, many
children come to school saying AX for
ASK. Begin the comprehension of
sequencing sounds. Say, “A” as in cat or
bat. Have them practice the correct three
sounds in sequence. Even the best television
news reporters mispronounce nuclear.
When the letters are read in correct
sequence, it is easy to pronounce words
correctly, e.g. nu-cle-ar.
How many sounds do you hear?
Ask them to tell you how many
times you make this sound. Say ah, ah, two
times, then ah, ah, ah, three times, etc. Then
say the T sound a number of times while the
children listen and count. Repeat this
exercise until they have the idea of counting
sounds.
Then make two different sounds, like
a, a, mm. Then slide those two sounds aaa
and mmm together into one syllable or word
and see if they can still hear both letter
sounds. Tell them to listen for first and last
sounds as you distinctly pronounce two
letter sounds separately, but following each
other.
E.g.: Say, Aaa, mmm, then “am”,
still emphasizing two sounds. Ask, Which
sound did you hear first? Yes, you heard
aaa first. And which sound did you hear
after aaa? Yes, You heard mmm. Let’s
slide these two sounds together. Say them
with me, aamm. Do those two sounds make
a word? Yes, the word is am. Good.
Let’s try some more sound
sequences. Try, bb,aaa then baa, and cc,aaa
then caa, and aaa,tt, then at. Ask which
sequences make words. When they hear the
two sounds, work on three sounds that make
words. The children should be repeating
aloud, all the sound combinations you
present.
Add a third sound like tt or dd to baa,
caa and daa. Change the order of the sounds
to make sure they hear the separate sounds
that make up the syllables or words they
hear. Slide three sounds together like: mm
aa tt, mm aa dd. Continue to invite them to
make all the sounds in sequence with you.
The value of language
Soon they will be able to tell you that
you gave three sounds and in which order
the sounds are sequenced, which sound was
first, then second and last. As they repeat
the three sounds and as they understand the
words the sounds make, they have the secret
to language. Spoken language is made up of
different sound sequences made by the
human mouth. Words are sound sequences,
which have meaning for the speaker and for
the hearer. Because they can be used
interchangeably between many people,
words and language are of great value.
Language centers in the brain
Grammatical sequences and patterns
are also part of any language. Our brains
have language centers for spoken language,
which are developing from birth through age
two or three, when the window for spoken
language begins to close. This does not
mean that no language can be learned after
age three, but certain sounds and
grammatical patterns are not easily attained
after that age. This is why each language
seems to have sounds peculiar to it, which
non-natives are unable to correctly imitate,
e.g. Oriental people have no R in their
language so their imitation of this sound
often sounds to Americans more like the L
sound. Americans have trouble imitating the
guttural sounds of German, among others.
Lindamood’s Auditory Discrimination
If some children have particular
difficulty with sequencing sounds ask the
speech teacher about the Lindamood’s
program called “Auditory Discrimination in
Depth”. You may be able to translate some
of Lindamood’s activities from individual to
group activities. For instance, Lindamood
suggests that children place in sequence
particular colored blocks, which represent
specific, given sounds. You and the children
could use colored chips, or crayons to
represent these specific sounds in sequence.
Inse
Each student needs to have access to
two or three chips of two or three colors.
You might say that red represents the “p”
sound while white represents the “a” sound.
The children are to place the colored
markers on the surface in front of
themselves in the same left to right sequence
as the sequence of sounds they heard.
If you say, “a” as in “at”, the
students respond by placing the white
marker in front of her/him self. When you
say the, “p” sound the red marker is placed,
correctly. Clear the markers. When you
say, “p, a.” the students should place the red
marker, which represents the “p” sound,
first, to their left, and then the white marker,
which represents the “a” sound to the right
of the red. This would show that they heard
the two sounds in the proper sequence: red
on the left for p, then white to its right for
ah.
Do this with different colors
representing other sounds, but work with no

more than three sounds and colors at one
time. E.g.: After they hear p,a, try a,p, then
add the t sound making t,a, then t,a,p then
p,a,t.
Discerning sounds in names
When the students become more
proficient in discriminating speech sounds
you could have each one, over several days,
give a short form of their name and then
help them discern the separate sounds that
make up that name. “Your name is Louis.
What is the first sound you hear in Louis?
Do you all hear the “L” sound? Can
everybody curl their tongues up, behind their
teeth, to make the “LLL” sound?”
Then we hear the ooo sound. Let’s
show how we purse our lips to make the ooo
sound. Do you hear those two sounds, LLL
and oo? Why isn’t Lou one sound? It is one
count or beat in a rhythm, but it could be: lo,
la, le, lee, li, but it is l and oo. Why isn’t
“iss” one sound? It’s one beat, but it could
be: us, as, os and so on, but it is “iss”, made
up of “i” and “ss”. So how many separate
sounds do you hear in Louis? Four!
Correct, LL, oo, ii, and ss.” And how many
syllables do we hear in Lou-is? Yes, two.
No alphabets, yet!
NOTICE THAT THERE IS NO
NEED YET TO MENTION OR SEE
ALPHABET LETTERS. LANGUAGE
WAS SPOKEN BEFORE IT WAS
WRITTEN.
We’ve been discussing only the
sounds of language. Finally, we slide
sounds together to make words. Then we
put words together to make sentences. Give
many oral examples. ONCE the students
can MAKE EACH LETTER SOUND
clearly and they can HEAR those SOUNDS
in spoken words, VISUAL and WRITTEN
LANGUAGE should be A LOT EASIER,
especially for non-visual students.
69
Listen to good singers
Every fine singer clearly pronounces
every letter and sound bite when singing.
Opera star, Kiri Te Kanawa, sings Gershwin
songs on her CD. Her enunciation and
pronunciation are perfect. Play recorded
songs the children like to listen to, favorite
singers with clear diction, male and female,
popular or classical, and encourage the
students to work at imitating those singers’
perfect diction in speech and song. Would-
be singers or news commentators will need
to work especially hard on clear speech.
Hearing separate words
When you are reading stories filled
with imagery have the children occasionally
watch your mouth as you read. Ask
different children at different times to repeat
words or phrases and see if they can identify
the separate sounds that make that word.
First, be sure that they hear separate words.
In the story of “The Little Engine That
Could”, the children often repeat, “I knew I
could. I knew I could.” Since they know
that I is a word, they may easily guess that
“knew” and “could” are words also.
Until children learn more about
language and begin to read, they sometimes
hear words that run together in speech as
one word. One boy asked me how to spell
“Howdja” and I was some time in figuring
out that it was “How did you” we were
looking for.
Syllables
Later, introduce syllables of words.
Use rhythm instruments to repeat the beat of
each syllable in a word. Then listen for
accented syllables. Say and beat on
instruments the number and accent of
syllables. Tap drums and shake rattles in
time and accent while saying. the word syl-
la-ble. Accent syl and tap more quietly, the
final two syl la bles. Repeat this exercise
with marching and dancing to emphasize the
rhythm and accents of our language and
emphasizing the need for clear diction.
Soon these children will read, spell and
recite with confidence.
The rhythm of a name
When the students have completed
these auditory lessons, have everybody stand
in a big circle. The leader, teacher, uses a
small hand drum to beat an accented rhythm
for each student’s name.
One at a time, the group members
say loud and clear, their own full names,
first and last names. Help them get into a
rhythm with their name. When they have an
accented rhythm they like and that feels
good to them, have the other students join in
repeating the name in that rhythm pattern
backed up by the hand drum.
The person whose name is now
chanted in accented syllables, moves in any
safe way they choose, across the circle,
saying their own full name to their rhythm.
They can dance, walk, do hand flips,
whatever to move. Each student is given an
opportunity to do this fun activity, over one
or more days. It is excellent for self-esteem
among other benefits.
 Chapter 6. SIR: Sensing - the Visual Sense
Use eyes only
With the objectives of becoming
aware of what and how much we are able to
learn through our visual sense, take:
1. your note pad and pen,
2. a list, or mindmap of reminders of those
things you and the children will be
looking to see,
3. your handy stopwatch,
4. a fair-sized crystal or light prism
5. Crayons and pads for the children,
6. A portable tape recorder or camcorder,
7. Sunglasses on neck strings for all and
sunscreen as needed.
If at all possible, take the group to a
garden area, a place with various plants.
Perhaps a neighbor has a yard that you can
visit together or there’s a pond nearby. On
this and several later trips the children will
be using their eyes only, for the purpose of
learning through vision.
Actual shapes of things
The natural world is the place to
begin awareness of shapes, lines, color and
other visual experiences for a very important
reason. The planet is round, our eyes are
round, we see a circular view of our
environment. People have often made their
environment into unnatural shapes of
rectangles and squares flattening curves into
straight lines.
For example: We must learn to read
in linear fashion. Our eyes can move in
circles, but that would require too much
effort. So, to read, we move our eyes side to
side or up and down. Cameras with round
lenses produce rectangular pictures. The
rooms and houses we live in our based on
linear measurement. Have the children
compare what they see in the natural world
with what they see daily around themselves,
3D pictures vs. posters and photos.
Many possible objectives
They can practice visual
accommodation by looking at things far
away and then focusing on objects that are
close up. Students can learn to discriminate
among shapes or outlines, visual patterns,
colors and shades, lines and curves, figure
and ground. They can look for and find
visual patterns, such as a triplet of leaves as
in the clover plant. They are able to detect
motion and discover how wide a field of
vision each person has.
They can learn about light and
darkness, shades and shadows, movement
within central vision and peripheral
movement seen by scanning with the eyes
across the horizon. Maybe they could
partner up and trace around each other’s
shadows at different times of the day.
Practice and review should improve
confidence in visual memory as well as in
coordination and the other visual skills
covered earlier in parts 1 and 2 of Discover
Successful Learning Patterns.
Building memory
Always have each child verbalize
each experience. If there is not enough time
for the whole group to listen to everybody
divide the larger group into smaller groups
or pairs so that everyone has the opportunity
to discuss their experiences. This is true for
all kinds of experiences.
We stabilize an experience in our
memories when we can tell someone else
about the experience. We can get feedback
or hear others relate their experiences of
similar data. We’re storing sensory memory
stories in language, as well as in sensations
and imagery. Reinforce the learning and the
memory for later recall. At the same time,
listening to others helps each one recall
details that may have left out of their stories.
Gently cover ears
When you arrive at your destination,
tell the children to be still and to cover their
ears gently, so that they can concentrate on
what they see with their visual systems. The
visual system is made up of two eyes in the
front of their heads with large nerves at the
back of each eye, which change light
messages into electrochemical messages.
These messages travel through large optic
nerves to the back of our brains where the
brain can receive and interpret what the eyes
see or receive as raw visual data.
Color sensations
Tell the students to discover how
many colors they see. Ask them what color
the sky is today. Does sunshine make a
difference in how colors appear? Are colors
brighter in sunshine or in shade? Look at
some plants or objects in the shade for
comparison. After each one has a chance to
say something about colors, inform them
that not everyone, or every animal, sees
color alike. Some people have difficulty
recognizing color differences. They were
born this way. We think that dogs can not
see color, but they have a better sense of
smell than people do.
Be sure you have screened your
students for color blindness so as not to
embarrass them. You or the peers of
colorblind children might help them discern
different shades through practice. To those
colorblind children, say, “This is a red color
and this is green. Can you see some
difference between those shades or colors?”
Hues and shades
Show the children leaves from
different plants. Ask, “Is this green leaf the
exact same color as that one?” How would
they describe differences in shades of the
same color? Different shades have more
black or white in them. Different hues
might have more blue, yellow or red in
them. Tell the students to help you make a
list of different things and their colors,
which you can refer to back in class.
Draw what you see
If you bring small papers and
crayons for everyone they might each
choose one object and try to draw it, while
keeping their hand on the paper and their
eyes on the object. Tell them to let their
eyes guide their hand. What other things
can they think of that share some
characteristics with the object they are now
describing? Tell them to look at shape,
color, size, or other visual details.
What makes Rainbows?
Who has seen a rainbow? What kind
of day was it? Did light rain alternate with
sunshine? What time of day was it? Did the
rainbow appear in the morning, or early or
late afternoon? The angle of the sunlight
makes a difference. When the sunlight is
not directly overhead, you might make a
rainbow appear by lightly spraying water
from a hose. Or show them a crystal in the
sunlight. Explain how the bright, white light
of the sun travels in straight beams or rays
from the sun to the earth.
Light travels through the transparent
raindrops or crystals, which bend the light
rays and cause the light beam to divide into
all the colors that make up white light. The
round drops also reflect the light like tiny
mirrors. Can they name the colors of the
rainbow in order from top to bottom? They
are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo
(dark blue) and violet. Which color is on
top? It’s red unless there’s a double

rainbow. Perhaps they would like to draw
the rainbow.
Lessons on natural relationships
There are many important lessons
here for all students. The sun is the earth’s
most important source of energy and as such
we must learn to protect out eyes and skin
from too much exposure and the damage
that follows. Some objects like rain are
transparent and allow light to pass through,
but others are opaque, translucent like
waxed paper, or reflect light like mirrors.
Green plants use solar energy with their
chlorophyll in their leaves to make the basic
food that sustains most other life.
Color is a product of pigments and
sunlight. A wider spectrum of color than is
available to the human eye attracts insects,
birds, bats and other animals, including
people, to fertilize plants and thus carry on
the life cycle of plants and animals.
Many plants and animals use color as
camouflage to hide from predators. The
placement of the eyes of predators and prey
vary to take in different views of life around
themselves.
Which birds and animals have eyes
on the corners or sides of their heads so that
they can see all around, in preference to
having eyes together in front of the face?
Why the different placements? How do we
get accurate depth vision? If these are non-
reading students and they ask questions that
you are not immediately able to answer, let
them know that you are making a note of
that question so that you and they can try to
discover the answer later, perhaps from
computer data, books, or from
knowledgeable people. Share the research
fun with them.
Shape characteristics
Give the students some examples of
shapes, outlines or visual patterns in the
garden and relate these with outlines on
paper. Tell them not to touch the garden on
73
this trip, but to look for different shapes and
characteristics of things in the environment.
Which things are round, long and thin, tall,
short, thick, pointed, straight, curved.
Encourage them to compare shapes and lines
with their eyes. Have them look at the
shapes between flowers or leaves. For the
artist, these negative spaces are as important
as the positive shapes.
Metaphors and imagery
Develop visualization ability by
encouraging them to begin to think in
metaphors. Metaphors describe similarities
between things that are otherwise quite
different. Ask questions like: “Do clouds
sometimes look like cotton or pillows? How
did some flowers get their names: the
buttercup, dandelion or snapdragon?” If the
children were to give new names to
particular plants, what names would they
give that describe something they see in the
plant? Discuss metaphors from poetry like
these from Josh Jossi’s poem about Big Sur,
California. He is speaking of the dreams of
the soul:
“Which rise up with the trees;
Which fly low on the sand
With the wild, swooping sea gulls
That dive down on the surf,
With the fingers of fog
Like roots anchoring turf....”
The children could act out the verbs
used: rise up, fly low, swooping, dive down,
roots anchoring. What moves this way, what
else? With metaphors like these, children
can envision the movements with action, and
imagine visions that the poet describes in
metaphors. The students will probably
concoct some very good metaphors for what
they see, enhanced by imaging action to
words.
The feel of shapes
Here is a way to change a visual
exercise into a visual-kinesthetic exercise.
Choose shapes that all can see, circle shape
of the sun, etc., and ask them to raise their
two arms into the air and then make the
outlines of various shapes with both hands,
then with just the index fingers or with all
fingers extended.
Show them new shapes and say,
“Draw this shape in the air with both hands.”
Then draw again with both index fingers.
Ask them if they are getting the feel of
shapes through using both sides of their
bodies. See if they can close their eyes and
repeat making an outline with both hands.
Before and after drawings
Later, encourage them to draw those
shapes on paper. You could do a
comparison of drawing shapes before
movement and after. They might also make
outlines of objects with their feet. As
deskwork increases, be sure to encourage the
guidance of the eyes with a finger or pencil.
The best accountants, working regularly
with numerals, use a pencil tip to guide their
eyes through columns of numerals.
Children, especially, need visual markers.
Distance and horizons
Ask them how they can tell whether
something is close up or far away. Do
things that are farther away appear smaller
or larger? See if anyone can find something
tiny, like an insect. Put it in a little
magnifying box and have different students
tell different things about this insect that
they discover with their vision. Make sure
everybody has a chance to see everything.
Then have them look at something
farther away, like a tree. Ask them if they
would be able to see the insects on that tree
from where they stand. Why not? If they
see the whole tree, the insect would be too
small to see in the same frame.
Relating to space
Use spatial terms with actions, like:
top, bottom, in front of, in back of, below,
center, to the right side, behind and similar
terms. Practice with these concepts until all
of them have confidence in describing
positions of things in relation to themselves,
both verbally and kinesthetically.
Visual detectives
If there are birds or insects, animals
or people, moving in the environment, tell
the children to follow the movement with
their eyes. It’s okay if they turn their heads
to follow visually with early trials. As they
become more confident, play the game of
detectives again. Tell them to see which
way someone or something is moving
without moving their heads or themselves.
Like detectives, sometimes they must move
only their eyes not their heads.
Movers and watchers
Have students pair up so that one is
the mover and one is the watcher. The
watcher is to stand perfectly still while the
mover, standing behind, but not touching,
quietly moves from behind the watcher in
either direction. The watcher points to the
mover as soon as he or she sees the mover
from the corner of his or her eyes. After
several tries they change places.
The mover can then have a little flag
on a straw which they can move toward the
watcher from: below, above, at an angle, or
around in the watcher’s field of vision. The
watcher must keep his head still as he points
to and calls check as soon as he sees the
flag. After several times they change places.
Use the stopwatch for 30 to 60 second

intervals between players and limit the game
to about five or six minutes a day.
Peripheral and central vision
As the students build their
confidence in this activity challenge them to
the next step of difficulty. Have the
watchers balance books on their heads to
check that they are moving their eyes only
and not their heads. Have the movers use
different objects and different colors as they
move in from the perimeter in different
positions. The watchers can name the
objects and colors when they see them in
their vision fields.
The colors will need to be closer to
the eyes than motion because color receptors
in the retina are only in the centers of our
eyes while movement is seen with peripheral
vision, the widest extent of our vision.
Relax the eyes
At the end of any visual exercise
period tell the students to quietly close their
eyes and take a few slow, deep breaths.
Then they are to massage the muscle areas
around their eyes with their fingers. Place
their palms and fingers, gently over their
eyes until they feel rested.
Form pairs and take turns massaging
each other’s shoulder muscles. Following
relaxation, engage the students in a rhythm
movement and, or singing activity. Relax
and let the new learning set in their brains
for later recall and review.
Seed germination
Before leaving the visual sense, take
note of this very old, multi-sensory activity,
for school-age children. This is the activity
of having students plant seeds in clear glass
cylindrical containers. The large lima bean
or other seed is held in place next to the
glass with several absorbent layers of wet
paper towels. Soaking the seeds in water for
an hour or two, until the covering softens
may hasten sprouting. Moist cotton balls in
75
the bottom of the jar help hold the towels
against the glass. The seeds are kept in a
fairly dark, cool place until they germinate,
but the children should check them each day
and make sure that the seeds receive enough
moisture to stay damp. This experiment
ends early if the seedlings dry out, or if poor
air circulation and too much moisture cause
rot or mildew. All are important lessons.
Keeping records
The children should keep a daily or
weekly growth record on a label on the glass
and also a daily record in a notebook, the
number of days from the beginning of this
experiment until each has a little plant with
roots and leaves. You may want to show
them how to measure their plant’s growth,
how to use a magnifying glass to see tiny
root hairs, and how to keep a notebook of
pictures and, or words. There are many
activities you can devise around this
experiment dealing with many other subjects
besides vision and science. They could
learn to use graph paper to chart growth and
changes in their plant’s appearance by
drawing the plant, as it appears each day.
This study will produce strong images for
memory building. Extend these lessons by
planting a variety of seeds in small
containers of potting soil and noting
differences in results.
Aiding an INFANT’S Visual development
For parents of babies and children
under five years of age, there are things you
can do at every age to aid your children’s
visual development and growth. Vision and
visual coordination with the other senses are
learned behavior. It is important for parents
to provide opportunities for specific visual
learning to develop. Following are a few
recommendations from The American
Optometric Association.
Vision care
Before birth, the parents must make
sure that the mother is receiving proper
prenatal care and proper nutrition to ensure a
healthy baby with healthy eyes. The baby’s
eyes will be checked at birth for any
“noticeable” defects. These are usually rare.
The vision specialists used to suggest that
every child have a complete eye exam by
three years of age and annually after that.
Neuroscience now shows that vision is well
developed by age 3 years and now, age 3
months is the time suggested for that first
eye exam. Not all vision specialists are
knowledgeable in infant or immature vision.
Check with university hospitals to find those
who are trained in this field.
Hand-eye dominance
Most vision specialists, even today,
do not appear to comprehend the importance
of straight dominance for the near vision
eye. One needs to consider that our children
are faced with near vision, eye-hand
coordination tasks, practically from birth
throughout many, continuous, ensuing years
at school. Throughout their developing
years, the adults of modern, progressive
societies expect children to perform near-
vision desk work at school and at home
practically every day of their youthful lives.
A child with crossed dominance is at a much
greater disadvantage for close visual tasks
than is a straight dominant child.
At this juncture in history, it may be
the parent who must first observe this
crossed dominance. You might inform the
vision specialist that you would prefer to
bring your child’s developing eyes in line
with his or her dominant hand.
The doctor might say that your child
has better than normal vision in one eye, say
20/15 in the left eye. Now if your child has
20/20 in the right eye, and your child is right
handed, the left eye will be the dominant
eye. Your child will be crossed dominant.
You may want to see if the doctor would be
able to provide refraction for equal vision,
so that your child might develop a straight
dominant brain. If the child has the 20/15 in
the right eye and the 20/20 in the left eye
and he or she is right handed, he or she will
probably do very well in the long years of
reading and schooling in his or her future.
Sensory-motor development
Between birth and four months
babies can see patterns of light and dark
with daily improvements in clarity and
focus. They should begin to follow slowly
moving objects with their eyes and begin to
reach for objects with increasing accuracy as
depth perception and eye hand coordination
develop.
Change crib position often as well as
your infant’s position in the crib to allow
him to see things from different perspectives
and to respond to light from different
directions. A hanging mobile outside and
above the crib can provide an interesting,
moving, focal point.
Provide sizable, interesting objects
within eight to 12 inches from babies’ eyes
for reach, touch and focus exercises. Be
sure there are no dangerous objects in baby’s
reach and no parts that could be swallowed.
Talk to babies as you walk around their
rooms so that they can associate sound and
vision. Hold the baby in alternate arms to
vary the view.

Keep an audio tape recorder/player
in the children’s room so that the little ones
can listen to varied music and story tapes
when they are awake. Listening to stories
helps brain development for understanding
language nuances. Some studies show
classical music has a soothing effect on
babies’, as well as on adult, brains. Recent
studies state that babies who were sung to
were happier adults.
Alert and able to move
As babies begin to lift their heads
and move their arms and legs, be sure they
are free to be active when they are awake
and alert. It is not a good idea to keep an
infant in an infant seat, except when
traveling. Babies need clean, safe, flat
surfaces on which to become acquainted
with their bodies and their abilities.
From four to six months, babies are
awake and alert for much more of each day.
They will probably be able to roll over,
move from side to side and move their arms
and legs. During this period there is further
development of eye and of body skills, of
eye movement control and of focusing
ability. Opportunities for movement helps
develop needed skills. When playpen
bound, provide many different textures and
shapes for babies to feel and manipulate
with their fingers.
Know first-aid
Again, be sure there is nothing
babies can choke on. The child’s initial
impetus for investigation will be to try to
bring the objects in their hands to their
mouths. All parents and baby sitters should
know the Heimlich Maneuver to prevent
choking on objects that lodge in the
windpipe, and CPR, Cardiopulmonary
Resuscitation, for children, to restore
breathing and heartbeat. Speak to someone
in your fire department for information
before you need it.
77
Encourage safe eye, hand and foot
coordination. Hang interesting objects
across the crib or playpen, which babies can
reach with their hands and feet, but in which
they will not get tangled. Holding safe
objects at various places within baby’s
reach, and helping her to grasp these, will
help eye hand coordination.
By six to eight months most babies
are able to sit and to crawl and further
explore their environment. Be sure they
have the safety and freedom to exercise
these new abilities. Both eyes should be
able to focus equally at this age.
Motion games
Play games like peek-a-boo and patty
cake. Try to have babies play in the same
room with other children whom they will try
to imitate, within the limits of their abilities.
Between eight and twelve months
babies become even more mobile. Children
at this age begin to use both eyes together to
judge distances. They are able to grasp and
throw objects with greater precision.
Provide soft, but inedible balls for these
important games.
Crawling necessary
Crawling is important in helping
children coordinate the use of eyes, arms
and legs. Do not encourage children to skip
this stage, in any way. Do not encourage
children to walk earlier than they manage to
do on their own. Several studies have
shown that a baby’s development is harmed,
by skipping the crawling stage.
Provide a variety of objects which
children can touch, hold and see. Encourage
language development with eye hand
coordination by naming objects while
talking with children in happy tones.
Awareness of turned eye
The American Optometric
Association relates that parents need to be
especially observant for turned eyes during
these early months. This will be seen if the
eyes are not working as a team, looking in
the same direction, at the same time. If this
is the case at any time during early
childhood, parents will want to seek
professional help.
Vision specialists who are most
likely to understand the correlation between
vision and learning, especially in our school
system, are called, Behavioral or Functional
Optometrists. More information on these
specialists can be attained, by writing to a
school of optometry. Here are two.
 College of Optometrists in Vision
Development, P.O. Box 285, Chula
Vista, CA 91912.
 Optometric Extension Program
Foundation, Inc. 2912 S Dalmier St.,
Santa Ana, CA 92705.
Freedom within limits of safety
Between one and two years of age,
children will usually begin walking. Depth
perception and eye hand coordination will
become well developed. To improve
dexterity, provide things like building
blocks, stackable toys, and simple, large
piece puzzles. These things can also help
children visualize what goes where and what
fits. Movable objects like trains, tracks and
etc. are also good throughout visual
development for girls as well as boys. Some
studies have shown that girls are more often
deficient in the science of movement
because of the differences in the types of
toys provided for each of the sexes.
sentences. Learning simple songs and trying
to move to music develops children’s
language and coordination. Reading and
telling stories to children, at this age and all
ages, will help them develop visualization
skills in preparation for reading. Do not
pressure for visual reading skills before
auditory skills in language are
accomplished. Become familiar with the
chapter on auditory skills before starting
alphabet work. A section on early reading
instruction is included in the MELT chapter.
Drawing, painting, finger painting
and molding things in clay can improve
visually directed hand movements. Artistic
experimentation develops recognition of
boundaries provided by edges and of
emotional expression related to marks on the
paper.
Children continue to develop
comparatively quickly during the first five
years. Every opportunity for encouragement
of this development, through an enriched
environment and freedom within the limits
of safety, can be sensibly and creatively
explored.

Large muscle development

Rocking horses, play vehicles and
tricycles will help develop body
coordination. Use safety helmets. Children
need also to be afforded safe places for
climbing, indoors and out. Continuation of
the development of language skills is always
to be encouraged, but is especially important
at this age.
Children between the ages of two
and three usually begin speaking in simple
 Chapter 7. SIR: The Sense of Touch – Tactile-Kinesthetic Sense
Capacities at our fingertips
For relative measurements, this [--],
the dashes without the spaces, would be
about 2 mm, the distance between nerve
endings in the skin covering our fingertips,
while this,
[-----------------------------------------------],
again the dashes without the spaces, would
be about 46 to 48 mm, or the distance
between nerve endings in the thigh or calf,
the least tactile sensitive body areas. The
rest of our skin’s tactile system is less
sensitive than our fingertips, but more
sensitive than our thighs. We can feel
something as tiny as a flea on our foot or a
hair on our face.
The proximity of so many nerve
endings in our hands, in itself, indicates their
importance to our learning and awareness.
For every two millimeters of skin on our
fingertips there is a nerve connected to the
brain. Only in the retinas of our eyes and in
other specific senses are nerve receptors so
dense. Yet how little the educational system
uses this marvelous gift of touch. Only the
deaf and blind begin to use the capacities at
our fingertips.
Temperature, pressure and pain
Each of these thousands of nerve
endings, or receptors in our skin, respond to
one of three types of stimuli. There are
temperature receptors for heat or cold,
pressure or touch receptors and there are
pain receptors.
The kinesthetic sense, which
provides us with awareness of our
movements, is made up of thousands of
special pressure receptors, called
proprioceptors, in our muscles, tendons and
joints. They guide our skeletal muscle
control.
Tactile-kinesthetic objectives
The objectives are to become aware
of just how much we depend on information
from our hands and how important our
hands are to us. We tend to take our hands
for granted or misuse them. We seldom
appreciate all of our abilities until some of
them are lost to us.
Learning to coordinate movements
of the upper extremities, the hands and arms,
with the eyes, is one of the first tasks that
every sighted baby attempts. By the time
most children are in school they have
learned to feed themselves, brush their teeth,
wash themselves and clean their bottoms.
By the time children are four or five years
old the skilled tasks they accomplish with
their hands are too numerous to count.
The neck connection
What would we not be able to do if
we lost the use of one or both hands? How
can we protect our hands? One thing that
comes to mind from my experience is never
do anything that would injure your neck.
The nerves that supply the many muscles to
our arms and hands originate in our neck. If
people lift too many heavy things, or put too
much strain on their arms or hands, they
might find out much later that they’ve
damaged their cervical spine and the nerve
roots connected to their hands.
Limited tactile experience
A single test confirmed that most
school children had little experience, since
infancy, with learning or reinforcing
learning through their tactile sense. When
they were told to draw a simple design with
angles in it, after looking at that design for
two seconds and then having it removed
from sight, most of the children had
difficulty with this as a purely visual task.
When they were told to trace the design,
preferably with their writing hand and index
finger, and then drew, nearly all performed
better.
Tactile reinforcement for dyslexia
But how can we use our tactile sense
to better efficiency in education? One
principal, James Brierly, said to me in
passing, “Those kids should be taught with
the blind.” Mr.Brierly was referring to the
Educationally Handicapped boys and girls
who were my students. He had learned what
I was about to learn, that my students were
auditory learners, not visual ones. They
could usually manage manipulative visual
learning by imitating another’s actions,
called modeling. This is the kind of learning
provided in the boy scouts, in
apprenticeships and even in GATE classes
for the gifted and talented. Learning to
decipher textbook reading was and is
extremely difficult for non-visual children.
It is unfortunate that we have moved
away from learning by doing. Just about
every educational test bases its highest
scores on one’s ability to read speedily. If
enough time were allowed for slower
readers, for the more auditory and
kinesthetic learners, to complete the reading
parts of these examinations, the scores
would accommodate a different set of highly
intelligent people.
Those who become adept at reading
Braille can read at about the same speed as
one could read aloud, the auditory reader’s
speed. That is about 100 words per minute,
compared to the average person’s silent
reading speed of 225 words per minute. If
newer tests were prepared with 100 words
per minute reading speed allowance, the
scales for success for auditory-kinesthetic
readers would begin to balance with visual
student scores. Lowering mental
expectations for slower readers is not the
correct way to go. Slower reading speed
does not equate to slower mental powers.
Raised letters
Following are suggestions to help
parents and teachers of mentally bright
youngsters learn when visual learning is not
their strength. Let them feel the raised dots
of Braille as they repeat aloud the
association between the kinesthetic symbols
and their meaning. When alphabet
recognition and writing instruction begin,
place Braille letter identification labels on
keyboards and make them available to
crossed dominant or dyslexic children.
Besides using the phonetic approach and, or
large print, many dyslexic students would
benefit from kinesthetic reinforcements,
such as, learning to read with their finger
tips or with hand signs. Braille became the
official language for the blind in the USA, in
1916. It is a pattern of 6 dots placed in a
frame, 2.5mm apart.
When Braille and sign language are
offered as alternative ways of learning to
read, spell, write and recall numerals, some
children will find the languages of the hands
more comfortable than the vision only
approach.
Signing so easy
Sign language is so easy for
youngsters to learn that it is taught regularly
to retarded youngsters who are unable to
master reading or writing. When children
are permitted to learn these languages along
with our written alphabet they will be
experiencing success and thus be more
encouraged to manage visual print. They
will be using more brain cells, thus
increasing intelligence.
Expanding our world
Learning the languages of Braille
and of American Sign would encompass the
fun of having friendships with blind and, or
deaf students and vice versa. Wouldn’t it be
great if these language barriers within our
own families and our own country would be
overcome? It would be especially
wonderful if non-visual or dyslexic students
enjoyed scholastic success as early as their
more visually oriented peers. The way the
education systems are set up since their
beginnings allows only the people with
adequate binocular or straight dominant
vision to succeed easily.
Sensory learning
Previous writers on this subject have
suggested that dyslexic youngsters could get
kinesthetic reinforcement by writing in sand.
This can help, but sandboxes are large and
messy. With the special sensitivity of our
fingertips, just moving those fingertips over
any surface reinforces learning.
Practice with “Lemon Left”, “Rosy
Right” in the chapter, “Sense of Direction”.
Directional understanding relates to how one
sees something in space. Spatial relations
work should precede work with letters.
Having an automatic knowledge of left and
right is essential to learning to read from left
to right, top to bottom.
Glue, sand and clay
For beginners, words could be
written on cardboard with colored, liquid
glue which when dry and hardened would
provide a raised relief of the material to be
learned using tactile reinforcement. Instead
of the strictly visual flash card approach,
words or problems are written on index
cards with colored glue. The adult guides
the child’s finger in left to right sequence,
over the raised glue letters, numerals, dots,
whatever, to provide kinesthetic knowledge.
The student then senses where to begin and
the direction of movement in writing. After
practicing with the fingers and imaging in
their mind’s eye what they are feeling,
students will find it easier to tackle a two
dimensional task with pen or pencil.
Provide modeling clay for children to
work with on a regular basis. Instruct the
children to roll some clay into long thin
ropes, about the shape and size of pencils,
and then shape them first into circles,
outlines of shapes, curves and lines.
When they recognize these shapes,
they can shape letters. Begin with two
letters, like a and m for am, or a and t, using
the programmed reader approach to
learning. The recognition of a few letter
symbols names and sounds at a time is
preferable to hitting them with the whole
alphabet at once.
The children could trace their
fingertip over the clay letters until they can
draw them without the clay. Before they
begin this small muscle coordination and
visual-kinesthetic recognition task they
should have worked with their arms and
hands in the air as described in the
kinesthetic exercise on the visual walk.
Hands on activities
Children with visual perception
difficulties need to have more real hands on
experiences to build up their memory
capacities. They can be involved in making
and doing things with their hands, like
• preparing and serving food, rolling,
pinching and patting flour dough
• building things with wood and learning
to correctly use tools
• camping experiences, scouting activities
• gardening and planting
• modeling clay or sculpting
• wood or soap carving.
• mat work and dancing, wonderful
tactile-kinesthetic activities.
• learning to play musical instruments and
making music, which provides auditory
and tactile growth.
A walk in the garden
Take a tactile-kinesthetic walk in a
garden, or whatever is available, preferably
outdoors. The objective of this walk is to
find out how much more students can add to
what they’ve already learned by listening
and seeing, by feeling and touching things.
See if they are able to make a better
drawing of a previously attempted shape by
feeling the object and its outlines. When
they feel petals, stems, leaves and such, ask
them to describe how these items feel. Are
they soft or hard, rough or smooth, sharp or
blunt, moist or dry, warm or cold? Any
surprises with touch - over seeing only?
Do comparisons. Compared to
petals, are the leaves softer, smoother, what?
Which is harder, the cement walk or the tree
trunk and why? When they begin to know
the language for how things feel, have them
close their eyes and try to describe
something by feeling it. How many more
things can they now recognize by touch
alone?
They can check their pressure sense
by describing relative weights of objects that
are placed in their hands. When possible,
ask them to take off their footwear and
describe how things feel to their bare feet,
which are also sensitive to touch.
Show a movie of Helen Keller
learning. Allow students to experiment with
each other, by signing letters in each other’s
hands.
Interpersonal touch
Interpersonal touch is another aspect
of touch, which is important to our lives.
We often use the word “touch” in such
phrases as “keep in touch”, “that was a
moving or touching scene”, “a healing
touch”, “out of touch” and many more. This
definition of touch involves more than one
person and this is why touch can become a
very “touchy” subject. The need for people
and animals to be touched has been proven
in many experiments. If you’ve ever known
a pet cat, you are aware that they insist on
being touched. That’s a characteristic that
makes them such popular pets.
Intensive care ward for infants
In recent years, Drs. Schanberg and
Field at the University of Miami Medical
School, where they have about 15,000 births
a year, studied the effect of human touch on
babies admitted to the intensive care unit of
the hospital. They found that babies who
were stroked and, or massaged were more
active and grew about 50% faster than
babies who were not stroked or massaged.
Physically handicapped children who
have been dependent on others to meet their
needs are often handled and touched more
than most other children their age. When
this has been the case, these children
respond to caring touch with trust and joy.
Out of touch
On first meeting the dyslexic boys in
Marysville, CA, many were out of touch in
several ways. One was that they responded
negatively to being touched. They were
kind of wild, like stray animals that aren’t
too trusting of human beings. After
movement exercises, circle time and then
hugs, these same boys made a complete
turnaround in their total behavior, especially
in their new need and new enjoyment, of
being firmly touched on the shoulder, hand
or of being hugged as in group hugs.
It has been my experience in the
classroom that most children respond better
and faster to a firm and gentle touch than
they do to verbalizations alone.
Pet benefits
Most of us have seen TV
commentaries that show us how the
unresponsive sick, the elderly and even
autistic children, became involved again
with their environment, when they were
presented with pet animals to stroke or hold.
Sales ads from breeders of Persian
cats, some birds and other special pets ask
higher prices for the fact that their pets are
raised by hand. This means that from the
day of the birth of these animals or birds,
they have been exposed to kindly human
touch. When these pets are adopted they
will be used to and trusting of human touch,
unlike wild animals.
Lost trust, lost touch
Children who have lost their trust in
other human beings to care for them can
often be introduced to the joy of hugs and
human touch, indirectly. I especially
remember one red headed (I almost said red
tempered) boy. He was angry. He didn’t
want anyone to touch him. To bump into
him was an invitation to fight, fists up. He
must have had a number of distasteful
experiences before he wound up in this
special class.
A short kinesthetic floor exercise
was introduced. Everyone had to be down
on all fours pretending to be animals. It was
daylight, but to soften the atmosphere of the
classroom during the exercise, the
fluorescent ceiling lights were off. The
game rules were to crawl around and
between the other students, teacher and aide.
The only communication allowed was to
nudge others with shoulders only.
Instructions to all were to become aware of
how they responded inside when they
bumped another or when they were bumped.
They could make noises, purr or growl if
they felt like it, but no talking.
How does it feel?
In Circle Time we discussed the
reaction each had to this experience. The
red headed boy had actually enjoyed
himself. It was as if this permission to bump
someone without any malice was a good
outlet for pent-up energy and anger.
Everyone enjoyed this game. Fears were
removed, they were more open to trust.
From here, joining in a group hug was easier
for some. The joy meter went way up, while
the grump meter moved down and away.
The positive energy was palpable within this
group of previously disgruntled boys.
Some benefits
Touching and being touched speaks
much more than words. When touch is
agreeable to those involved, it increases self-
esteem, reduces anxiety and gives a feeling
of confidence. If it takes a little effort to
establish a trusting, touching relationship,
the rewards for those involved in learning
how to touch and be touched, will be worth
the effort.
Value of feeling
Some children are born with a rare
disorder, which causes them to be unable to
feel anything. What could result from such
a lack? Because these children can not feel
pain, pressure, heat, anything, they are
constantly injuring themselves, breaking
their bones. They can not tell when they are
putting too much pressure on their bodies
and might jump from a tree and break bones
because they don’t feel pain. They easily
cut or burn themselves. During a circle
time, discuss the values of our ability to feel.
Name feelings and touches that range from
comfortable and comforting to the opposite.
When does something that might feel
comfortable in one instance change to
uncomfortable or dangerous?
 Collage of comfortable and uncomfortable feelings and touches
Zone of
discomfor
Zone of t
discomfor e
table discomfor
t

My Comfort
Zone

Zone of
discomfor
t

Value of touch and

feeling
 Chapter 8. SIR: The Sense of Smell for Lateral and Visual Exercises
Breathing is smelling
The olfactory sense is made up of:
the two sides of our nose, the air we breathe
and the olfactory nerves, or bulbs in the
brain above each side of our nose. Often,
one side of our nose is active, or working,
while the other side is resting. Odors or
fragrances pass through the nose as gaseous
molecules within the air we breathe. These
minute molecules pass directly to the
olfactory nerves through tiny holes in the
skull bone above the nose where they are
interpreted by the brain in minute detail.
When we are breathing, we are smelling.
When someone has been in a particular
atmosphere for some time, he becomes
desensitized to the odors in that atmosphere.
Smell tied to emotions
Another interesting fact about our
sense of smell is that it is connected directly
to the central part of our brains called the
limbic system. This system responds
emotionally to direct our actions. Smell is
the most direct and most immediate brain
response. Fragrances can definitely play an
important part in how we feel or think.
Perfume makers knew this before the
scientists did. You may want to create some
interesting lessons around this fact.
Which side is left?
The following lesson is truly multi-
sensory, but the sense of smell is most
important here because of its strong and
immediate impact on the mind and the
learning process. Many children and even
adults have continuing problems with
remembering at an automatic level, which
side of their body is left and which is right.
This is especially true of crossed dominant
people.
Objectives with lemons
The objective of this lesson, or series
of lessons, is to learn to make strong sensory
associations, especially olfactory (smell)
associations, with the left-hand side of the
body and with left directions.
Gather these items for this lesson:
1. a lemon for each student
2. a juice extractor, preferably non-electric,
for each group
3. a knife and cutting board for each group
4. drinking cups (6 or 8 oz.), sugar and
water to make lemonade
5. a washable, lemon colored and lemon
scented pen for marking skin
6. lemon oil
7. lemon yellow yarn and scissors
8. fragrance-free, unscented, cleanser and a
place for washing and drying hands
Divide into groups
If you have twenty students, divide
the class into groups with four or five
students in each group. If you decide on
five groups of four each, have the students
line up and count off in fives: one, two,
three, four, five. Then start again at one.
Have five areas prepared, one work area for
each group. Mark each area with a number
pattern, figures of dots like those on dice.
Tell all the “ones” to go to station “one” and
so forth. Have the groups take turns
washing and drying their hands and
forearms with unscented soap.
Lemon left
When facing another person, their
right side or hand is on the side opposite
your own right or left. The eyes and palms
of the right and left hands, palms up, are
shown as if looking at you from this page.
Be sure your assistants understand this. It
can be confusing.
Use a small bottle of lemon oil, or
with your assistants, cut a strip of lemon
skin from each one’s lemon and twist it near
the nose of the student. Then rub the lemon
oil on the inside of their LEFT wrists while
telling them that they are to remember
“lemon left”. It works as well, or better, to
rub the oil with cotton swabs, on the back of
each left hand, between the second and third
fingers. Now whenever they see or smell a
lemon they can say silently “Lemon left”
and raise or touch their left hand.
Tactile-kinesthetic reinforcement
Show the students the American
Sign Language sign for “L”. See “Heather’s
Hands” for signing letters. L is made by
folding the last three fingers toward the palm
of the hand and raising the left index finger
while pulling their straight left thumb down
and away from the palm so that the index
finger and thumb form the letter “L”.
Take up the lemon scented, yellow
markers. With the help of assistants, who
are clear on which is another’s left or right
side, use the washable marker pens to
outline the “L” made by the left index finger
and thumb. Start at the top of the index
finger moving out to the end of the thumb in
one smooth motion, while repeating “L”
with the child. This will give tactile
reinforcement through the sensation of the
marker on the skin, as well as kinesthetic
reinforcement through the positioning of the
fingers and thumb to form “L” in sign.
Have the students repeat, “Lemon left, L.”
(To avoid confusion for now, pretend that
right does not exist -- only left.)
Visual reinforcement
To help them remember this lemon
left “L” on their left sides when the lemon
scent and sign are gone, comfortably tie a
lemon yellow yarn bracelet on their left
wrist. They can wear and reuse this bracelet
whenever they feel confused about left and
right.
Perform exercises emphasizing
movement in a left direction, like: step to the
left, turn left, touch your left knee with your
left hand, etc.

Lefty lemonade
Tell them they are going to make
Left-handed Lemonade. Help those who
need assistance to cut their lemons in half
cross-wise, so that each cupped half will fit
over the juice extractor. Tell the group
members to watch each other now to see that
everyone makes and drinks “Lefty
Lemonade” with left hands only, or mostly.
The students need to take turns
squeezing the juice from their two lemon
halves, with their left hands. Then they
must carefully pour their lemon juice into
their cup and pass the juice extractor to the
Left, on to the next student. Five or six year
olds may need help here if they are naturally
right handed. They can stabilize things with
that other hand, but don’t mention right.
Add water, sugar and rest
Next they are to add about six or
eight ounces of water and a little sugar with
their left hands to their lemon juice, while
holding their cups with that other hand.
When they have the juice mixed to their
taste, tell them to sit quietly for a few
minutes thinking of the experience of being
Lemon Lefties while the rest of the students
finish making their lemonade.
Lemon Lefty
Make a toast to the lefties. When all
are ready, everyone can lift their cups in
their left hands to make a toast to all Lemon
Lefties. Drink up and clean up with the left
hand is the finale. Reinforce the lemon lefty
concept regularly, in actions and words,
until the knowledge is automatic, no longer
needing thought energy.
This lesson could easily be
subdivided into shorter lessons. The lemon
oil or twist of lemon peel producing the oil
scent for the back of the hand or front of the
wrist could be one lesson. The sign
language and tactile reinforcement could be
another. The important objective is to learn
left automatically, with many associations,
before referring to right.
Rosy right side
For the right side and direction, use
“Rosy Right” because rose is a color and an
available, recognizable and pleasant
fragrance. You can pick up rose oil in craft
stores and even in grocery stores. Use rose
colored yarn bracelets. Other less viable
choices for the right, like red apple right, are
less directed to the sense of smell. Smell is
a much stronger association than taste or
color.
Rose societies
If any youngsters, boys for instance,
say anything demeaning about rose scent on
the wrist or hand, tell these youngsters that
they have a thing or two to learn. Nearly
every town in the USA and in Europe, if not
in the world, has a Rose Society. Guess who
the majority of the members are? They’re
men. Men have always loved roses. Men
make most of the new hybrid roses every
year. Perhaps you can bring someone to
class from your local rose society to show
the kids what they do.
Tactile reinforcement for R
Perform “Rosy Right” similar to the
“Lemon Left” lessons. The sign for “R” is
the extended index finger of the right hand
in front of the extended middle or second
finger, the rest of the fingers and the thumb
bent in toward the palm. Refer to the sign
alphabet.
Write a capital R in one continuous
line, on the palm of the right hand, with a
washable, rose colored and scented felt pen.
Start at the base of the palm under the pinky.
Move the pen up and around the upper palm,
crossing back at the center palm and end the
R near the base of the thumb.
Rosy Right hand
Spend several days or weeks on
“Rosy Right” as you did with “Lemon Left”.
Move to the right in various ways. Try
always to reinforce the direction with the
fragrance touch on the hand or wrist. Once
everyone is fairly strong on which is left and
which is right, about 95% correct, you can
begin exercises in which the class can move
or march in both directions, step L, step R,
turn around to the left, etc. Here’s a little
left-right action rhyme from “Music in
Motion”.
Clap and Shake
Clap your hands and hold them tight.
Shake ‘em to the left and
Shake ‘em to the right.
Left hand high and the right hand low,
Clap three times and touch your toe.
Point to the left and then to the right.
Slap your knees and hold them tight.
Reach up high and bend down low,
Not too fast and not too slow.
Directional Visual Exercises
The goal of the following eye
movement exercises is to improve control of
the muscles that move the eyes. This control
will improve other visual coordination
activities, including reading. Have everyone
bring in beach towels or mats so that they
can lie supine, on their backs. Everyone’s
head should be in the same direction toward
the same end of the room, so that everyone’s
left or right will also be in the same
direction. If lying supine is not possible,
these exercises can be done sitting in chairs,
feet flat on the floor, hands flat on thighs.
Start relaxation
These exercises begin with slow
breathing, preferably with the eyes closed.
With noses pointed toward the ceiling or
straight ahead, tell everyone to take in a big,
quiet breath as you count one, two, three,
four, hold and rest. Then breathe out: one,
two, three, four, hold and rest. Repeat
breathing this way three or four times until
all are quiet and relaxed.
SAY, “Just concentrate on your
breathing, relax and listen to my
instructions.” To reinforce right and left
before asking for moving eyes, say, “Lift
your lemon left arm as you breathe in and
lower it gently and quietly as you breathe
out. Rest and repeat.” When they have that
response correct, say, “Lift your rosy right
arm as you breathe in and lower it as you
breathe out and rest.”
Eyes right, back to center
SAY, “Now, open your eyes.
You’re going to keep your heads perfectly
still and move your eyes rosy right as you
breathe in and back to center as you breathe
out. Coordinate movement with breathing.
Now move your eyes lemon left as you
breathe in and back to center as you breathe
out. Keep your eyes open as you do these
exercises. Concentrate on moving your eyes
while keeping your head absolutely still. No
rolling heads.”
Alternate large muscles with eyes
Repeat this exercise with the lateral
directions for the eyes three or four times
while you move among the children to see
that each one is moving his/her eyes
correctly and the eyes only. Then go back to
arms or legs. SAY, “Pull your left knee up
to your chest as you breathe in and gently
put it down as you breathe out. Pull your
right knee ...” After this visual break, go
back to moving the eyes.
Move on count
See if they can move eyes right on
one, two and back to center on three, four.
Take a big breath and close eyes between
these short exercises. See if they can move
both eyes left on the count of one, two and
back to center three, four. Repeat three or
four times in each direction. Take a break
from the eyes to the limbs, then back to the
eyes. This time keeping the head still, tell
them to look up toward their foreheads, as
high as they can and then down toward their
chins. Practice these directions until 95% are
doing well 90% of the time.
Circle eyes to right and left
First just breathe in - one, two, three,
four and out - one, two, three, four and rest.
Then they can circle their eyes to the right
and then to the left, three or four times each
way. SAY, Keep breathing while you
follow my words with your eyes. Breathe in
slowly as you 1 - Look left, 2 - look up.
Breathe out slowly as you 3 - look right, 4 -
look down”. Relax. Now move your eyes
the other way. Breathe in as you, 1. Look
right, 2. Look up. Breathe out, 3. Look left,
4. Look down. Repeat several times to the
right and left.
Finish with restful breathing, eyes
closed again. If the eyes are not used to
these exercises the children may feel some
mild stress at first, an indication of how
much these exercises are needed.
Palming eye rest
A rest exercise called “palming” may
help at such times. Place both palms
together, pinkies gently intertwined, and cup
them over the eyes and face. The fingers
should touch the hairline at the forehead, the
base of the palms rest on the cheeks. Close
the eyes and breathe gently as the dark,
warm and moist atmosphere produced by the
palms rests the eyes. Avoid pressing on or
rubbing the eyes.
Active or passive return
To get everyone totally revived
again, SAY, “Everybody up, run in place,
pick up your towels and jog to where you
put them away.” OR if you prefer that the
children remain in a quiet state, keep them
concentrating on slow breathing and moving
slowly as they get up.
Build up stamina
Start with five minutes of these
visual exercises and build to ten minutes at
one time. If needed, encourage a build up to
two or three exercise periods a day, besides
practicing at home or school.
The children should be encouraged
to use palming to rest the eyes for 20 or 30
seconds in a 20 or 30 minute work period--
preferably before they feel eyestrain and
definitely if they do feel eyestrain. These
visual exercises will improve control of the
eye muscles and help the eye-hand
coordination needed when practicing
throwing a ball and of course for many other
activities, handwriting included.
Value of Smell Sense
Make a collage for the value of the
sense of smell to our lives. Recall that we
smell when we breathe. So air is the vehicle
for both. How does smell protect us? What
kinds of smells attract or repel us? When we
open a food container and get a strong
unpleasant odor that makes us turn our nose
away, what is our smell telling us? What
should be our reaction to this information?
Why does the gas supplier put a bad odor in
the gas? Why do large stores study smell?
Can smell affect us when we aren’t aware of
it? Categorize smells from aromas to
stenches.

Collage of things that affect us through smell

_____________________________________________________________________________
_

Value of Smell Sense

Chapter 9. SIR: The Sense of Direction and Space
Clock patterns for direction
Some years ago, while attempting to
teach some youngsters to tell time by the
old-fashioned analog round clock, one
young lady informed me, and correctly too,
that her dad was buying her a digital watch.
She wouldn’t need to know how to tell time
by the hands on the clock. Telling time by
the hands on a clock face may be as outdated
as a sundial.
Clockwise directions as a way of
placing ourselves in space, with ourselves at
the center will continue to be useful to us.
Relating to other objects in space with
something else at the center, as with the
round clock on the wall, will also prove an
excellent memory aid for non-linear and all
other students. The clock pattern is a right
brain, spatial pattern and it has always been
indispensable for many people to figure the
directions of north, south and so on.
Experiencing space from the center
A number of special memory skills
depend on being able to relate first to place
directions in a circular pattern. Learning
one’s position in unfamiliar surroundings
may be one instance. There are many ways
that this information is useful. The
important objective now is to sense and
experience the circular direction. To start
this lesson with young children, provide a
real or diagramed round clock face with
large clear numerals for 3, 6, 9 and 12
o’clock and with short and long clock hands.
Face the clock
Have the youngsters face the clock
and pretend that their arms move like clock
hands. Demonstrating with the wall clock’s
hands, move both hands of the clock straight
up when you say 12 o’clock, north. The
children follow by holding both arms
straight up and repeating, “12 o’clock,
north.” This will always be the starting and
ending position. From this position, they
will move one arm only, either the right or
the left since our arms will move only in a
180° half-circle. If anyone is still having
difficulty with right or left, touch his/her
hand with lemon oil for left or rose scent for
right and use the colored yarn bracelets.
The
spatial
directions in that exercise
are viewed as if one is in the center of a
clock in the vertical plane, right arm to the
east at 3 o’clock. Up is north, down is
south. The right arm moves from overhead
down to shoulder level, out to the side of the
body, as one goes from twelve to three,
down to the right thigh when one moves to
six o’clock. The left arm moves up from six
to nine to twelve in a vertical plane.
3 o’clock, east
Now, show and tell them how to
move only their right arm to 3 o’clock, east.
Make sure that they say, “3 o’clock, east” as
they move their right arm down from the 12
o’clock position, while keeping their left
arms straight up. Repeat this activity with 6
o’clock, south. Then they drop both arms
for 6:30, south.
Then they return their right arm
straight up at 12 o’clock, north, leaving the
left arm at 6:30, south. Now they begin to
move their left arms up to 9 o’clock, west,
then back to 12 o’clock, north. The students
are to repeat these four directions,
physically, verbally and visually, by
watching the clock hands as you reset them,
until the students gain an automatic rhythm
and momentum. When they become
confident in these directions and
Map directions
Replace the clock face with a wall
map with north in the twelve o’clock
position. Explain that maps are symbols for
places so that people can be guided to
understand where they are in relation to the
map, and in which direction they must go to
reach their destination. We place ourselves
in the map as we did with the clock. Think
of “You are here” signs on maps at malls.
The compass
Show how mapmakers always place
the north direction at the top of the map. To
use the compass, we must imagine the map
in a horizontal position on the table or floor
and refer to directions in a horizontal mode.
If we are lost we can correlate the north
direction on the map with the north direction
on a compass. Bring in one or more
compasses and explain how they are used.
To find east, south or west, what should they
movements, call the directions at random,
“12 o’clock North, 9 o’clock West, 3
o’clock East, and so on.
With that accomplished, put the
other numerals into the exercise. Perform
the numerals in their correct order, then,
randomly. Show me: one o’clock, northeast,
7 o’clock, which direction is 7 o’clock?
Okay, 7 o’clock southwest, etc.
do? Right, think of 3, 6, 9 o’clock in
relation to 12 o’clock.
Directional guidance for all
Camping trips with knowledgeable
pathfinders and guides can be a life long
valuable lesson. There is nothing so
frightening as to be lost in a woods or other
place where everything looks the same and
you have no way of knowing how to get
back to base camp. Having once been
totally surrounded by trees in a strange area,
with no idea of which way to go, certainly
brought that fright home to me. Helping
girls and boys learn directional and survival
skills is a worthwhile goal. Scouting
organizations usually take time to enlighten
boys in these areas, but fewer girls have
been given equal guidance.
Notice surroundings
While sitting or standing, tell the
students to close their eyes, and breathe
slowly a few times to focus their attention.
Then have them visualize themselves at the
center of the clock with the numeral places
around themselves in the room in horizontal
mode.
When facing the front of the room,
which will be in the 12 o’clock, north
position, where is one o’clock, two o’clock
and on back again to twelve o’clock? What
actually is in those spaces in the room? If
they are not sure, review for memory. Have
them turn to face each space so that they are
facing right when they reach three o’clock,
compared to the 12 o’clock position in front,
facing the back of the room at six and on
back to twelve facing front again.
It is a good idea, for any of us,
whenever we are in new surroundings, to
notice the things around us. We will
remember these things better when we
associate them with the clock numerals and,
or corresponding map directions.
Coordinating compass lessons are also
useful here. Lives may even be saved with
this type of knowledge, and the earlier it is
learned, the better.
Making simple maps
With the children, make a simple
picture map with the school or home at the
center. Draw homes, or identifiable
structures, to the north, south, east and west
of the central building. Give each child her
own copy of the map. If structure A is at
twelve o’clock, north, and the student is at
the building in the center, say the school, in
which direction should she move to get
home? One would have to know which exit
in the central structure is facing north and
how to get to their starting position.
Vertical to horizontal
Go outside with the children and
choose landmarks on a map, which indicate
the four directions. Walk North, East, West,
South. In this two dimensional map stage,
have them imagine that they are mopeds or
bicycles moving in specified directions. N,
S, E, W are now horizontal directions based
on vertical map directions. Use graph paper
for the children to draw their own maps.
Play a game where you call out
directions and the children all turn together
and move in that direction. Establish the
north direction. Then call out directions
like, 12 o’clock north, 6 o’clock south, etc.
The children should eventually move in
unison. Making moped noises adds to the
fun when the noise is kept at a comfortable
decibel level so that directions aren’t yelled.
Three dimensional clockwise directions
In another exercise, have the
youngsters sit. Tell them to imagine that
they now are piloting a spaceship or an
airplane. When we are at the center of a
two-dimensional clock, we move our arms
as if we are facing a wall clock. When we
place ourselves at the center of a horizontal
clock, facing north, our arms will move
around our shoulder girdles. Twelve o’clock
is not overhead, but out in front of the chest.
They still use the clock symbol, but now the
hands move in the horizontal plane, around
themselves. They are now in a three
dimensional space. As pilots, they become
aware of objects above or below themselves
as well as north, south, east and west. How
do they imagine that pilots do this?
High and low
Now, the children extend both arms
straight out in front of themselves, as they
say, “Twelve o’clock straight ahead.”
Instead of saying north or south, following
o’clock, they will move their arms to show
and say with you, if something in the
surrounding area is above them (high),
below them (low), or on their level (ahead,
or behind, plus right or left.) Practice
moving arms on the horizontal plane for
straight ahead, plus up, or down.
Obstacles or information?
Once this 3-dimensional concept is
understood in actions and words, have them
take turns as co-pilots, calling out things that
could either interfere with their flight, or that
they would point out to passengers of their
planes. Here are examples. “Electric wires,
3 o’clock low.” Is this an obstacle to be
avoided or just information? Will they stay
the course or move in some other direction?
Say something like, “Flock of birds, 9
o’clock west.” They need to call out to
avoid a collision as they turn towards 3
o’clock, east. “Another airship, six o’clock
high.” “Airport, twelve o’clock, low and
straight ahead.” How should they move to
aim for coming in for a landing?
Avoid collisions
Another fun exercise with these
clockwise directions is for the youngsters to
imagine themselves as airships moving in
these three dimensional directions in unison.
The idea would be to have everyone move in
unison, like the “Blue Angels” or “Snow
Birds”, so that they will not collide in an air
show. Instill in them the concept of safety
and avoidance of collisions, whenever they
are moving on the road, on water or in the
air. Discuss with them the actualities of
bicycle, auto and plane collisions, so that
they will not imagine these as fun. When
tactile fun is preferred, this can be
accommodated by sensory motor activities
on a mat. Collisions are off limits in moving
vehicles and in these games.

Chapter 10. SIR - Imagery and Relaxation
Imagery is the stuff of memories
Why a chapter on imagery and
relaxation? The senses provide the material
needed for memory and for imagery, but
sensations are not perceived in a vacuum.
We remember and think according to our
experiences. Experiences involve emotions
and heredity, at the very least.
Think of a favorite place known at a
special time for you. More than likely there
is a visual impression. Now think of
activities going on there that made that a
favorite place. Perhaps sounds and smells
will be recalled and certainly, feelings. That
memory was a high speed, guided imagery
tour. Some people rely on their auditory,
tactile-kinesthetic and olfactory senses, even
more than vision, for their impressions and
later recall.
What is guided imagery?
Just what is “guided imagery” and
what are the objectives or reasons for its use
in the classroom or with a group? Guided
imagery, sometimes misnamed, visual
imagery, is a right brain, timeless, spatial,
creative way of thinking, sensing and
organizing. It is similar to learning through
story telling. When we read or hear a story,
or poem, we usually associate ourselves with
one or more characters in that story. We
also relive the feelings and experiences that
our characters experience. We can do this
because we have our own experiences in our
memories on which we build.
Images not always visual
One man told me that he couldn’t
participate in guided imagery because he
couldn’t see images when he closed his
eyes. One does not have to see images to
follow a story or guided imagery. We may
imagine how a story character appears to us
without ever really seeing that character. If
96
we hear and understand the language, we
can follow the story. Your images of
characters and places from your reading will
be different from what you expect and
receive from an audio tape or movie.
If a blind person is in familiar
surroundings, he can find his way around
without seeing. He recalls images of which
things are in which spaces so that he won’t
bump into them. Blind people love to hear
and imagine stories as much as anyone else
does.
Images don’t have to be visual.
They are usually a combination of all of our
senses. I have used guided imagery with
students and adults over many years with
delightful success even though my students
were not visual learners.
Guided imagery, not hypnosis
There are some people who confuse
guided imagery with hypnosis. When some
of my students thought that closing their
eyes while listening to me would cause them
to be hypnotized, they were told that they
could keep their eyes open. My request was
that they be quiet, so as to allow others to
participate. An understanding of the
differences between the definition of
hypnosis and the definition of guided
imagery could be more helpful.
Hypnosis, sleep, trance
Hypnosis is rooted in the Greek word
for sleep. The goal of hypnosis is to put a
person in a sleep-like trance so that a
medical doctor can try to have the sleeping
person reveal personal information, which
might be used to help that person in therapy.
The hypnotist, usually a medical doctor,
asks questions of the patient to get
information. The hypnotist tells the patient
that he will not remember anything that took
place during the hypnosis session.
 Sometimes doctors hypnotize people
thinking that the person in the hypnotic
trance will reveal information helpful to
crime solving or court cases. This use of
hypnosis has diminished, as proof has been
furnished, to show that besides having
selective memory, where we select
particular areas of an experience which we
might remember, many people invent
memories during hypnosis, which do not fit
the facts of the experience at all.
Imago, likeness, awake
Imagery comes from the Latin word,
“imago”, which means likeness or image.
The participants in a guided imagery
exercise are encouraged to close their eyes,
so as to reduce extraneous distractions. The
goal of imagery is to remain awake, not to
sleep. Unlike hypnosis, guided imagery can
be practiced with a leader in a group or
alone, without a leader. Participants are
guided into a relaxed state, but remain fully
awake at all times.
Participant in control
The persons being guided, as through
a story, maintain complete control of their
minds and bodies. They are not asked
questions about their state of mind or
thoughts. Instead, they are receiving
information through their hearing sense or
from their own thoughts which may
stimulate their imaginations to develop a
kind of story line in their minds. No one
else knows what anyone else is thinking.
Remember, don’t forget
The relaxed state, accomplished
through purposeful, conscious, slow
breathing helps participants achieve a
connection of mind and body which
enhances or improves their ability to
organize their thoughts for their own use.
They can become less anxious, an aid to
learning. They can be more aware of
sensations and associations around an
experience, which increases memory and
retention. The goal is to remember, not to
forget.
Positive results of guided imagery use
And the objectives for using this process in
the future.
1. Participants are brought into a relaxed,
but alert state of mind and body.
2. They are brought into clearer awareness
concerning the subject of the imagery.
3. They enjoy themselves as part of the
story.
4. They can imagine themselves doing
something new, or accomplishing a
goal, which may be preparation for the
actual accomplishment later.
5. They can organize and complete a story
in imagery, which they will recall and be
able to tell, write or illustrate.
6. Their self-esteem can improve.
7. They can learn to make their present
imagery come closer to reality.
8. They can bring about physical changes
in themselves, such as becoming
stronger.
9. They can find answers and relevance
within that were not evident before the
guided imagery.
10. Guided imagery helps concentration and
focusing of attention.
Practice what you would do well
Like most other accomplishments,
learning to use guided imagery effectively
requires your attention, imitation or
modeling of someone experienced in doing
guided imagery and your own creativity and
practice. There are numerous guided
imagery sessions on audio-tape. When you
find someone with whom you are
comfortable, practice modeling of their style
while bringing in your own style and
changing messages to fit your needs. One of
the better specialists in this area, who has
almost thirty years experience doing guided
imagery, is Emmett E. Miller, M.D. His
tapes were used at home and in the
classroom, over many years. His ability to
awaken our own strengths in everyday
actions without going out to Never-Never
Land, is superb. (Source cassettes by Dr.
Miller and his catalog can be ordered at 1-
800-52TAPES)
Learning and relaxation
Why is relaxation an important part
of the learning process? Some years ago, a
pediatrician came up with some simple
stages of an infant’s wakefulness. From
those six stages I find three and add one
more which relate to the learning ability of
all of us. The three are:
1. Awake Drowsy,
2. Awake Anxious,
3. Awake Alert
To these I add:
4. Awake Away.
Guided imagery is focused
There is only one of these four stages
of wakefulness when learning can take
place. We can not take in new information
or ponder old when we are drowsy, about to
fall asleep, nor when we are anxious about
something else, nor when our minds are off
in space on thoughts past or future, instead if
being in the present. In order to learn
something, we must be awake-alert, like a
wide-eyed, attentive infant.
Learning to concentrate on our
breathing and then on the background music
and words of guided imagery will bring
most people into the present and reduce
anxiety.
Daydreams or imagery
A major difference between guided
imagery and daydreaming is that one has
heightened awareness and recall following
the imagery experience. Daydreaming, as
with night dreaming, is the unguided
meandering of the mind, and the content is
usually forgotten as soon as that person
returns to the present. Daydreams are
seldom clearly focused. Guided imagery is
focused.
Guided imagery, the guiding of the
listener into a story in which he or she plays
the main character, is an excellent precursor
to language arts. Everybody comes back,
mentally, to the room, ready to relate their
own experiences around the framework of
the guided imagery.
New age music
Background music is not an absolute
requirement for guided imagery, but using
pleasant, unobtrusive, appropriate
background music while leading the
participants on their mental excursion, is
enjoyable and helps the imagery. Most of
the music used is called “New Age” music.
It may be the sounds of rain, of birds
singing, of ocean waves, brooks of water
over stones or synthesized electronic music.
Some harp and piano music is effective.
Preparation for guided imagery
In preparation for guided imagery,
participants should sit with head and spine
erect, but comfortable, or recline, or lie
supine. Participants need to remove or
relieve themselves of any distracting items,
such as: pencils from the hands, loosening
tight belts or collars and removing tight or
heavy shoes. If sitting, the soles of the feet
should be flat against the floor, the arms
resting comfortably on rests or on the lap
and the eyes should be closed to shut out
visual distractions.
Setting the mood
The background music sets the mood
while everyone begins the experience by
becoming more aware of where they are,
aware of their tensions and of abilities to
relax while concentrating on their breathing.
By slowly breathing in, resting and then
breathing out slowly, they begin to release
all tension with the exhalations. The leader
guides this attention on the breathing by
talking the participants through it. When the
participants are relaxed, after several deep,
slow breaths, the story can begin to unfold
with words like, “Imagine that you are...”
An exercise to introduce Guided Imagery
This is an excellent and short
introduction to the subject of guided
imagery for adults and for children who are
new to guided imagery. Tell your
participants that you are going to give them
a two-part exercise in which they are going
to write and draw.
What you will need
You will need a stopwatch, a tape
player and a tape, or other means of playing
soft environmental background music. You
will need colored pictures of flowers to hand
out or to show with an overhead projector, a
beautiful flower, such as a new rose. The
participants could also just think of a
favorite flower.
You will need plain paper and
pencils for each participant. Pass out pencils
and paper, telling each to take two sheets of
paper and a pencil, or crayons. Tell them
that this is going to be a timed exercise and
you believe when they are finished they are
going to have a better understanding of their
right and left brains at work.
Numbered steps for easy reference
Everyone start drawing. 1
When everybody has a picture, paper
and pencil and they are ready, tell them that
when you say, “Go.”, you want them to start
drawing on one of the papers, a picture of
their flower. You will time them for exactly
one minute. When you say, “Stop.”, they
are to put their pencils down. Tell them that
you will be cueing them into how many
seconds they have left in that minute.
They may copy the picture directly,
if they want to, but they may not trace the
picture. Then you say, “Ready, go, start
drawing.” and you start your stopwatch.
Soon after, you might say, “These will be
judged for first, second and third prizes.” Of
course, you are joking and just trying to
build up a little more tension.
Then start calling out, “Forty
seconds left, twenty seconds to go, ten
seconds, then five, four, three, two and stop.
Put your pencils down.”
Ready, write. 2
Tell them that now you want them to
turn their paper over and when you say,
“Go.”, they are to start writing about their
flower. Without looking at the flower they
are to write as much as they can remember
or can think of about that flower in the next
minute and use the entire minute.
Again, set your stopwatch and say,
“Ready, go. Start writing.” If questions
start, say, “Just write anything, anything you
want to say about that flower.” You might
add, for a little added tension and fun, that
the language specialists will judge these
writings. Again, let them know how much
time they have left: thirty seconds, twenty,
ten and five, four, three, two and one. Also
say, “Keep writing, keep writing until I say
stop.” Say, “Stop, put your pencils down.”
Share for one minute. 3.
Then you say, “Take another minute,
find a partner and share with your partner,
your picture and what you wrote. Talk with
each other about these things. Get some
feedback. Then we’re going to go on to the
second part of this exercise. If there are odd
numbers of participants work with three in
one group.” At this point, the group can
become quite noisy. That’s okay. When it
is close to the end of the one minute, tell
them to quiet down so that they can get on
with part two, and then they can discuss that.
Say, “Ready, Stop.”
Breathe and relax. 4
To begin part two of this exercise,
tell everyone to put all the papers and
pencils down, out of the way, so that they
can settle themselves, in their seats, as
comfortably as possible. SAY, “I’d like you
to close your eyes now and take a big, deep
breath. Then blow it all out, blowing away
all the tension in your body.” Allow plenty
of time for the breathing and guided imagery
to follow. Relax your own voice so that it is
mellow and comforting, but still carries
clearly to all in the group. You want to
eliminate any stress in this half of the
exercise. Except for, ready, start or stop, no
time limits will be mentioned although they
will be kept.
Tell the group to breathe in, then out
about four, relaxed, slow times. At this
time, you could also start your soft,
background music. The sounds of a little
brook would be most appropriate here. For
each breath, calmly say, “Breathe in........
Breathe out......, again, in...out”, until the
four deep breaths are taken and the room is
quiet, except for your voice and the quiet
music.
Now begin the guided meditation. 5
Make sure you are relating this story
slowly enough for participants to have time
to form and become involved with these
images, but not so slowly, as to lose their
attention. Your words should come on
relaxing breaths. Do not rush through any
words.
SAY, “Imagine yourself walking on
the soft earth outside, on a beautiful, warm,
sunny day. You are in a fresh meadow,
beside a small wooded area, walking on a
narrow earthen path. You see ahead of you
a small, stone wall, almost lost beneath tree
branches and vines. You feel curious and
you walk down the little path to the wall.
Soon, you find an old, wooden gate with an
old latch. It opens easily to your push.
Then you find yourself inside a large,
fragrant, colorful, beautiful garden. You
feel the velvety grass under your feet. You
hear the birds singing joyfully among the
tree branches. You can smell fragrances
from very many flowers. Listen; hear a little
brook running clear, over the pebbles. Go
gently over there and look at the brook with
trees overhead making patterns of sun and
shadow, while the water patters over the
pebbles. Take deep breaths and sense your
feelings of peacefulness and delight with
this lovely garden experience. Walk quietly
along the garden path looking at the
marvelous array of colorful, fragrant
flowers.”
“Now you see one special flower
which so attracts you, that your whole
attention is in and with this flower. Examine
the flower with your hands and face. See it
inside and out. Feel it. Smell it. Hold it in
your hands. Now blend with and become
this flower. Feel your roots and the earth
around them. Feel your strong stem
extending up from your roots, and your
beautiful leaves responding to the warmth
and nourishment of the sun. Rise into the
center of your flower, becoming aware of
your colorful petals glowing in the sun’s
warmth. Feel the breezes in the fresh air
around you.
Be aware of what you can hear as
this flower, brook babbling, birds singing,
and buzzing insects. Become aware of the
sounds in the earth, around your roots.
Sense how the air around you feels and
smells, warm and pleasant. From the
viewpoint of being this flower, notice how
the world around you appears. Make a
statement to yourself about your special
attributes as this flower. I am ......
Then separate yourself from your
flower and tell it what you appreciate about
it. Listen for its answer.....Then caress your
flower, tenderly saying, “Good-bye” to it,
for now. It’s time to take leave of this
wonderful garden, but you can come back,
now that you know the way, any time you
wish.
Walk to the path that leads you
outside the garden wall. Close the gate,
gently, behind you. Take the path toward
the woods, still delighting and breathing in
your experience. As you walk, return once
again to this room. With your eyes still
closed, breathe deeply and quietly three
times. Then you may open your eyes and be
ready for the next phase of this exercise.”
Draw your flower. 6
After 10 to 20 seconds or so of quiet,
during which only the soft background
music can be heard, say quietly, “Now take
your blank paper and your pencil and in
another minute, draw your special flower.
Ready, Go.” (This time you do not say
anything about the seconds, only the music
in the background is heard.) When the
minute is up, Say, “Stop. Put your pencils
down and turn this paper over.”
Write about your flower. 7
Say, “In the next minute, write about
your flower, just as much as you can write in
one minute.” Set your stopwatch and say,
“Ready, go.” At the end of the minute, say,
“Ready, stop, pencils down.”
Share with a partner. 8
Say, “Now I’d like you to share
again with your partners, this drawing and
writing. See if you notice any differences
between the first and second pictures and
writings.”
Share with the group. 9
After one minute of sharing with
their partners, ask if any would like to share
with the whole group, any differences they
found between the pre and post imagery
drawings and writings.
Repeat or write on the board some of
the differences individuals found between
the first and second experiences. For
instance, one person said that she printed
during her first writing, but changed to a
flowing cursive style during her second
writing. The second writing was more
poetic and had more feeling than the first.
The second drawings were usually more
pleasing than the first. Remind the group
that except for your oral presentation the
time for both exercises was the same.
Return anytime. 10
Tell your participants, now that they
know the way, they can close their eyes,
breathe quietly, and return to the garden path
anytime. This exercise will give them an
idea of how we usually do things in a mainly
left brain, time conscious mode, and how
our timeless, right brain mode changes our
activities.
The timing in the first activity is
definitely a left brain activity. During the
second exercise, with the music and
relaxation, they were using more of their
right brain neurons. The right brain was
being allowed to come into play along with
the left. Often, we must make a
concentrated effort to allow both sides of our
brain to work together.
--End of the exercise--
Classroom experiences
Since there are so many specialists,
classes, books and tapes available on the
subject of guided imagery, a long discourse
on the subject won’t be given here. Instead,
some experiences, while using guided
imagery in the classroom, are related.
We’re leaving this autistic boy
One spring day, as I was about to
begin one of my Language Arts classes for
dyslexic students in junior high school, the
principal and the school psychologist arrived
in my classroom followed by a tall,
handsome, fifteen year old, Hispanic boy.
The two men told me that the boy was from
a predominantly Hispanic high school in a
town some twenty miles away. The men
also told me that this young man was autistic
and they were placing him in my classroom
while they carried out the paperwork
necessary for his placement elsewhere. The
young teenager slipped docilely into one of
those chairs with the desk attached to the
arm of the chair. Class resumed.
You’re in a colorful balloon
The music and slow breathing
preceding a guided imagery exercise were
begun. The students were told to imagine
that it was a beautiful, blue sky, sunny day
and they were going to take a trip high into
the warm air in a balloon. They were to fill
in the details as to what their particular
balloon looked like, the color, design, etc.
Then they were guided over fields and rivers
and eventually brought back to earth and
then back to the classroom again.
Another definition of autism?
After this, we passed out the papers,
pencils and crayons while the students were
instructed to write and illustrate their stories.
The new boy was working along with my
regular students. He left me astonished,
when he handed me a beautifully written and
carefully illustrated story of his balloon ride.
So he could write and understand English.
He was friendly enough for someone being
left in an environment where he knew no
one. He seemed in no way, autistic, unless
there was some new definition of autism of
which I was unaware. What else was he
capable of doing?
Although he was subdued, he
seemed to be eager to learn and to take part
in this class. I instructed him in math skills,
using dice, to see what concepts he
understood. This boy remained in my
classroom for more than a month. We were
getting along quite well. He spoke and
understood English. He was alert, bright
and enjoying school, or at least, this class.
When the school psychologist and I
again met, my subject was what I had
learned about this boy. Could he please
allow this boy to spend the rest of the
semester in my class where he was
performing so well? The psychologist’s
answer to me was, “The paperwork is too far
along and can not be changed. The boy is
going elsewhere.” I’ll always wonder what
the outcome was of the boy’s experience of
having spent time in that class and what
story surrounded his coming to and going
from my classroom. Did guided imagery
open a door for him?
A disorganized 4th grader
Another time, the elementary school
principal, the fourth grade teacher and the
mother of a bright, but confused girl met
with me to see if I could do something to
help improve this girl’s self-esteem.
On the first day that this young lady
came to my classroom, I handed her a 9x12-
inch drawing paper and asked her to draw a
picture of herself and then write some
comment about herself on the back of the
paper. Down in one tiny corner of the paper
was a 1¼ inch tall stick figure.
Screening with this young lady told
me that she was crossed dominant and a
right brain, spatial, non-linear learner. This
could account for the teacher’s complaint
that this girl was confused and disorganized.
In the left brain classrooms, which seldom
touched on right brain instruction, it was
evident from the tiny self on the big paper
that this girl’s self-esteem was indeed in
jeopardy.
She liked to draw
In spite of her stick figure drawing,
she said that she liked to draw, so I devised a
guided imagery to help her become more
realistically in touch with her body and her
self. It is one of the few, self-composed
guided imagery exercises, that was audio-
taped. This exercise combined anatomy, art
and self-appreciation in one or more
sessions and had quite a positive effect on
this girl, and on others after her.
Mind over body
To present a lasting impression on
how our attitudes, our minds and our
imagery affect our performances, try these
imagery experiments.
Have the students pair off according
to size and strength. Those of equal size and
strength should be partners for these
exercises. In the first experiment, one
partner, Robin, should hold her dominant
arm straight out, in front of herself at
shoulder height. The other partner, Bob,
should, gradually push down on Robin’s
extended arm, with his dominant hand, to
judge Robin’s strength.
Then tell those, whose arms are
extended, to think of something that makes
them unhappy, such as: I’m tired, I’m sick
or I hate spelling. When they agree that
these negative thoughts are in their minds,
their partner again pushes on the extended
arm.
This time the arm will usually go
down with barely any resistance. Have
Robin and the others extend their arms a
third time. This time they are to think
positive thoughts, like I’m quite smart, I can
do lots of things very well, or, I feel great.
Now have Bob and the others see how
strong those arms are. Then reverse
positions. Discuss what happened.
Deep roots
For this next exercise have the
partners stand one behind the other. Have
the one behind, carefully place his or her
arms around the other’s pelvis so as to pick
him off the floor, just a bit. Then place the
person down gently. Make sure that the
lifter bends his knees and keeps his own
back straight. This test is given to show
how easy it is to lift the partners.
Now have the partners in front, who
are being lifted, close their eyes. Tell them
to imagine that they are great trees with
roots going down deeper and deeper into the
earth under their feet. Tell them to feel their
strength and how strongly they are attached
to the earth.
While they keep these images in
their minds, have the partners behind try to
lift those in front, a second time. What has
happened? Did the ones in front get
heavier? Reverse positions so that all can
experience both positions.
Proof positive, think positive
What did everyone find out with
these experiments? How can they use this
knowledge to their advantage? One thing
for sure, they will understand better how
thoughts affect performance. Maybe
coming up with positive images to replace
negative ones will be easier to get across to
these students in the future. Some people
seem to need constant reminding to stay
positive.
Instruction to evoke imagery
After experiencing this kind of
teaching-learning exercise, you’ll have to
agree that the results are beyond anything
you could accomplish through lecture alone.
When you are preparing to introduce any
new subject matter, you’ll find that taking
the time to evoke and maintain strong,
positive imagery concerning the subject, will
enhance comprehension and recall.
What was it really like back then?
Let’s say that you are ready to
introduce United States History and the
creation of the Constitution of the USA.
Tell your students interesting stories, with
clear imagery material, about that era. Have
them imagine living back in 1775 through
1790. What were schools like then? What
were school age children doing in their free
time, if they had any? Describe what it may
have been like before child labor laws were
instituted. What were these people like who
wrote our U.S. Constitution?
If your students are practicing
writing or spelling, have them imagine a
large, brightly colored hand guiding their
hands as they go through the motions in
their minds. Have them close their eyes and
imagine performing their task perfectly.
Dance and imagery
Greg Louganis, who has won more
gold medals and awards in diving than any
other American, says that he learned mental
imagery at a very young age. Though he
started diving at the age of nine, he had
toddled into dance classes when he was only
one and one half years old.
His teacher taught him to do his
dance in his head before doing it in on the
floor. He said that if he missed a step in his
head, he would have to repeat the practice in
his head until he could do it perfectly.
When he became a diver, that ability with
mental imagery helped to make him the
champion that he is. When Greg Louganis
practiced a dive over 500 times whether in
his mind or in actuality, he made little
changes toward perfection each time.
I think dancers have developed an
edge when it comes to learning through
imagery. Besides imagery development, a
kinesthetic feel for new situations develops.
Having been a dancer may leave me a little
prejudiced, but doesn’t deny facts.
When we were practicing for a
recital, my teacher would say, “Save your
energy here. You know the steps. Just walk
through it or go through that part in your
head until you get to the double head kick.”
The double head kick was the time for me to
take a few running steps and jump into the
air and kick the back of my head with both
feet and then land firmly on both feet on the
floor. We had no shock absorbing mats
then, just hard floor.
Highest level of mental experience
In my files, is a several page article
called, “The Physiology of Imagination”,
written by John C. Eccles, dated September
1958. More about its origin is not available
now, but Mr. Eccles was a scientist. Here are
a few pertinent quotes from that article:
“Imagination, the synthesis of new
ideas and images from elements of past
experiences and perceptions..… . arises
somehow from the activity of the brain. The
way to the imagination, the highest level of
mental experience, lies through the lower
levels of sensory experience, imagery, ...and
memory... Two completely different inputs
can be transmitted through the same pattern
of cell connections, crossing each other and
emerging as completely different outputs.
Naturally there would have to be an
interval of several milliseconds between the
two wave fronts...” (to avoid interference.)
(This seems to be confirmation of a time
delay in the brain for crossed dominant
individuals.)
“Language, whether spoken or
written, is overwhelmingly important to the
function of memory and becomes
increasingly so with education and cultural
development. We learn to experience
vicariously the imagery of writers and
artists.…. .Illumination comes only to a
mind that has been prepared by the
assimilation and critical evaluation of the
knowledge in its field.”
This is another way of saying that
output depends on input. Involving the right
hemisphere in education, more than we have
been doing, will benefit all learners. It will
also include those right brain thinkers who
have previously seemed not to fit in at
school.
Thanks for the imagery
Following is part of a letter I
received from one of my elementary
students who is now a college graduate.
I also want to thank you for what you
gave me back in third and fourth grade.
From the day I began coming into your hour
a day class to my graduating college not one
teacher has helped me learn the way you did.
Every time I am struggling in life and in
school, your learning technique of visual
imagery has proved to be a lifesaver for me.
I can remember coming into your
class and the group would talk about what
we wanted to do for that day. Once we
picked what we all wanted to do, you would
have us all lay on a mat with our eyes closed
and you would have us visualize what we
were going to do before we did it. This
proved to be the thing that got me through
school.
 I used to flunk my times tables
before I went to your class, but after you
taught me some learning techniques I began
to thrive in the class and not feel like I was a
failure. Also after I visualized what I was to
do I did not feel the anxiety or the frustration
that usually accompanied me when I did
things. To this day, whether it is studying or
just everyday things, I use visual imagery to
get me through my daily struggles. . .
Love, Jim

Jim was left eye dominant. His use

of imagery and polarities in Gestalt art
exercises made an immense improvement in
his self-assurance and self-esteem. Those
bogey-men who used to defeat him were
gone forever!
 Chapter 11. SMAT: Sensory Motor Activities with a Mat
Live to move
To sense, to move, that’s what being
alive is all about. I’ve heard most
youngsters say that their favorite subject at
school was recess. And why not. We are in
many ways like machines that live to move
and move to live. Research of the 1990’s
confirms that aerobic exercise increases not
only nutrients to the brain, but a greater
number of connections between the neurons,
even for older persons. There is a definite
connection between athletic performance
and higher energy for learning and higher
self-esteem.
Sensory-motor development
From the time of our birth onward in
our life cycle here on earth we are exploring
through movement and sensing to find ways
to coordinate our senses with our bodies.
Infants are most intent on sense and motor
coordination. They turn their heads towards
sounds so that they can visually focus on
where that sound comes from. Their little
noses guide them when they are hungry.
Then the eyes begin to direct the hands
toward eye-hand coordination. Every
child’s early developmental progress is
measured by her sensory motor progress.
Freedom for physical exploration
Then, just as they were getting good
at getting around we put them in a cage,
often called a playpen. Partly this is done to
protect the child while the parent can not
continuously watch the child, but mostly this
is done to limit the child’s freedom so that
parents can find more freedom for
themselves.
Playpens are not all to be burned like
the spinning wheels in “Sleeping Beauty”,
but those adults in charge of toddlers need to
be more tuned in to the children’s sensory-
motor development. During those first five
years of development, when the brain is
growing and refining itself at the speediest
rate in the life cycle, we need to expose
children to a great deal of safe, physical
exploration and practice.
Although development is an ongoing
process, there appear to be some critical
periods in children’s growth and
development that require a certain amount of
input for the brain and body to develop
optimally.
The body and brain tied down
At one elementary school, a 5 or 6
year old girl was pointed out to me. She had
spent the first two years of her life, literally
tied to the confines of a fairly small boat on
the ocean. She had been unable to run or to
be normally active. Her parents had taken
their baby daughter on their cruise to the
total detriment of their child’s development.
This girl had been normal at birth.
Now, it was apparent to all, this girl’s
development had been severely limited by
her early, severe, sensory motor deprivation.
Her developmental problems were
compounded by language problems. All
were too severe for her inclusion in regular
classrooms. She had to be sent to a special
school. This was indeed a sad commentary
on the costs of ignorance for parenting or
raising babies.
Deprivation from TV
The other dreadful demon of our
society, when it comes to meeting children’s
needs, is the use of a television as a baby
sitter. There just is no way that the eyes, or
eye-hand coordination, of any child can
develop optimally when the task is to stare
in one direction, at a bright light, for long
periods of the child’s day. Our local library
has compiled a list of ways to wean kids
from TV. The hope is that this list will help
all of us wean children from television into
healthy activities. Contribute your ideas to
your schools and libraries. (Friends of the
Pacific Grove Public Library Newsletter,
Fall 1994. Reprinted by permission.)
How to Wean Your Kids From TV
• Don’t demand a sudden end to TV
watching
• Set Limits. One hour on school nights
and two to three hours a day on
weekends is OK.
• Be a good role model. Children won’t
necessarily believe you when you say
you walked two miles to school each day
when you were a child. But taking
family walks for exercise will send a
positive message.
• Or, while your child does homework, set
a good example by reading a book or
exercising.
• Turn off the TV when no one is watching
it, especially during mealtime. Get used
to the sound of the house without the TV
on.
• Plan in advance what your children are
allowed to watch and when. No channel
flipping. Your child should seek your
permission to watch something not on
the accepted list or that is beyond the
time limits that you’ve set.
• Watch TV with your kids to offset
messages that you don’t like or material
that will confuse or frighten.
• Use baby-sitters who will adhere to your
rules regarding TV.
• Make sure your children have at least
three 20-minute periods each week of
activity that raises the heart rate enough
that they sweat.
Energetic childcare providers
Children need to be active and free to
explore within safe, but not constraining
limits. The scheme of nature is to combine
the easiest child bearing years with the high-
energy years of young parents. Those who
provide care for pre-school children need the
energy to provide for an enriched program
of sensory-motor development. Most older
folk simply could not keep up with the high
rate of activity of naturally developing
youngsters. When in my twenties and
thirties, raising my three youngsters, there
was some special, high-energy ingredient in
my system, which is no longer there.
Visual-motor exercise games
Stimulate children’s visual motor
coordination and provide fun at the same
time. Stick a “glitter bug sticker” on the
child’s finger. Tell him to watch it move all
around while you guide the movement of the
child’s hand and be sure he is watching it.
At night, or in a darkened
environment, give the child a little
flashlight. To build up her visual-motor
coordination, encourage her follow the
movement of your flashlight across or to
various spots on the ceiling or walls.
Early balancing exercises
Start children on balancing exercises
by the time they are two years old. You can
make sure they are safe by letting them hold
on to your arm and keeping the objects on
which they learn to balance themselves close
to the floor. You probably can not overdo a
fun activity program. Their need for rest
will demand its due.
By the time children are in the school
system, most of them can sit quietly and
give their attention to the teacher, or to a
particular activity, for fifteen or twenty
minute periods, as long as the teacher
contrasts active and passive activities during
the school day.
The MAT – Maximum Activity Time
One item that would benefit every
classroom or home is an accordion folded
exercise mat. My first was ordered for my
hyperactive, dyslexic boys in Marysville.
We used that mat for all kinds of fun and
tension releasing activities. These mats are
usually eight feet long by five feet wide and
are filled with 2 inch deep, firm foam. They
fold up into a 2 foot. by 5 foot. by 8 inch
storage size. They can also be used as a seat
when folded. Our mat had a red, washable,
plastic type covering. These mats can be
ordered from most educational materials
catalogs.
Whole body versus legs, only
Recess and most school time action
periods usually allow for leg and arm action
at best. This situation can be improved,
immeasurably, by providing whole body
exercises, which develop control of the torso
as well as the limbs. There are thousands of
sensory motor programs already published.
Look for one that uses a mat and involves
the whole person, his thought, senses,
movement and rhythm. Find a sensory
motor program with which you and your
group feel comfortable, yet challenged. You
may want to glean some ideas from various
programs and devise your own sensory
motor program.
Release anxiety, performance improves
When the following Bio-energetic
exercises are presented in the early part of a
group’s sensory motor program, the rest of
the program will usually flow more
cooperatively, more easily and more safely.
The workshop, “Breathing, Movement and
Feeling” with Alexander Lowen, M.D. as
author and leader, was one of several
attended. Dr. Lowen’s ideas were especially
helpful for the pubescent youngsters who
were my students then. These boys had
many hang-ups and hostilities that were
inhibiting their educational progress and
their progress as human beings.
Value of breathing exercises
Dr. Lowen points out that we tend to
unconsciously inhibit our breathing out of
our fears. When the breathing is inhibited,
feelings are kept locked inside our muscle
tensions. Feelings are repressed. “The
inability to breathe fully and deeply
produces anxiety, irritability and tension.”
This repression and tension gives us further
problems with spontaneous and free flowing
movement. We need to do something
positive to reduce anxiety, irritability and
tension, in homes, schools, in the
community. Dr. Lowen’s bio-energetics
helps achieve this objective, which in turn
helps students improve school performance.
Feelings and breathing
Recall that breathing and smelling
are closely tied to the emotional center of
the brain. Dr. Lowen asked, “Why do so
many people have difficulty in breathing
fully and easily? The answer is that
breathing releases feelings and people are
often afraid to feel. They are afraid to feel
their sadness, their anger and their fear. As
children they held their breath to stop
crying, they drew back their shoulders and
tightened their chests to contain their anger,
and they constricted their throats to prevent
screaming.”
Dr. Lowen relates that there are two
types of breathing repression. The people in
one type inhibit the movement of the
diaphragm and abdominal muscles. They
cut off feeling in the lower halves of their
bodies. Their chests are held in the deflated
position, which limits their oxygen intake
and lowers their metabolism.
The people in the other group are the
more aggressive and controlling types.
Their chests are immobilized, while the
diaphragm and upper abdomen are relatively
free. They often keep their chests in an
expanded condition. They have difficulty in
letting go, as in letting go of control.
It becomes evident that to really help
school age children and adults, to allow their
bodies and senses to work together in a
smooth coordinated manner as they were
meant to, requires that breathing and
emotional repressions be allowed some
outlet. That is the purpose of Dr. Lowen’s
bioenergetic exercises.
Freeing mind to learn
Alert-anxious is not amenable to
learning. One of these bio-energetic
exercises was explained in the partial list of
peaceful alternatives to lashing out. That
exercise is enlarged on here. The goal of the
exercise is to free up and coordinate one’s
breathing with specific actions and words or
sounds, which will in turn free up the mind
and help us let go of outdated fears and
stresses pent-up since early childhood.
These exercises are somewhat like
permitting one’s self and others to have
limited temper tantrums. So go to the far
end of the playground or somewhere where
your noise won’t disturb others. You can
work as a large group or break a large group
into huddles of six to eight people.
Coordinated breath, moves and words
Everybody takes a deep breath in as
they raise their right leg, knee bent. As they
force all the breath out, they stamp the raised
foot onto the ground. Then breathe in and
lift the other foot, stamp it down as the
breath is forced out again.
Once everybody gets into the idea
and the rhythm, add words, like “I” when
stamping the first foot and “won’t” when
exhaling all the breath and stamping the
second foot. Lift a foot and breathe in.
Breathe out and stamp that foot as you yell a
word. Right foot up, breathe in, exhale and
stamp the right foot and yell “I”. Then, left
foot up, breathe in, exhale and stamp the left
foot and yell “won’t!” Repeat right and left
until tension is released.
Then try these sample words in the
same pattern: I’m mad, I hurt, I hate. One
word on one exhalation and stamp of a foot,
the next word on the next exhalation and
stamping of the other foot, etc. Or try a
three or four word phrase, like “I hate
school”, or math, whatever. Say one word
with each stamp; just do more stamps.
Once the participants have released
pent-up resentments without harming
anyone, or anything, they are usually feeling
freer and happier. They usually find these
exercises to be fun.
Finish with positive words and actions
Finish up each session of
bioenergetics with breathing, stamping and
yelling positive expressions, like: I will, I
can, I - am - o - kay, or I-like-this-class.
Usually four syllables means four breaths
and four stamps, but two can work. E.g.: 1.
I love, 2. this game. The kids may come up
with their own new suggestions that are
helpful for them. The whole exercise does
free up participants, usually leaving them in
good humor, often laughing at how silly our
tantrums sound. This may be a good time to
share good feelings, which minutes earlier
were out of reach. A BIG group HUG
completes this exercise.
Stretch the breathing apparatus
Dr. Lowen expressed the need for
stretching the front chest and arms, as well
as stretching the back and the back of the
legs. The chest stretch he designed, bending
backward over a 2 foot high bench, is a bit
difficult to accomplish in a group. Instead,
have students lie prone, (on their stomachs),
on a mat. Warm up and build up as with all
exercise programs and rest afterwards. The
students reach their arms out in front of
themselves and try to lift a dowel, a three-
foot long mop handle to the sky, with their
hands about shoulder wide. See sensory-
motor screening, part 2.
They can open their mouths and
breathe as they try to hand the dowel up to
the leader or partner standing over them.
The leader or partner can catch the offered
dowel and hold it with the student, perhaps
giving a very small added stretch to the
chest and arms if so indicated by the student.
The actual exercise is excellent for building
up the muscles of the shoulders, neck and
torso, and the stretch actually gives one a
pleasant feeling and greater flexibility once
it is managed.
Flexion stretch
In Dr. Lowen’s flexion, or forward
bending exercise, the person stands, placing
his or her feet about 12 inches apart, toes
turned slightly inward, and the knees slightly
bent. The whole weight of the body rests on
the legs and feet as the person breathes
deeply in and then out as she slowly bends
forward, dropping the head, relaxing the
neck and allowing the fingers to move
towards or touch the floor.
Usually with continued breathing, in
this position, the back of the legs may begin
to shake or vibrate. The back will relax,
allowing the fingertips to come closer to the
floor. The vibration of the legs, according to
Dr. Lowen, is a normal reaction, which
releases stress in the lower body. Continue
breathing and relaxing 4 or 5 times. Then
rise slowly, one vertebra at a time, until
erect. Take a deep breath and feel the
difference.
Special Mat Exercises
#1. One Minute Wrestling Contest
The one-minute wrestling contest on
the mat was a sensory-motor activity
enjoyed by girls and boys alike. The main
objectives of this exercise are to provide a
comfortable, peaceful and fun outlet for the
desire for playful, physical contact between
children, much as one would see among the
young of most animal species. This
exercise, like other mat activities, is
performed barefoot and in appropriate attire,
usually shorts and shirts.
No one forgets what they love to do
The students would keep loose
tumbling pants in class. The girls, including
myself could slip the pants on under a skirt.
The mat could be stood on edge as a screen,
for the girls’ modesty of pulling gym shorts
on and off. Each Friday, everyone took
these clothes home to be laundered. Since
the kids loved mat work, they seldom forgot
to bring these clothes back on Mondays.
Even notes to and from school could be
guaranteed transport when sent with mat
clothes.
If you have a class or group with
over twenty participants, try to keep the
wrestling group down to twelve or fewer at
any time. Use student or other helpers to set
up two or three rotating, sensory-motor
activities. Each group could have ten,
fifteen or twenty minutes at two or three
activities. With shorter time limits, rotate to
different activities on different days.
The rules for mat wrestling
Knowing and abiding by the few
simple rules for this activity make it
workable. The rules are.
1. Stay on the mat. Keep feet etc. on the
mat at all times.
2. You will be timed for exactly one
minute, as long as you abide by the
rules.
3. Opponents must be of fairly equal size
and be agreeable to the match.
4. Opponents start by standing, facing each
other on the mat.
5. Opponents may use arms or legs to try
to push or pull each other down on their
backs to the mat.
6. No one may have any intention of
hurting the other.
7. Headlocks, punching, hitting, biting,
kicking or any other hurtful activities are
not allowed. Players using any of these
are disqualified.
8. The moment someone breaks a rule, the
opponents are asked to stop. Their turn
is over and they are disqualified.
9. If any part of either opponent’s body
comes off the mat, they must start from
the standing position again, with the
stopwatch ticking.
10. If anyone has difficulty with responsible
participation in this “wrestling for fun
and sport” they will be eliminated from
this activity in future matches until they
are able to exhibit better self control.
Fun is intended
No match proceeded without adult
and stopwatch supervision. If anger is a
problem, there are bioenergetics and other
methods to deal with this, but not on mats.
My helper, the kids and I had lots of fun
with this activity. We usually wound up
laughing together. As soon as two
youngsters completed their match, by
stopwatch or by getting their opponent on
his or her back with the shoulders down, win
or lose, they would usually jump up and run
to the end of the line while arranging
another match with another partner, time
permitting. Previously uncontrollable kids
fell in line with all rules and authority.
This fast moving, exertive activity
provided a welcome break to seated study.
The students could be counted on to be more
alert and cooperative following this exercise.
The exercise itself involves all of the
musculo-skeletal system as well as planning,
cooperation and self-discipline. This
activity may not be appropriate to every
classroom or teacher, but it is here if it
sounds like something that would work for
you.
#2. The game of pretending to be animals
Similar to managed wrestling is the
game of pretending to be animals, on or off
the mat. This activity, besides providing
excellent sensory motor development, such
as crawling and use of the whole body and
mind, provides the opportunity to develop
awareness into communication, cooperation
and being in touch with and handling
various feelings. This is also an excellent
outlet for pent-up frustration or stress, which
may be related to school or the home
environment.
Establish limits within which the
youngsters may experiment, such as: You
must stay within this space. You may not do
anything that might hurt others. The idea is
for everyone to have fun. Only two may
interact at any one time. They must stay
alert to the leader’s instructions. The
consequence for breaking the rules is to be
removed from the game for a time out.
When you provide films or videos of
animals in their natural habitats, tell the
youngsters to imagine that they are those
animals. Tell them to imagine moving as a
specific animal moves. If you are all
watching a film about a bear which shows
the bear walking in the meadow, fishing
from a stream or scratching its back on a
tree, instruct everyone to imagine being that
bear performing those actions. When it is
time to actually pretend being animals, the
youngsters will have a better sense of their
roles from such preparation. Have them try
each action alone as you call it out. E.g. Be
a walking bear looking for berries. Scratch
your back on the tree bark as a bear does.
Try guided imagery here
The youngsters begin by thinking of
which animal they would like to be. Tell
them to close their eyes and remember how
their animal lives and moves. Where does
this animal live? Are they in the jungle, the
desert, at the person’s home? Imagine being
this animal moving on all fours through their
territory. How does their animal: travel,
stretch, wake up, sleep, eat, communicate
with its family, and so forth? How does it
act with similar animals, when they are
young and playful? What kinds of sounds
does it make? Try poems like this one to
help children get into a feeling for an
animal's actions.
The Black Cat
The black cat yawns, opens her jaws,
stretches her legs and shows her claws.
Then she gets up and stands on four
Long stiff legs and yawns no more.
She shows her teeth; she stretches her lip.
Her slice of a tongue turns up at the tip.
Lifting herself on her delicate toes
She arches her back as high as it goes.
She lets herself down with particular care
and pads away with her tail in the air.
Getting into action progressively
When each youngster is fairly clear
on how their animal behaves in various
circumstances, allow them to begin acting
the part of being their animal. In a cleared
space on the floor, a number of children can
be exercising their minds and bodies at the
same time. Direct which activity each is to
imitate at any given time. Monitor the play
and be sure to provide discussion time
afterward.
Activity ideas
Now imagine that you are waking
up. You are hungry and must look for food.
You find food and eat.
You are traveling around your
territory when you meet a friendly animal.
Make contact with this friendly animal.
Communicate as your animals might. How
does this encounter make you feel?
You meet another animal who might
be an enemy. Who is this enemy? How do
you respond to each other? What does each
of you do?
How do you feel in this encounter?
How can the both of you manage to live
peacefully in the same territory?
#3. The Obstacle Course
This next activity, the obstacle
course, provides for fine tuning sensory
motor development, such as: balance,
kinesthetic awareness, and coordinating a
series of different activities in sequence.
Invite the youngsters to help you envisage a
treacherous terrain obstacle course, such as:
rough terrain in the jungle, getting through
tangled woods or forest, trying to avoid an
enemy or predator, something similar to
Harrison Ford and Sharon Stone in the
“Indiana Jones” movies.
Create adventure story
Create the story together and then set
it up. Use mind mapping developed with
colorful drawings or pictures. Everybody
participates in the development of the story,
the course of events and in helping and
following each other through the
“treacherous terrain”. Be sure that the
course is free of real safety hazards, while
providing as much diversity as the children
can be expected to remember during any
particular total activity. In other words,
there will have to be limits on how many
obstacles the group can maneuver during
each experience.
Arrange treacherous terrain
Arrange the classroom furniture to
provide for obstacles, which provide for the
following types of activities.
• Climbing,
• Balancing on a narrow path that requires
heel to toe walking,
• Crawling beneath desks as if they were
dangerous walls, which must not be
touched,
• Jumping off desks or sturdy chairs,
which represent rocks or other obstacles
on the path,
• Moving sideways as if they were on a
cliff edge,
• Going hands and knees across a narrow
bridge over a chasm,
• Catching items, which must be thrown,
and so forth.
Keep momentum going
Work at keeping the imagery and
enthusiasm going. Say and encourage the
youngsters to say things like, Be careful.
Don’t fall into the river. The crocodiles
could get you. This will provide motivation
for performing activities that appear difficult
to maneuver by some youngsters. You
might want to use special music that fits
with the story, such as jungle music,
thunderstorms or drumbeats. Use color and
fragrance to enhance memories, or for
direction. To aid sense of direction, move in
a clockwise direction starting at one o’clock
and ending at twelve o’clock.
Remove real fears
Encourage lending each other a hand
when some children appear tentative about
doing any particular activity. Some
children, for instance, will find heel to toe
balancing difficult. Provide them a hand,
but don’t permit them to avoid the exercise.
Try to remove their fears by making these
exercises as safe as possible. A rope on the
floor can be used to represent the heel to toe
obstacle. This way there is really nothing
from which to fall. A balance beam, secured
at both ends is an excellent piece of
equipment here.
Rainy day action
As you can imagine the obstacle
course encourages youngsters to try
activities they might otherwise avoid. It
gives them strong imagery reasons for
attempting to keep up with the group. Like
the previous two “games” it is a good rainy
day, indoor exercise program.
These activities are to be included
throughout the year, as they bring about
sensory motor development without making
it seem like hard work. Add difficulty and a
change of scene, as the children become
adept at these exercises. Examples: They
might hop or jump while using their hands
to carry something. They could imagine
they fell and broke an arm. They must hold
or not use that arm through the rest of the
obstacle course. Use movements to the right
and to the left, especially with their eyes.
Also add commands like: freeze, move
silently, okay, go fast.
#4. Simple Gymnastics
A good sensory-motor program
includes floor work using the whole body
and the development of a good kinesthetic
sense and a sense of timing. These exercises
are especially helpful for crossed dominant
youngsters who may need extra practice
with total coordination and timing. They
also give the smaller, less coordinated
youngsters a chance to shine.
With mat exercises, the less
coordinated, floppy rag doll movers develop
good muscle control and timing, which in
turn builds their self-esteem. These
exercises need to be performed on a regular
basis, at minimum, one half hour each week.
Two rules for gymnastic mat work
1. Only one person can be moving on the
mat at any time, unless otherwise
specified.
2. Everyone is to stay a safe distance from
the mat, so as not to crowd the performer
or be in a path for getting bumped.
If it is possible, watch films or
videos of easy gymnastic floor work with
the students. Talk about some of the
activities the youngsters would like to
accomplish in class. You can begin with
some of the simple flexion and extension
exercises, which were explained in the
chapter on “Sensory Motor Screening”.
There is one that says, “Curl your
fingers, curl your toes. Pull your knees up
to your nose.” Or you might begin to loosen
up the back and trunk muscles by doing the
bio-energetics stretches. Be sure everyone
warms up his/her muscles, gradually.
Cat exercise for spine
A good exercise to loosen up and
develop the trunk muscles is the cat
exercise. The starting position is on the
hands and knees. The hands are to be placed
directly under the shoulders, elbows straight.
The knees are placed under the hips. From
this position the person pulls the chin down,
slowly, toward the chest, while bending the
back as if he would pull his tail under
himself, but keeping the hands and knees in
place. This provides flexion of the spine.
Tell the youngster to gradually tuck his head
and tail under himself as tightly as he is
able. Remind the youngsters to keep
breathing during their exercises.
From this curled position on the
hands and knees the person begins to lift the
head and tail until the back and neck are
arched in the opposite direction, the
extension position of the back. Tell them to
pull tightly in this direction for a few
seconds and then to rest. They should repeat
this exercise about five times in each
direction before going on to another
exercise.
Then like cats have them sit back on
their legs leaving the hands in place and thus
stretching their arms and shoulders. Then
have them straighten their knees, keeping
their hands and feet in place, thus stretching
the backs of their legs.
Log rolls for torso strength
Having youngsters practice log rolls
develops their trunk muscles. They start by
lying on their backs, on the mat, arms
straight over head and held tightly to the
sides of the head. Then they must try to roll
over onto their stomachs by leading with
their hip and keeping their body stiff and
straight, as if it were a log. No bent backs
or knees. Then they lead with their hip
again, trying to roll onto their backs again.
They repeat this exercise along the length of
the mat. As soon as one has completed her
log rolls and is off the mat, on her feet again,
it is the next person’s turn.
Somersaults on mat
Forward and backward rolls,
somersaults, are easy and fun. For the
forward roll, the person stands with feet
slightly apart at one end of the mat. She
bends her knees, tucks her head as she flexes
her back and aims to bring the back of her
head in touch with the mat, at the same time
as her feet let go of the floor.
Problems to avoid
When somersaults are done with
control, the body will be tightly curled and
the person has the momentum to roll right
back onto the feet again. There are two
problems to watch for. One is the rag doll
flop, where the person flops to the mat with
little or no trunk muscle control. The other
is trying to flip over from the top of one’s
head.
The back of the head must reach the
mat, not the top of the head. She has to let
go with her feet in order to get the back of
her head down on the mat. Help her if she is
having difficulty letting go with her feet.
She may be experiencing the fear of losing
control. The arms are held close to one’s
sides, and they help propel the person to her
feet again.
Timing
As soon as forward and backward
somersaults are well executed, add timing to
the motion. The performer should go from
the standing position, through the roll, and
back to standing again, in the count of one,
two, three, four. Then they execute one roll
after the other until they are off the mat. At
that moment the next person begins his
somersaults while the person who just left
the mat goes to the end of the line again.
As the youngsters become better at
mat work or simple gymnastics, have them
begin to move in time to a drum beat and
then to a musical beat. Encourage them to
become more aware of parts of the body,
which can move independently of each
other. For instance, keep the head still and
move the eyes, the shoulders, the arms and
hands.
Make a movement start at the
fingertips of one hand, move through the
wrist, the elbow, the shoulder on into the
other shoulder and down that arm to the
finger tips of this opposite hand. This will
provide for some challenging practice. Do
the same with the feet, legs, hips, etc. If at
all possible, work with the children on
simple routines to music and plan on
performing for other students, parents or
friends.
 Chapter 12. MELT: MEmory and Learning Techniques for Everybody
There are times when each of us has
tried different ways of remembering
something. How about the times we’ve
misplaced keys. Have you ever retraced
your steps in an effort to recall the places
and events just prior to misplacing those
keys? At these times you are using
kinesthetic memory and mental imagery to
guide your recall.
When you meet someone whose
name you want to remember, what do you
do? Most of us have problems with this one.
We might write it down with some
information about this person to help us
recall that name. Writing is a kinesthetic
memory tool and making associations to
connect the name to a face and the person is
another memory tool.
Something besides repetitions
Educators rely heavily on auditory
and visual repetitions to help children
remember something. For these repetition
techniques to work the students would have
to be very interested in the material and
want to learn it and they would need good
auditory and visual memory skills. We can
not take any of the above for granted,
especially the visual or auditory memory
skills.
When repetitions aren’t working
well, what other techniques would work
better? The easy to learn and easy to use
memory enhancement techniques discussed
in this chapter can give a lifetime of learning
advantages to anyone.
Learning factors review
Learning is acquisition of
information or behavior that changes our
behavior or thinking. It is usually a lifelong
process.
Learning requires at least four factors.
1. Interest - There is something here that
attracts our attention, awakens our
curiosity or emotional involvement. We
are awakened, alert and our mind and
feelings are engaged.
2. Motive - There is an important reason
(grades, safety, enjoyment) for us to give
our energy and attention toward learning
this information.
3. Personal meaning - The information to
be learned is meaningful to us and helps
us accomplish something important to
us. This meaning and its value to our
being may be at an unconscious level.
Regardless, it satisfies some purpose,
intention and aim of our lives.
4. Success - We believe we can be
successful in this endeavor in exchange
for the energy we devote to this learning.
Memory Factors
Memory can be defined as the
processes involved in encoding, storing, and
retrieving information. Encoding is the
process of translating incoming electro-
chemical impulses in the brain’s circuitry
into area codes, or neuronal circuit codes,
which the brain can use and reuse for
retrieval. For human memory this encoding
process usually involves connecting new
information to knowledge already present in
our memory systems.
As we try to make sense of encoded
information we must find ways to organize
and strengthen its storage in our brains.
Which folders in our mental files will hold
this information? What connections will we
use for later retrieval? We will not know
what we have stored until it is necessary for
us to retrieve and use what we think we’ve
learned.
So memory entails these processes.
1. Alert Attention - We give full attention
and energy to the material presented

with intention to remember it. We focus
our awareness to fully view and
understand the situation, making mental
connections in our brains to present
knowledge we’ve acquired
2. Mental Connections - We find ways of
successfully storing the information in
our brain using sensory dominant
strengths.
3. Study and Repetition - We train
ourselves to recall that information at
another time. We often repeat or retell
in an organized way what we’re trying
to remember. We engage in further
study or investigation of material that
has engaged us.
Remembering and forgetting
Short term memory enables us to
look up a phone number and remember it
long enough to place the call.
Long term memory concerns
information that we’re able to recall weeks
or even a lifetime later.
Selective forgetting is extremely
valuable in this memory process.
Remembering everything in our
environment would soon overwhelm us. We
must prioritize what we hope to recall,
which means being selective. This is where
each of us differentiates between that which
is and is not meaningful and important to us.
This selectivity is often accomplished in an
unconscious manner in the brainstem. This
selective attention is the reason that no two
people will recall an incident in a way
identical to any other person, even to an
identical twin.
Try harder
It takes energy and effort to learn and
to remember something. These processes do
not happen to us. Many well meaning,
frustrated educators tell bright children that
they could do better if they tried. This
common, negative comment alerts the
child’s mind to failure and reduces effort
117
and alertness. Trying may not be the clue to
the child’s poor recall. The clue is more
likely with the limited methods offered for
focusing attention and for making the
connections needed for the recall of this
information. Children making an effort to
learn need encouragement. Criticism causes
children to recoil from continued failure for
their efforts. Perhaps you recall your
frustration as an adult attempting to
understand a foreign language or your first
encounter with computer use.
Variety with the same ingredients
MELT’s, Memory and Learning
Techniques are comparable to items and
specialties on restaurant menus. The menus
offer many ways of satisfying appetites,
often using the same ingredients, but always
in a variety of ways. The curricula of
schools provide too little variety and thus
lose good customers. The same ingredients:
books videos, diagrams, lists and pictures,
can be offered up with much greater variety
and interest to include all children, even
those with poor visual memories or with
dyslexia.
More than anything else, adults need
to get away from the idea that any right-
brain method of learning is limited to
kindergarten. Many adults use right brain
thinking regularly. Although linguists may
disagree, others say that humans think in
pictures or images as well as in words.
Think of “fire”. Do you see the four letters
of this word or an image of fire?
Left brain memory
The MELT’s found in most schools
in the USA for the past 100 years, consist of
limited, left brain, text book, visual, linear,
sequential, timed items. Everyone sits in
rows and most everything is done with linear
lists and on a linear time schedule. And
there have always been bright children who
were left behind, thinking poorly of
themselves, because of this very limited
menu.
What has been offered pertains only
to left-brain oriented students, those who are
usually straight dominant. MELT’s of right-
brain dominant students, those who are left
eye or crossed dominant and some straight
left dominant people, have not been on the
menu. Usually, only after experiencing
“failure” on standardized tests do some
students finally receive the individualized
auditory-kinesthetic help they’ve needed.
Right brain memory review
The memory systems of the majority
of right-brain dominant people tend to be
more spatial, circular and pattern oriented
than linear, sequential oriented. Many
young, left-handed or left-eyed children
have devised circular or oval sequential
memory methods on their own. A young,
left-handed teacher on seeing what I was
doing, affirmed this work by telling me she
had always remembered the days of the
week and the months by seeing them in her
mind in a circular pattern out in front of
herself. Although some people figure out
how to use these patterns on their own,
others need help, especially from pre-school
through third or fourth grade.
Right brain dominant learners are
much less aware of time and specific
schedules than are the left-brain children. If
they wander or seem disorganized, these
right-brain children are not being obstinate
or undisciplined in the true sense of those
words. The right-brain just works
differently compared to the working of the
left brain.
Visual dominance influences thinking
We all have brains with two
hemispheres, right and left, but only one is
dominant in each of us. Since language is a
left brain dominant ability, the majority of
individuals are left-brain dominant and right
sided. Since vision occupies one third of
Usual Educator Requirements
our brains, visual dominance plays an
important role in our thinking. The nasal
halves of our eyes cross to the opposite
hemisphere of the brain where they have the
largest influence in what we see. The person
with left-eye dominance has a right-brain
and left visual field view of the world.
Close one eye at a time to assure yourself. If
you close your right eye, you will be most
aware of the view on your left, your left
visual field. This field is most closely
connected to your right hemisphere.
Majority not left-handed
Others who have written about
dyslexic students say that a majority of them
are left-handed. This has not been so in my
career. On the plus side, the straight left
dominant person has at least his left eye, left
hand coordination in line. The crossed
dominant, left-eye and right-handed person
loses out here also. Whereas left-brain
learners are comfortable with silent reading
and linear multiplication tables, right brain
learners usually prefer manipulative, pattern
oriented, oral and action oriented activities.
All have right and left hemispheres
Since we all have right and left
hemispheres, these right brain choices are as
good for left brain people as they are for
right brain people. They encourage more
ways to accomplish learning, never less.
The majority, the left-brain dominant
people, though they neglect using right-brain
methods, will also find these methods
helpful. It is more beneficial to everybody’s
learning to use both sides of their brains and
to learn right as well as left brain techniques.
Right brain dominant people NEED
right brain learning techniques. Therefore
right brain MELTs must be on the menu. If
not, the need for success in exchange for
energy output is severely compromised.
Can you imagine not allowing or providing
linear lists for left brain learners?
Requirements auditory/tactile students

1. Silently read required text while taking
2. Written notes for recall
3. Answer oral or written questions
in class to affirm text comprehension.
4. Make traditional linear sequential
outline l A, B 1,2, etc.
5. Using linear outline, write detailed
report with correct spelling/punctuation.
No illustrations or mental imagery required
of sequential memory system.
Similar results from varied requireme nts for varied memory systems
Since left brain MELTs are always
on the schools agendas, let’s discuss some
ways of adding variety and spice to these
agendas, which will benefit everybody.
These newer methods may, for the first time,
allow the right-brain student (left-sided or
left-eye dominant) to feel at ease, included
and competent in the school system.
Traditional educational MELT’s
1. Repetition - including retention for a
whole year for the purpose of repeating
the same material and methods.
2. Visual Flash cards - this method
assumes that the child already learned
the information on the cards and just
needs visual memory repetition to make
the information stick in his mind.
3. Listening and Repeating or parroting
the instructor. This method assumes
that the student understands the
information and just needs auditory
memory repetitions to remember it.
4. Taking Notes if one has learned to read
and write provides a visual-kinesthetic
reinforcement for memory.
5. Associations are used for pre-school
and kindergartners when learning the
alphabet. Assumes that the child is
making the correct visual and auditory
associations for letters and words, such
as A for apple.
119
1. Listen to required text while making
2. picture/word notes to aid recall
3. Oral discussion on content to affirm
comprehension and sequence of text.
4. Make mind map of text events,
then sequence events.
5. Using sequenced mindmap, write
detailed, illustrated report using spelling
& other sequential supports for spatial
memory system
6. Rhymes as memory aids, such as, “One,
two, buckle my shoe.” Sound
associations.
7. Linear sequential lists for
memorization such as, spelling and
times tables in a row or list.
8. Oral question and answer sessions
assume that if a student tried she would
do well and only those who didn’t study
would not shine forth. Assumes
comprehension and linear mental
organization for recall of oral or written
presentations.
9. Instructional programs on video and
computer screens require interest in a
subject matter.
10. Oral reports require students to
understand the instructional material
learned through reading or listening.
A lifetime of learning advantages
These ten traditional educational
techniques have useful possibilities, but they
can be enhanced with different, far more
interesting, techniques that involve more of
the right brain. We know that it takes
interest, motive, meaningful information and
assurance of success to put forth energy to
learn something new. We expect these
qualities from those we instruct, but how
much variety are we willing to add to
instructional menus in order to help a much
higher percentage of children and adults
learn? Now it is time to put our own energy
into this teaching-learning process to give
students Learning Advantages and Success.
Aiming for success with tangible goals
This bare bones list of interesting
methods when used regularly will provide
success for all students.
MELT’s to Challenge the Whole Brain
1. Acronyms
2. Active Involvement, act it out
3. Artistic Activities, illustration
4. Associations, metaphors
5. Chunking
6. Clusters
7. Color
8. Connections or Links
9. Contrast
10. Demonstration & Experimentation
11. Deep breathing & relaxation
12. Emotions
13. EXAGGERATION, emphasis
14. Guided Imagery, positive suggestion
15. Humor links to recall
16. Mental Imagery
17. Mind maps
18. Movement
19. Music and Melody
20. Multi-sensory association
21. Noise Association
22. Patterns - Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic
23. Relaxing Music
24. Rhythm, rhymes, alliteration
25. Spatial Sequence
26. Stories
27. Weirdness
The list of memory techniques that
people have evolved for their own purposes
is probably endless. Following are
definitions of some of the less common
memory techniques, mnemonics, plus ideas
on how to use them. Many of these
techniques can be used together in one
experience. Everyone needs to bring his or
her own creative energy into this teaching-
learning process and to find those menu
items that are most useful and helpful for a
particular situation. No one is too old or too
young for these techniques.
1. Acronyms
Acronyms are new Words or symbolic
words made by combining first letters of a
group of words to help us recall information.
Acronyms are usually spelled in capital
letters with each letter referring to a word or
name in the original group of words. A
well-known acronym, HOMES, is used for
recalling the names of the 5 Great Lakes
between the USA and Canada; Lakes:
Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and
Superior. USA stands for United States of
America. The US government loves
acronyms. Think CIA, FBI, HUD, UN, ATF
and DOD. Sometimes other than first letters
are used to make a better memory word.
RADAR stands for Radio Detection and
Ranging.
2. Clusters
Think of a cluster of grapes, a place
setting at the table. Similar items
experienced close in space are experienced
as a single pattern. More information can be
taken in at a glance or a listen when
presented as a cluster or group. For
education purposes, the younger the child,
the fewer the number of items in the cluster.
If you wanted to instruct a child to recognize
categories of fruits, numerals, or things that
go together, you could show or draw a
basket holding an orange, apple, and a
banana. The cluster presentation is true of
sounds and movements as well as sights. If
 121

you count or move to waltz time it will be 3. Chunking

heard and felt as groups of (1,2,3) and
(1,2,3) and so on.
Clusters and chunking are sometimes
confused or used interchangeably.
According to the Gestalt law of proximity,
things that are experienced together will be
grouped in our minds together as clusters.
Clusters of letters as apple bites
Psychologist, George Miller in 1956
wrote about memory and the magic number
7 plus or minus 2. He was referring to our
human ability to recall on average, 7 digits,
letters or other bits of information. Some
may recall only 5 while some recall 9 single
digits or bits. But if a longer series of
information data can be broken into related
chunks, containing less than seven bits per
unit or chunk, then we can recall up to 7
chunks or concepts, which is a lot more
memory.
Syllable sized chunks of California

Clusters
could refer to the notes of a
melody or the flowers on a plant or even the
letters of a word or words in a sentence.
Clusters and chunking are
sometimes confused or used
interchangeably. According to the Gestalt
law of proximity, things that are experienced
together will be grouped in our minds
together as clusters. Clusters could refer to
the notes of a melody or the flowers on a
plant or even the letters of a word or words
in a sentence.
On the other hand, chunking is what
we do to lengthy information to make it
easier to recall, as in syllabicating a word or
dividing long phone numbers into chunks.
Each definition, clusters or chunks, deals
with a small group of something where the
pattern helps our recall.

Some linguists believe that this is
how human language began. Otherwise,
linguists say that we could seldom recall
anything longer than 7 words at a time. This
could give insight into the use of commas
and periods in sentences. Separating words
into syllables is chunking. A long distance
phone number with 11 digits is near
impossible to remember until we break it
into chunks. For example, 17186394732 is
very confusing until we break it into 4
chunks as 1-718-639-4732.
4. Spatial Patterns
Spatial patterns are non-linear,
sometimes sequential views of information.
They are similar to clusters in that they hold
a number of items together for easier recall.
They can also be symbols that we recognize
by the pattern: the octagon, stop sign, the
international street and airport symbols, etc.
The patterns on dice provide one of the
easiest and most immediate ways for
understanding number concepts. Most
people can remember, better than linear lists,
those things memorized in clockwise or
counter clockwise patterns.
Spell a word around the petals of a
flower, one letter on each of 6 or 7 petals.
Hold the students’ interest with Spell-a-
shape by placing letters or syllables next to
numerals that are finally connected to make
a familiar shape. See page 136.
Around the clock times and division tables
and mindmaps are in the next chapters.
5. Rhymes, poetry, songs, alliteration
These generate auditory patterns, which
can help us remember words or information
otherwise forgotten. Advertisers use rhyme
and music to cause us to recall their
products.
If you didn’t have the opportunity to
learn to read music, all is not lost. You
don’t even have to know how to sing.
Rhymes and jingles are or can be a group
participation and fun way to learn and recall.
The Gestalt rule regarding the need for
closure encourages one to finish a rhyme or
song after it is begun. Most people who
know this song can’t stop their minds from
completing it. Twinkle, Twinkle little ....
Alliteration is the repetition of initial
sounds in words. Tongue twisters often
make use of alliteration. E.g. Peter Piper
picked a peck of pickled peppers.
6. Exaggeration, weirdness, ridiculous
humor aid memory connection
These can bring attention to
something you want to remember. Say that
you wanted to be sure to watch the 5 o’clock
news tonight. Devise an exaggerated, funny
and, or weird and colorful image which
could remind you of news at five. You could
think of a news anchor person with a huge,
blinking, red nose in the shape of a five.
The top line of the 5 could be a raised and
lowering action eyebrow. Then you might
rhyme, “Tick, tock, tick tock. Nose for
news at 5 o’clock.”
You might draw your image and refer to
it several times before five. You could just
imagine it in your head as you repeat in
rhyme the connection of your image to the
desired outcome. Repetition is important
here and adding movement, whether mental
or physical, will really help memory.
The next time you go shopping for
five to seven items, you might devise mental
imagery, which connects one item to the
next. For example, the list includes milk,
potatoes, a floppy disk, etc. Imagine milk
being poured over potatoes. See the
movement and hear the splash, the potatoes
falling and flattening onto spinning disks
...take it from there. Repeat the needed
imagery with sounds and movement until it
sticks in your mind.
7. Color and exaggeration
If you have difficulty remembering
how to spell a name or word you need to
use, EXAGGERATE the troublesome letters
within the word by drawing them much
larger and brighter than the other letters.
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Color adds impact and memory. A higher cost of color pages for books. Color
photocopy company ad reports that Color needs to be provided in many ways.
enhances learning and recall by as much as
70%. The present drawback is the much
 125

9. Associations for It’s Greek to me reinforced the imagery with kinesthetic

When you have to recall something
that seems to make no sense and has no easy
associations, weaving the unrelated items
into a story using strange imagery and
movement may be the way to go. When my
daughter and I were on our way to visit
Greece, we had learned through travels in
Germany, France and Italy that two of the
most important phrases in any language
were: thank you and you’re welcome.
Before we arrived in Athens where
the familiar words, “It’s Greek to me.”,
would become alarmingly real, I puzzled
over how we would recall the sounds that
made up these most important phrases.
While taking the long train ride across Italy
to get to the ferry for Greece, I put my right
brain to work for us. The words for “Thank
you.” are pronounced as “efkareesto.”,
“You’re welcome.”, words are “para kalo”.
connections. Para kalo, followed more
easily, since it rhymed with efkareesto and
para sounds a little like for. Para kalo
literally means, for good. We’ll never forget
it. Practice with motions a few times and
neither will you.
11. Noise association and participation
Connect memory to a special noise in a
story. If you were telling a story where a
ship on a stormy sea crashes into a rock, you
and the children can make stormy wind
noises and a great crack and crashing noise.
Then you gain the children’s attention
through their participation as well as helping
them remember this part of the story by
recalling the crack or the wind noises.
12. Mneumonic rhyme and Acronyms

How would we recall this?

Finally, the image of a big F in the
air with a carrot hanging from the F arrived
in my mind. Making the effort of pulling
the carrot down from the higher F, as if to
eat it, but instead, stowing it in my back
pocket completed the imagery for
remembering F, carrot, eat and stow.
Adding the motions completed the picture
and it was a short jump to efkareesto and
para kalo.
When I suggested the imagery to
Merilee she laughed and said, That’s
ridiculous.” That’s the point, to make
ridiculous, associative imagery. When we
See dangly clock clusters of black
thought of the imagery, we would
and white dice
remember: the look up at the big F as ef,
Are dancing in s p a c e with six
recalled by the effort of pulling the carrot as
smelly, red MICE.
kar, the plan to eat, as ee and the stowing in
the back pocket as stow.
You can surely do better, but this
rhyme can aid in recall of some of the
10. Going through the motions
memory techniques discussed here. MICE
Then we practiced the imagery with
is an Acronym for Movement or Mindmaps
appropriate motions and actions a few times
or Mental Imagery, Involvement, Color or
while saying, “Ef kar ee stow.” This
Contrast and Exaggeration. Did you count
at least a dozen mnemonics in this rhyme?
Try putting a tune with the words.
1. Weird imagery - dangly dice dancing
with mice
2. Cluster - of B&W dice
3. Contrast -- black and white
4. Patterns – clock, dice
5. Spatial – in space
6. Alliteration -- six, smelly, clock, clusters
7. Smell - smelly, red mice
8. Acronyms - MICE
9. Movement - dancing & Mice
10. Involvement - mIce
11. Color - red & miCe
12. Exaggeration - micE
13. Rhyme- dice & mice
14. Tune - yours
15. Humorous – hopefully
Leaving things around town
Richard Cytowic, M.D. and others,
tell of a man in Russia who had a fantastic
memory. This man would imagine walking
through a town conceived in his mind.
Those items he wanted to be able to recall
later he would place on or attach to a
particular place or building in this imaginary
town. When he used mental imagery to
walk through his imagined town at a later
date he could “see” and recall those items he
had left in various places.
13. Contrast
The only times he forgot something
was when he hadn’t placed the item to be
remembered against a background of
contrast. There is a similar story of a
Chinese priest who built many memory
palaces. He would go in the front door and
from room to room recalling items he
previously left for future reference.
14. Spatial technique
A similar technique could be set up
to help children learn the seven basic colors
and then to revisit their park or town later to
leave and retrieve data. For example you
and the children can actually draw a large
oval or circular park with seven special,
colored places. You could all walk around
the park getting a kinesthetic feel for special
places there. Then use guided imagery to
walk clock and counter clock-wise through
this park until it is familiar territory to all.
This way the students will also be learning a
memory technique that could help them
throughout their lives.
On later visits, after the park is
familiar territory, you can direct the children
to leave a toy, a letter, a numeral, a word and
other items to be remembered in particular
places. Tell them to clearly notice where
and how the things being left appear so that
they will know where to find these things on
a later walk through the park.
15. Imagery preparation for park walk
Leader - The first walk through will
be counter-clock wise, to the right. Prepare
the participants with deep breathing and
relaxation. Tell them to relax, close their
eyes and breathe deeply. It’s a great day for
a walk in your special park and you have a
few minutes and maybe some things you
would like to do there.
A Walk Through the Park
The park is in front of you. Look at
the entrance gate and go through. As you
enter the park you are aware of a brown,
earth path on both sides of your feet that
appears to go around the park in either
direction. There are also several brown tree
trunks and if you look up you can see the
pretty green leaves in the treetops.
The first place on your right is a
fresh, green grassy area. Sometimes you
could walk barefoot in this grass. In the
center of the park, to your left now, is a
pond of blue water. Looking up you see
puffy white clouds in the bright blue sky,
reflected in the blue water. Some green
grassy areas are around the pond and tall
green grasses also. Some brown and white
ducks live in and near this pond.
 127

You continue your walk on the as well as using this as a memory aid. You
brown earthen path, past the green grassy could suggest the idea of building a memory
area and some trees and soon you notice a castle in their park some time later.
big yellow umbrella. There’s a man with a
yellow ice cream cart under the yellow 16. Circular patterns
umbrella. This clock pattern can aid the
As you go further around the pond learning of other material that has been
beyond the next stand of trees you notice a linear for so long that we may have
lady behind a bright orange booth roasting difficulty, at first, contending with circular
delicious smelling hot dogs. A boy and girl presentations. Think of the calendar. Is
are biting into their juicy orange hot dogs. there any sensible reason that the days of the
The big orange sign on the booth says “Hot week and months of the year can not be
Dogs” in bold orange letters. presented in circular sequence? The
A little further around the pond to seasons, the year itself, are thought of as
your left, but on the right side of the path, is circles of time.
a red brick building. There are symbols of a
man on one side, a woman on the other side
of this red building. Everyone knows what
that red building is for. You’re almost back
to the entrance or exit again when you notice
a garden of lovely purple flowers. You are
careful not to step on the purple flowers as
you leave the park. You know you can
come back here anytime, but now it is time
to leave the park. This is the end of this
visit.
Leader - Gently bring the children
back to the present situation with breathing
and guiding words.

Aware, notice, sense

Notice the word “see” is seldom used
as it tends to exclude persons who clearly
sense situations, but who may not “see”
them. When leading guided imagery,
substitute the words: notice, aware of, sense,
etc. for “see” when possible.
As this or similar imagery is used,
encourage the children to add some of their
own details, such as benches, water
fountains, birds, people, balloons, and the
like. The children might even have little
hideouts for earth spirits, elves or fairies or
even human friends, with whom to converse.
With the location and characters in place,
the children could learn to add events and
build their own stories with other locations
Connect a day with a color in the
park and notice how quickly children
comprehend this system compared to the
linear memorization. E.g.: Sunday is purple,
Monday is brown, Tuesday, green, etc.
17. Rhyme - Thirty days has September
It is surprising how many adults do
not know and probably never learned, how
many days are in each month. Somehow
they do not recall that oft-quoted little poem.
Thirty days has September,
April, June and November.
All the rest have thirty one,
 Excepting February alone
Which has twenty eight,
But in leap year twenty nine.
Perhaps adding a circular, monthly calendar
can aid the learning of days per month.
When to Learn to Read and Write?
When is the right time to teach
young children the alphabet, numerals,
reading and writing? How will you know
that your child or children are ready to learn
to read and to do other near vision paper
work? How should the adult approach this
instruction? Which comes first, the letters
or the words? the numerals or counting?
Should you show them the upper and lower
case letters in the same lesson? How do you
make this instruction meaningful to the
children? How can you keep children as
active participants in their learning processes
and not turn them off?
Adults seem to be working at
teaching the alphabet and reading et cetera
to toddlers who have just learned to walk
and talk. Why the hurry? There’s no
question regarding the fact that the first five
years will be the fastest period of
development in every child’s life. Stephen
Pinker, a well-known linguist, tells us that
an average six year old knows 13,000
words. He refers to knowing as
understanding, not speaking that many
words. Some child development specialists
give much lower estimates. Pinker says that
word learning begins at 12 months and that
pre-literate children, although limited to the
speech in their environments, are learning a
new word every two waking hours. A lot
depends on the quality of the environment.
How would most of us find out how many
words a child “knows”? Ask Pinker.
Specific instructions unnecessary
For the average child this
development occurs with no special
instruction from adults. Just having
talkative adults and children in the same
environment ensures this marvelous
development of spoken language. The child
is an active participant in her own education.
There’s no doubting that words are
powerful. They convert meaning to sound
and sound to meaning. Comprehension of
words in any particular environment is like
having the coin of the realm. Being able to
use words correctly can invite others in that
environment to pay attention to you. Even
very young children notice this.
No critical window for reading
There is a hierarchy of learning,
more favorable and less favorable periods,
for a child’s sensory motor development,
vision and eye-hand coordination, and for
learning to use spoken language correctly.
Maturational changes or conflicting interests
can close the door to these critical periods
for learning in a particular area, but just
what ends a critical learning period is
seldom clear. Ear infections, that cause
hearing loss between one and two or three
years of age, are said to be the cause for
some children’s language problems.
But, according to child development
psychologists there does not seem to be a
critical period for reading, except that this
type of learning is probably easier in
childhood than it is in adulthood. There are
no special guidelines that let adults know
just when a child is ready to read or write.
Adults must watch for reactions in children.
If the children pull away they are saying
they are not ready. Adults must always be
sensitive to each child’s emotional responses
and physical abilities. Parents and those
working with young children need to have
some knowledge of what is reasonable to
expect at given ages, also dominance
differences.
Before any near vision instruction
begins, the adult must be sure to check the
child’s dominance, (near and distance
vision, handedness and footedness) and the
child’s vision and eye-hand coordination as
given in Part 2, Screening.. When children

have crossed dominance or visual motor
incoordination, the method of instruction
will make a huge difference in how they
respond to instruction.
Abundant opportunities
The main ingredient for finding a
child’s readiness is the provision of
abundant opportunities for learning in the
child’s environment. Babies hear lullabies
and toddlers need to hear a variety of
interesting stories and songs every single
day or evening.
By two years of age or sooner, a
roomy workspace like the kitchen table
should be made available daily for the
child’s experimentation with large crayons
or finger paints and large papers. The
drawing period may provide some of your
best clues as to the child’s readiness to learn
letters or reading.
At age two years, children can hold a
crayon in their fingers. At first they will
scribble all over the page. By three years
they can draw lines and complete circles and
by three-1/2 or later they can draw a cross
and may begin to choose their crayon colors
more carefully, without instruction, maybe
imitation. Discovery is the best learning
process in a safe environment.
Between four and five years their
eye-hand coordination improves so that they
draw a person with five or six parts, squares
with good corners and they can copy a few
letters or write and read their names.
Drawings may still represent the child’s
thinking or feelings as they pretend that the
crayon is an extension of themselves and
hop or screech across the paper.
There may be some reason for
concern if the child shows no interest in
using the crayons by age 3½ years and the
child’s vision has been professionally
checked and all other development is on a
normal track. Using the crayons does not
equate to writing with them, making marks
129
in the clean earth with sticks or fingers, is
also good preparation.
Spatial identification
It is usually between 4 and 5 years of
age that children identify basic colors by
name, and basic shapes by name also. It is
not until around 5 years of age that most
children relate to spatial relation words like
top, bottom, behind, left and right. Since
comprehension of space relations is
important for learning to write or even to
understand letter shapes, age 5 years may be
a period of greater readiness for alphabets
and letters than are ages 3 or 4.
Asking 3 and 4 year olds to recite the
alphabet is not helpful to the child. Parents
or other adults who are anxious for these
children to recite letters perhaps need to
review their own motives. When looking
ahead toward age six or seven, what benefits
do adults envision for their pre-school age
children from having recited sounds that are
totally meaningless to the children at ages
three and four?
Three and four year olds hear words
and sounds run together. For most pre-
schoolers, Ellemenopee doesn’t equate to L,
M, N, O, P. Perhaps you can relate to being
in an environment where a language other
than your own is spoken. Doesn’t it seem
like those people speak too fast, or that you
can’t really tell one word from another?
What can children make of “howdjadooit” in
English?
Traditional Teachers’ Suggestions
These are practical, traditional
reading instruction guidelines for new
readers. Readiness goals are included.
Review the chapter on auditory sense first.
V means this is primarily a visual activity, A
means auditory, whereas writing involves
kinesthetic ability, K
1. Pictures - Encourage the child to look at
the pictures for clues. V
2. Word Recognition - Work toward
improved visual memory by explaining
 the words repeatedly seen - on cereal
boxes, milk cartons and street signs. V
3. Sound out the letters. Assuming that
the child recognizes the letter shapes,
names and some sounds the next step is
to learn the letter sounds and try
sounding letters. V, A
4. Expectation - Ask the child to tell you
what she expects to happen next in a
story when you read to her. A When
she’s reading on her own she will relate
her expectations to her reading. V
5. Writing words is Reading. - When the
child has good eye-hand coordination, as
well as letter knowledge, instruct her in
writing words. She is reading as she
writes words. V, K
6. Does it Make Sense? - If what she is
hearing makes sense to her then she
probably is reading correctly. If not, tell
her to recheck or ask for help. A, V
Vision or other testing needed
These suggestions hardly seem like
appropriate tasks for pre-school children, but
parents and pre-school teachers are
attempting to teach alphabet letters and
sounds to the 3 to 5 year olds. One pre-
school teacher of that age group, related that
she introduces the capital and lower case
letters at the same time with the letters’
names, shapes and sounds. She calls them
mother and baby letters so the children can
relate to both letters at once. This is the “all
at once” approach.
She has both letters on a picture of
something that begins with that letter’s usual
sound. Capital and lower case M,m are on a
pair of mittens. She hopes the children will
associate the letters’ shapes, the letters’
name and a sound as she shows them these
pictures. That’s a pretty big bite to chew for
most pre-schoolers. The kindergarten scene
is much the same except for requiring more
writing and workbooks. The teacher of the
pre-school said the children are required to
have a doctor check them over before
entrance into this state pre-school, but NO
VISION EXAM is REQUIRED and no
testing is done in this school. She confirmed
that few if any kindergartners have adequate
visual exams before entering school.
Suggestions from a Resource Specialist
using mneumonics and sensory
screening
If you are hoping to help pre-
schoolers learn alphabets or reading, or if
your child has difficulty with the traditional
system in this area, here are a few ideas on
how to go about these tasks more slowly.
Give the form discrimination test in Part 2.
Notice if she recognizes her name in print.
1. Active Participation - Keep the child as
an active participant in her education.
The last thing you want to do is to turn
her desire to participate in this process to
a negative. When your children are
interested in drawing circles and lines on
paper, ask to join in to draw some letters
and pictures too. Be sure to stay out of
the child’s personal space and allow the
child to show interest in what you do
before you try to make suggestions.
This allows for your modeling of
activities and her use of discovery and
her control of her situation. K, V
2. Clusters of three or fewer shapes or
letters -Start with clusters of no more
than three lower case letters that you can
draw with circles and lines. If you prefer
alphabetical sequence, draw a cluster of
3 balloons, placing a lower case letter a,
b or c inside each balloon. V, K
3. Simple shapes, Contrasting colors -
The “a” should be a “c” with a straight
line on the right edge. You could use
contrasting colored balloons like rose,
green and yellow, but be sure to have
clear contrast between the dark letter
shape and the lighter shaded,
background color. V
4. No pressure, show interest in what the
child does. - Show interest in the child’s
running commentary while she draws.
You might talk unobtrusively about

letter names and sounds as you draw the
alphabet letters. If the child asks about
the letters (a, b, c) say that they are
letters and we can write our words on
paper using letters so that people can
read the words. A, V, K
invited: the names, shapes and
sounds of these letters and the word.
5. Letter sounds for simple words with
memory techniques - As long as the
child’s interest is with you encourage the
child to try to make the circle and lines
of each letter, while saying the sounds.
Later, use the sight word a or a and
write “a cab”.
Use as many memory techniques as
you can - color, contrast, drawing of a cab
shape or a pattern in which you or your child
can write “cab”. Once the letters c-a-b are
understood as the word, cab, give the cab
a funny face. Cut it out and pretend to drive
it in your space. Ask, “Would you like a
cab?” Create a rhyme for cab. For example:
Here’s a cab that’s not drab, with
no tab for your lab. These activities are
A, K, V.
6. Add new letters and words after
earlier ones are assimilated. Slowly,
only as the previous letters are
assimilated by that young mind, draw
three more balloons (light shades of
blue, orange and purple) placing (d, e or
f) inside each balloon. Make the word
“fed” in one balloon, clustering those
letters. When those letters are under
way, bring back (a, b, c) and make
more words with short vowel sounds,
like bed, dad and make more silly
rhymes. Short vowel sounds for (a, e,
i, o, u) are the sounds you hear in: cat,
yes, is, tot and up. Use NO others for
beginners. Avoid “n” sounds as they
add a nasal quality to the vowel.
7. Give instruction in short vowel and
simple consonant sounds only. Watch
carefully for these sounds in any type of
131
If interest continues, say something
like, “Would you like to see a word we can
make with these letters?” If the child is
disinterested just continue on another day.
If, “Yes.” make a line and draw a simple taxi
cab outline with the word “cab” inside, on
the line. Explain as you are
beginning alphabet books you use. Most
commercial books for children are not
good for educational use.
Pre-check alphabet books. Some ABC
books use words and pictures of Owls or
Orcas for the O sound. Many use Ice Cream
for the I sound. Except for very few sight
words like “a, I, to, the, you and me” only
short vowel sounds are on the agenda of a
beginning reader. Double vowel sounds (oo,
ou, au, ea) or vowels with r or other
consonants that change the vowel sound (ar,
er, ir, or, ur, aw, ow, etc.) are for more
advanced readers. Also watch for single
consonant sounds. Street, church, thing and
the like are not for beginners. Keep it
simple.
Watch for tired eyes
Use noises, rhymes, tunes, active
involvement, like moving cabs, color,
contrast, all the mnemonics you can think of
to encourage learning. Continue this way if
the child is successful and interested. Allow
her to monitor her own learning preferences.
Watch for tired eyes. Teach relaxation with
breathing and palms of hands over eyes.
Switch to less visual instruction
Successful interaction with study
material is more important than methods
used to accomplish that learning. If a
particular child over 5-1/2 or six years of
age seems to struggle with reading, due to
crossed dominance, poor vision, whatever,
in order to ensure success in reading, find an
easy programmed reader series like
“Sullivan’s Programmed Readers” and some
of Dr. Seuss’s books for beginners. Try
shorter more frequent reading times. Use
more auditory and kinesthetic instructional
methods with limited visual methods.
Encourage and praise any progress. Have
the child listen regularly to stories on audio-
tapes and discuss same with her to check
comprehension. Teach letters or numerals in
“Sign”, using SEE.
Put b’s, d’s, p’s and q’s to bed
For older students who tend to
confuse their b’s and d’s, their p’s and q’s
One onion and other confusing problems
Difficulty learning to spell the
number “one” is common. Try this. Bring a
round onion to class. Repeat “One Onion
On One Onion” while writing ONE ONION
until the association of the number one and
the word “one” sticks. The other “won” is
from the verb to win. Make that association.
If students confuse 6 and 9, you
could show them that 6 and 9, especially as
digital numerals, when facing and on top of
each other make 8. Then remember that 6
comes before 8 or 9, and remember that 6 is
the bottom half of 8. Digital clock numerals
are a clear example of 6 and 9 making an 8.
Short vowel imagery
Recalling that color, funny or
exaggerated imagery and rhymes help us
recall particular items, here are some short
vowel sound associations that may be
helpful in remembering short vowel sounds.
• Red acrobat ants dance on apples and
plants.
forgetting which way to turn these letters,
try the following mnemonics tell them to
remember the word “bed” which makes a
bed with letters in the correct positions and
correct sequence. Put a stick figure on top
of the bed. If one makes a deb, there is no
bed there to lie down on. Also if you turn
the bed, correctly sequenced, upside down,
you will have the pillow and quilt on the
bed, “peq”. Pillow reminds them of “p”,
quilt of “q”. (See illustration)
• Elegant elephants in yellow (yellow)
hats enter and exit the tents with the cats.
• Indigo inchworms wiggle and swim
within pink pools of ink in their little
gym.
• Olive otters flop on top of teeter-totters.
• Umpteen umbrellas of every hue are
flying under skies of blue.
Improve visual memory
Since most learning difficulties that
I’ve encountered, are related to visual
perception problems, here are a few visual
aids to experiment with, to see if any might
decrease stress related to reading and
writing.
It is a fact that more people’s eyes
tend to jump up, back to lines already read,
rather than in any other direction. So instead
of using a marker below the line of text
being read, place the clean, opaque
bookmark over the top of the line now being
read. The bookmark, held in the dominant
hand is moved down the page along the top

of the line being read. If needed, move it
left to right. You will find that the greater
concentration needed to keep from moving
the bookmark up again to see what one has
just read, increases visual memory as well as
concentration and vice versa.
When a child completes a book or
something similar, a clean bookmark with
cheerful stickers of their choice, or of
congratulations, on one side, makes a special
reward. One side of the bookmark should be
clear of any visual distraction. The color of
the bookmark should be one that is easy on
the eyes. It should be made of sturdy,
flexible card stock. It needs to be about 5 or
6 inches long and 1-1/2 inches wide. This
bookmark is functional and easy to use. If it
helps, do it
Another visual aid might be a hand
held magnifier moved in the same way as
the bookmark. Large print books could
help. Some children are sensitive to certain
colors, or find some color backgrounds
easier on their eyes than white. If you find
this to be so, make eye-ease colored paper
available for them to use when writing.
Try different background colors on
the computer screen. Adjust the background
color of the computer screen to facilitate
screen work for these students. Color
transparencies can be used over the reading
assignments of color sensitive students. Try
several color transparencies to see which
colors if any improve the student’s ability to
read. Time the reading with various colors
and various paragraphs to see if reading
speed or comprehension improves. Color
sensitivity does not appear to be common.
Perhaps one in one hundred or fewer
children will be helped by color
enhancement, but if it helps, do it.
Encourage students who have trouble
making their eyes converge on the string
knot test, to practice with this device at
home and at school so as to build eye muscle
133
balance. Retest them at intervals to show
your interest in their progress.
Use kinesthetic sense
For students who are having
difficulty learning to write their letters
correctly, have them practice making strokes
with their eyes closed or in the dark when at
home. This builds up their kinesthetic feel
for the strokes of the pen or pencil and
eliminates the left brain self-judgment from
this exercise. Have them practice outlining
or drawing simple shapes e.g. small
patterned groups of circles, triangles, lines
from left to right and from top to bottom,
increasing in length as proficiency increases.
For many artistic students, a felt tip
calligraphy pen and the calligraphy, artistic
approach to writing makes writing more
interesting and even easier. A little history
about the development of our letters and
writing might encourage some students to do
a little research on alphabets. For non-
traditional students, cursive writing has been
proven easier to manage than is manuscript
printing.
Simple strokes to begin
When children are ready to learn to
write or print, introduce the formation of
letters as lines, circles, parts of circles,
curves and angles. Begin with the lower
case, straight line letters, i, l, t.
Continue with the circle letters,
starting with o. Add a b c d e g p,q, then
f h j m n g r s u. Finish with the angled
letters, k v w x y and z. The capital letters
can be learned in a similar order. Straight
lines, vertical and horizontal are in E F H I
L T.
The circle or oval letters are C G O
Q. Then all the line and curved letters B D
J P R S U and finally the triangle or angled
letters A K M N V W X Y Z.
Letter size guide for first grade, ¾ inches high and ½ inch
wide for most letters. Begin writing with Simple Strokes

i l t lit, till,
Straight line letters write

then E F H I L T FELT write

Introduce one letter at a time with short vowels. Circle
letters and lines.

abcdegopq C
G O Q tall, let, write

bill, pot, dull More curves and

f h j m n r s u, B D
lines

JPRSU k Finally, write angled letters

v w x y z, A K M N
WXYZ
Calligraphy means beautiful writing and provides 100’s of ways to
write letters. Calligraphy often motivates interest in writing for
artistic students. For all writing, Check 7 S’s – Strokes, Shape,
Size, Slant, Slope, Spacing, Speed.
135
 Chapter 13. MELT: The Mind Map - Spatial Organizational Techniques.
Linear organization
If you or your students have
difficulty with traditional, linear, Roman
numeral, organizational techniques, help is
here. The linear method is no longer the
only way to go. Correctly organizing
reports in the 1,2,3, a,b,c method, before
writing a report, wasn’t possible for some.
Many of us had to write the report first and
then try to figure which were main ideas and
where to put the Roman numerals and on
down the sequential line.
Just last week, speaking over the
phone to a fourteen year-old high school
student, I learned that he too was doing just
that. For his report on dyslexia, which
required an outline, he was writing the
report first, outlining afterwards.
When I asked, “Billy, did you ever
try mind mapping?”, the answer was,
“What?” I was sure that by now, everyone
knew about mind mapping. How often I’ve
wished that the methods of learning,
organizing and memorizing, that have been
on the scene these past fifteen years could
have been part of my data bank when I was
a young student.
Since learning how to use mind
mapping, this method of organizing thoughts
around a main idea has been my guide.
Without this newer organizational tool, this
book would ever have come into being.
Spatial organization
Mind mapping is more spatial,
divergent and right brain in its approach to
organizing data. It is a graphic technique,
which enables us to see at a glance, all the
information that pertains to our subject.
Then we can make decisions about order and
priorities.
The main theme is placed in the
center of the page and encircled. Spokes are
drawn clockwise, out from that central topic.
The spokes list key words or important data
related to the central topic. To find key

ideas, we brainstorm about what we want to
cover concerning the central topic and
related ideas, the what, where, who, etc.
Next secondary lines for sub-
headings are drawn off of the clockwise
main spokes and branches can be drawn off
of these to further delineate. When we are
done with our mind map we have all the
information we want to cover on one page in
front of us. We can then prioritize our main
ideas, on the spokes, numbering them 1, 2,
3, etc.
Change your mind? No problem.
Changing our minds is easily
performed. We don’t have to start again
from the beginning every time we want to
make a change in sequence as could happen
with the linear, sequential approach to
organization. Just renumber the clockwise
spokes. When satisfied with the mind map
organization, make a final mind map with
main idea number one at about one o’clock
and with the rest of the headings placed in a
correct clockwise sequence around the
central topic. If a linear, sequential outline
is required, proceed with all the information
and organization right there, on the one
page.
Ancient Greek orators method
The clockwise pattern is a memory
technique that was used by Greek orators in
ancient times. Those orators would mentally
place and organize their main ideas
concerning their topic around themselves in
space, in a clockwise fashion. When they
looked to a specific place, they could recall
the idea that they had associated with that
space.
This memory technique proved to be
especially helpful for non-visual, right-brain
students, like crossed dominant and dyslexic
children. It is also helpful for straight
dominant people, as it was for the Greek
orators. We can use the clock pattern for
many subjects: spelling, reports,
137
mathematics, calendars, recalling a list, and
memory facilitation in general.
Uses for mind mapping
Mind mapping is an excellent tool
for critical thinking. It requires the student
to be actively engaged in the organization of
ideas relating to a central theme. Therefore,
it is an aid to comprehension and retention.
It helps students define main ideas, relevant
details, the relationship of ideas to each
other. It provides a sense of organization of
ideas and sequence. It can be used for
outlining, as for a book report, or for note
taking. It allows for individual creativity
and flexibility.
Organizing questions or categories
Once you’ve decided on the central
topic, look for answers to questions about
this subject. Possible questions with mind
mapping as the central topic follow.
1. What is mind mapping?
2. How is it better than the traditional
approach?
3. Who would use mind mapping and why?
4. How does one perform mind mapping?
5. Where do we start?
The topic or main idea could be
encircled in the center with the basic
questions: who, what, when, where, how and
why as the main spokes from the main topic.
Also, you could use the category
approach. Which ideas seem to fall within a
specific category? Categories for mind
mapping could be these.
1. spatial memory
2. divergent and convergent thinking
3. key words and phrases,
4. basic steps,
5. evaluation and so on.
Sequence spokes
Although sequence or order is not
yet essential, you could begin to assemble
the questions or categories around the main
idea, with some semblance of sequence.
You might write key ideas on slips of paper
and move them until the sequence is what
you want. Starting at approximately one
o’clock, using the encircled main idea as a
center, draw spokes in a clockwise pattern
out from that main idea. Then place a
category or question on each spoke.
Encircle the sub-categories in clockwise
fashion around the main idea and draw
spokes from these for related details.
Now you can begin to see the
development of your subject. The majority
of people envision space in a clockwise
pattern, which is the reason for the
clockwise approach. If you are one of those
people who prefer a counter-clockwise
pattern, then start at 11 o’clock and move in
that direction.
Slips of paper for spokes
Finally, decide on the order in which
you will present your subject and its sub-
categories. You can simply re-number your
spokes to reorder them, or manipulate them
into order if they are on separate slips of
paper. Then redraw your mind map with the
desired sequence.
If you begin to see too many (more
than seven or eight) sub-categories around
the main idea and the page is cluttered, then
you will probably want to consolidate some
categories or define new central topics with
their own mind maps. Otherwise focus
could be lost. Psychologists tell us that the
average mature mind can retain about seven
bits of information at a glance. Going
beyond that number of main ideas on a mind
map could be less manageable and become
difficult to comprehend.
Linear outline for mind map
Here is a linear outline for a mind
map on the subject of mind mapping. The
main topic encircled in the center of the
page is mind map.
A sub-idea at one o’clock, spoke
one, also encircled, What is mind mapping?
Lines off of spoke one
1. way of putting thoughts down
2. method of organizing
3. visible ideas
4. memory enhancer
5. key words, words which evoke
associations to the central topic
6. divergent to convergent thinking.
Spoke two, clockwise, When to use it?
1. book reports
2. explain idea
3. brainstorm subject
4. outline material for presentation
5. see categories
6. develop organization of idea
7. handout for meeting
8. as an aid for deciding what needs to be
included or excluded from a chapter or
report
Spoke three, How to mind map?
1. encircle main idea in page center
2. brainstorm for and write down related
ideas around central topic
3. organize ideas into clusters of sub-ideas
or sub-categories
4. write sub-ideas on spokes in a clock
pattern around main idea
5. sequence and number categories in the
way you want to present them starting at
one o’clock. The first mindmap is a
rough draft.
6. Fill in details of sub-ideas
Spoke four, Why do it?
1. easier for most people than traditional
method of organizing
2. flexible for easy review of priorities
3. pulls in pertinent ideas
4. teaches categorization
5. brainstorms for related ideas.
6. view of whole picture at a glance
Spoke five, Who needs it?
1. anyone making a plan
2. right brain dominant, encourages use of
right and left hemisphere thinking

3. difficulty with traditional linear outlines
4. need for brainstorming, gather ideas
around main idea
5. plan speech, chapter, book, book report,
meeting
Keywords
For students to use mind mapping,
they must begin to think in terms of
questions to be answered and the use of key
words or phrases. If they were to use this
method to outline a textbook chapter they
would probably use the chapter heading for
the main idea. They must then think in
terms of questions about the chapter, key
words or phrases that encode the answers to
the questions. Eventually, they will
organize the key phrases around the main
idea.
Lead in to time frame
Say that you wanted the children to
write or tell a story about their vacation from
school. You could ask the children to
brainstorm, (divergent thinking), and
provide words or phrases that related to their
vacations. While you list all of their ideas
on the board or overhead projector, they
could list their own particular words on their
papers. You might get a list that includes
words like: beach, mountains, grandparent’s
home, auto, airplane, ship, bus, sister, dog,
play, fell off step, hurt knee, got dirty,
caught a fish, cabin, woods, city, hot, lost
and so forth.
The students could begin to see that
the words answer questions like: Who went?
Where did they go? What
happened? How did the child feel? They
might also see that there are categories
relating to vacations, such as: people, places,
travel, incidents, and so forth. You could
help the children to see events in accordance
with a time frame, such as: beginning,
middle, end, or first, later and finally.
139
At this point, the children could
organize ideas under specific headings or
categories, (convergent thinking). Once
they have their central idea and main spokes
or related categories set down in a clockwise
pattern, they could begin to fill in related
details around those secondary ideas, using
key or associative words. They will then
have an outline for their story in a form they
can see and manipulate. This type of outline
can help them recall at a glance, whatever
they choose to organize as a mind map.
Speech class
My son had to perform a
demonstration speech in class. It was close
to Thanksgiving. His subject was the
preparation, baking, testing and carving of
the holiday turkey. His first chart listed the
steps in linear fashion, down the page:
1. Preparation
2. Baking
3. Testing
4. Carving
He wasn’t too happy with this chart
so a suggestion was made that he sketch a
turkey on a platter in the center of the page.
At one or two o’clock, he drew ingredients
and items needed. At four o’clock, he drew
the turkey in an oven bag in the roasting
pan. At eight o’clock, he drew a hand
pulling on the turkey’s leg and a
thermometer at 180 degrees F. At eleven
o’clock, he drew the carving knife and fork.
He was pleased with the new, more
interesting, colorful chart. His speech went
well and classmates raved about his colorful
chart presented in this clockwise order.
4. Carving 1. Preparation
{turkey on a platter}
3. Testing 2. Baking

----------------------------------
Spell around the clock
We usually never think twice about
making and requiring linear, sequential lists
although it now appears that circular or
elliptical lists are easier to remember. The
various points on the pattern cue us into
what belongs on a certain reference point.
We can see in our minds, more easily, when
something is missing from the picture. All
of this is probably related to the Gestalt
perception laws mentioned earlier.
Most of us are aware that spelling,
which requires left brain sequencing of
sounds and letters, is a particularly difficult
subject for crossed dominant and right brain
learners. Especially difficult for my students
were “sight words”. Sight words are those
common words that can not be phonetically
deciphered or sounded out. They must be
memorized by sight, words like one, the, for,
four, again and any.
The students regularly read and
spelled orally ten, 3 to 6 letter, sight words.
A particular group of students, like most
before them, had repeatedly misspelled these
words. One day they spelled some correctly,
only to misspell the same words the next
day. They seemed unable to memorize these
spellings. Our many practice sessions with a
linear, sequential list, seen and dictated in a
row, failed continually to bring spelling
success as did flash cards.
Then a clockwise pattern was tried in
a connect-the-dots fashion. This day, next to
a dot on the board at about one o’clock, a
spelling word was printed. We all read and
spelled it orally. Ten words, in all, were
placed in clockwise fashion next to dots that
would reveal a pattern when connected.
Example: The numbered words: 1. the, 2.
but. 3. any, and so forth, were placed in a
clockwise pattern so that the numbers were
points on a figure, such as a fish, dog, boat,
or some other simple design.
Miracle of miracles
With the students’ apt attention, the
ten dots were finally connected to form a
recognizable pattern with the spelling words
at locator points. If it were a dog, the first
point might be the dog’s nose with 1. the.
Next was his chin, number 2, but, then,
number 3, any, at the shoulder etc.
After this, the design and ten words
were copied on my secret paper and the
board erased. Then the youngsters in this
group were asked to take a paper and see
how many of these words they could recall
and write down. To the astonishment of all,
several of the youngsters not only
remembered all ten words, BUT they had,
for the first time ever, spelled them all
correctly. The lowest recall score was eight
of the ten words, all spelled correctly.
Interest maintained
This method of spelling became our
norm and usually produced similar,
excellent results. The students’ attention
may have been maintained through their
curiosity of what the connection of the dots
would reveal. The clockwise direction aided
their memory for pattern sequence. The
pattern allowed for chunking -- separating
the information into chunks instead of
undifferentiated linear lists. The sudden
correctness in sequence of letters is not
easily explained.
Perhaps these spelling words in this
format had taken on new meaning for these
students. The success was exciting for these
youngsters. It couldn’t have been more so
had they found money or won a baseball
game. They actually began to enjoy
spelling.
 141

Later, this spelling system was Use simple coloring book art patterns.
expanded for polysyllabic words by placing
each syllable next to a dot, in correct,
clockwise sequence. For younger or
beginning groups, the number of items to be
recalled should be limited to three to five, or
to the correct number of syllables.

Spatial spelling or syllabication

Place and number 5-10 dots in a clockwise
pattern. Place sight spelling words or
syllables next to the numbered dots, saying
and spelling each one orally with students.
Then connect the dots to reveal a pattern
while reviewing words orally. Erase and
see how many sight words are recalled and
spelled correctly.

___________________________________
 Chapter 14. MELT: Mathematics With Dice and Dollars
The problem was not the students
More times than can be counted,
children were sent to the Resource Specialist
Program for inability to do arithmetic.
Teachers would ask me, in totally frustrated
tones, to find out why these darn kids
weren’t learning their math. Show me what
you’re trying to teach them was my
response. Then the teachers would display
pages of tiny pictures or lines converging
into each other. Not even so much as
different colors were added to help untangle
the visual confusion of lines. Not finding
visual markers in these math workbooks, to
keep one’s place along rows of tiny, line
drawings with linear sequencing
requirements, would trouble many
youngsters or even adults.
Visually complex and stressful
Many perfectly normal children have
difficulty separating the figures from the
ground on such pages. There were also
pages in the math workbooks, which showed
a row of little drawings on the left side of
the page and another row of items on the
right side of the page.
The children were confused when
they were directed to match items one to one
on pages of crowded linear drawings.
Kindergarten and first grade math books
from 1994 were identical in these methods
to the math books of the eighties, the
seventies and probably of the sixties and
much earlier. Whether “new” math or old,
the linear presentations were the same.
Publishers’ goals in question
These math workbooks show tiny,
artistic, black on white drawings of random
bunches of tiny items, which the children
were supposed to count, separate and equate
with given numerals. Written directions tell
the teacher to tell the kids to circle and, or
color 11 pencils in a mixture of lines that are
supposed to represent 15 pencils. The
children were asked to answer addition or
subtraction problems of similar visual
complexity. Perhaps the publishers are more
interested in selling cute drawings to adults
than in helping children learn mathematics.
These books are drawn and
published by intelligent people who seem to
be totally ignorant of the visual development
or visual problems of many children. The
linear aspect of these math texts seldom
provides right brain patterns, or a limit of
five to seven items in clusters, for visual
memory management.
Most math pages have too many
variables for some attentive, but distractible,
young minds to manage. A cartoon that
illustrated this example showed a teacher
with a pointer aimed at a row of apples,
among other rows of different numbers of
apples. When the teacher asked the student,
“How many apples do you see?”, the student
honestly answered, “All of them.”
Words versus reality
The curriculum guide for one school
district states that mathematics programs
should respond to the needs of children and
to the society in which they live. Quote,
“Inherent in this is the understanding that
each child learns at his or her own pace and
with his or her own learning style.” But
what styles do educators even recognize?
So far, only the one that frustrates everyone,
the tightly spaced, linear style.
We have yet to see or hear of a
credentialed, licensed school, which does
not adhere to the textbook and workbook
philosophy of education. This always means
that children, from kindergarten on up, have
to fill in the blanks on pages with complex
line drawings in linear sequential order.
These pages are visually stressful for many
youngsters. These books and pages were
difficult for my eyes and the vision of five to
six year olds is not completely developed. If
teachers and others could gain enough
confidence in their instruction to set aside
these ubiquitous workbooks for a while,
more math would be learned.
Those limitless, workbook pages are
meant to afford practice and review in
teaching math to children. In fact, these
pages make children dependent on the
teacher for the correct answers. Even the
teacher is dependent on the teacher’s
manual. The pages are anything, but self-
explanatory.
Children need visual patterns
When every class depends on a
textbook for instruction, how can the teacher
fulfill the promise to make sure that each
student is afforded learning materials and
instruction in a personal or different learning
style? Nature is not so sequentially ordered
as are textbooks. When you look out your
window at a natural scene, the wild flowers
or trees don’t grow naturally in rows. The
rocks along the shore aren’t perfectly
graduated in size.
The artist in us sees the patterns.
The organizer thinks of lists. Many people
like to line things up in rows. For others,
rows offer no visual pattern for recognition
and memory. Rows are not bad. It might
certainly be more difficult to make fences,
paths, or to build, as we understand
construction, if we did not use some linear
systems.
Young children learning
mathematics need patterns recognizable to
the spatially oriented right hemisphere. This
linear presentation also limits the number of
items a person can recall at a glance. Recall
is improved if we can cluster items to be
remembered in some associative way.
Simplicity of dice
One of the simplest, most useful,
most economical ways of clustering math
patterns, so that young children have no
difficulty understanding the math concepts,
is with the use of dice. The right brain,
instantaneously, understands the five pattern
on a die, as soon as it is flashed to the eye.
The five-year-old child’s brain also
immediately interprets two dots, three dots
and so on, without ever having to finger or
figure the number of dots. It is like seeing
someone’s face and knowing that the person
has two eyes, one nose, and one mouth,
without having to feel or count them. The
brain is pre-set to recognize patterns.
These same, capable children may
have difficulty comprehending “6” when
you show them a drawing of lines
representing five pencils with another
drawing of one pencil, somewhere on the
page of the math workbook. At that point,
the children are probably more aware of the
shapes, lines and positions of the drawings
than they are of the number of pencils. They
need manipulative materials and exercises
throughout their learning of math.
Enhanced curriculum goals
The goal here is to encourage the use
of dice and money, as well as oral language,
to aid in the understanding of mathematics
by all, especially by dyslexic and right brain
students. It is hoped that more children will
be “turned on” to arithmetic with three-
dimensional manipulative activities, before
they are “turned off” to this subject by
confusing text pages and boring or difficult,
passive, visual, paper and pencil tasks.
The dots on dice offer fewer
distractions for the math concepts we want
children to learn. There are clearly, a
limited number of dots, clustered in a pattern
on a square, nothing more. When the dice
are used on a plain felt or cardboard
background, most figure-ground problems
are eliminated. To test the concept on
yourself or other parents and teachers, that
the dice patterns provide quicker retention of
more units of information than a sequence
does, do the following experiment.
Try it on adults or children
On a 2 inch by 2 foot wide strip of
card stock or other firm paper, draw a row of
dots like this:
 * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Say to your audience, “Ready, look.”
Display the row of 20 to 30 dots to your
audience for one second. Ask them how
many dots they saw. Most people are not
able to count that many dots in a second.
Then, after saying, “Ready, look.”, display
for one second, the same number of dots as
are in the row, arranged like those on the
five dot face of a die. Here is an example.
Provided is a sample of an easy 14 count of
dots in both arrangements reduced from 4 ¾
x 4 ¾ inch cards for dice patterns and two 9
½ x 2 ¾ inch cards for linear sequenced
dots.
Math with dice is an attention getter.
If dice are tossed in the center of a small
group, the movement of the dice gets their
attention. On the page, the dice patterns are
more interesting than linear sequences.
When we say, “Ready? Look.”, we are
involving the students in an activity which is
more meaningful to them than the passivity
of pages.
Dice encourage exploration of concepts
Most American children have been
introduced to a die or dice in board games
where the dice decide the number of places
one can move along the board. There are
numerous games on the market, which use
dice. Children with dice have more
opportunities, than they do without the dice,
to be involved with their learning. The dice
help students to encounter, discover, create,
discuss, explore, analyze and solve
numerical problems.
Beginners need the simplest and
clearest explanations, visuals and/or
manipulative objects as they take on new
learning. The use of dice and their patterns
excel for basic mathematics. Patterns
involve the right or whole brain more than
rods or sticks do. Once comprehensive pre-
work with dice is completed, analogies with
money, decimals and other math concepts
can be made earlier in the course of study
than is possible with workbook pages.
Visual markers
Our eyes need markers. Many of us
get lost in a wilderness, as in snow, or the
woods. To survive, Eskimos need to learn
to differentiate many visual patterns and
kinds of snow beyond the ken of most of us.
Hikers bend twigs, or leave other barely
noticeable markers on a path, for their
friends to follow. Rows or linear sequences
offer few, if any, markers to enhance our
ability to differentiate and remember.
Even with rows of dice patterns we
must find ways to “flag”, or mark the place,
visually and or, orally, as with rhymes. The
visual confusion of rows of any kind of
items fail to provide visual markers and
cause many children to decide much too
early that math is not interesting, or is too
difficult for them.
No longer trusted own senses
By the time, say second or third
grade, that some children arrived in my class
for remedial math work, they wouldn’t trust
their own senses. They were so sure that
they were going to be wrong, again.
Therefore, the math with dice lessons were
started by making sure that the children
knew which side was the top, the bottom,
the front and the back. If left and right were
insecure concepts, strengthening an
understanding of right and left would be
tackled before telling the children to write
anything on paper.
Rebuilding confidence
It was necessary to watch the
attentiveness to the task of these children
because they had experienced too much
failure. When we were ready to begin with
the dice, the leader would say, “Ready?
Look.” If anyone wasn’t ready, he said,
“Wait”, then “Ready”. This verbal readiness
process helped these kids regain their self-
motivation toward tasks that had earlier been
only negative for them. They were soon less
passive, more actively involved and able to
regain control over self and situations.
In a small box cover, one die was
tossed, looked at and covered with my hand.
The children were asked, “How many dots
did you see on the top of the die?” If they
were too hesitant to tell me the number, due
to insecurity, we went again to, “Ready?
Look.” until they would say the correct
number of dots. Then it was time to say,
with enthusiasm, “Right!, Great!, Okay!, or
You got it!”, whatever phrase would
encourage them to continue and regain the
lost sense of self.
Discourage manual counting
Discourage manual counting of the
dots on a die as it SLOWS reliance on visual
memory. These children need to build
reliance on visual memory and restore or
instill confidence in believing that what they
saw was correct. To reassure these children,
ask them to tell how many eyes you have
without touching them. The fact that the
answers to how many dots they saw would
be available to them, through their right
brain facility with patterns, more quickly
than they could manually count, in a left
brain sequential way, would cause them to
disbelieve their answers. In other classes,
counting is the norm. Once it has been lost,
it is necessary to allow time for self-
confidence to rebuild.
Challenge, praise, reward
As soon as the children could name
the number of dots on each single die at an
automatic level, with good surety in their
responses, the second die would be added
into the toss. By this time they would have
been writing the numerals from one to six,
corresponding to the number of dots they
saw. Doing the toss of the die in small
groups of similar ability, and writing their
answers, privately, added a game-like, fun
component to this activity. Soon each took a
turn tossing and covering the die and being
“teacher” to each other. They could also
practice tossing the die and naming the
number of dots by themselves for practice or
for homework.
Start with total and add
With two dice, initially the children
would answer that they saw a five and a
three, or whatever number of dots was on
each die. Soon, they were asked, “How
many dots is that, altogether? How much is
five and three?” For a while they would
have to manually or mentally add one
number to the other. The important thing
was to get them to start with the total of one
die and add the second group of dots to that
total. So often, they would want to start
totaling the two dice by counting
sequentially from one to the end. They are
reassured that they knew a 3, 4, or 5 pattern
before the second die was added.
The understanding that they already
know how many dots are on one die builds
confidence. They count, starting with the
number that comes after five, or whatever
the number of dots on top of one die, until
they had added the total of the second die.
This might require manually adding
the second set of dots while reinforcing their
counting ability with a verbal, written and
perhaps kinesthetic repetition of the addition
equation. Verbal reinforcement means that
the students think about and understand the
facts or situation and then repeat the
statement, “Five plus three equals eight.”
They also write out the equation: 5 + 3 = 8,
horizontally and vertically.
Sometimes, just for fun, we would
toss three and four dice in the box cover,
which were quickly covered with cardboard,
to see how many of the dot faces each of us
could quickly and correctly recall. This
built visual memory, confidence and ease
with numbers that had been lacking earlier.
The box-cover area pair. Five and four is nine plus three and six
The cardboard box cover as a field is nine. So the problem becomes nine plus
for the dice has several purposes. The nine. Always reinforce patterns and mental
cardboard or felt keeps the noise level and math with oral and written linear-verbal
bouncing down. The background for the dice sentences representing the equations.
would be plain and help to avoid figure-
ground visual problems. The area in which
the dice could be tossed, would be limited to
one which could easily be covered with a
hand or piece of cardboard.
The limited area makes it easier to
focus one’s eyes on the game area. It helps
eliminate wild tosses by exuberant
youngsters. If such exuberance becomes a
problem, that child could lose his turn at
tossing the dice. It might be a signal for a
break for physical activity, or that a
particular child is anxious about something
and could use one of those stress outlets
suggested in WIG or a simple relaxation
technique like 4 deep, slow breaths, in and
out.

Equation symbols
As soon as the children are becoming
adept at adding two numbers to find a sum,
introduce them to the symbols for plus, (+),
and equals, (=), or + and ____ for vertical
addition. By this time they should be
thoroughly familiar with the ten symbols (0
through 9) that make up our numerical
system.
When you get to 10 through 12 on
two dice, introduce the subject of numerical
columns in writing numbers. After all the
possible addition combinations on two dice
are memorized, add the third die. Have
them total any two dice, for which they
already know the sum and tell them to start
from that sum to add the third number. Say
they saw: three, six and four. Suggest that
they recall the sum of six and four as ten and
then add three to ten.
When secure in their knowledge,
move on to finding the sum of three dice and
adding the fourth to that sum. For instance,
if the dice faces on top, were six, five, three
and five say together, six, and five are
eleven and three more is fourteen. Fourteen
and five are nineteen.
Begin to look for sums of ten first,
such as, five and five are ten. Six and three
are nine. Ten and nine are nineteen. This
way they will learn that no matter how they
maneuver the numbers, as long as they count
all of them, they will arrive at the same sum.

Sum of two pairs Addition, only

When they have learned the addition Deal only with addition through
combinations through eighteen quite well, three or four dice, with sums of eighteen or
use four dice and deal with the dice as two twenty four, saying, writing and memorizing
all these possible addition combinations
before introducing subtraction. By the time
you and the students are ready to introduce
subtraction, they will know the
combinations that arrive at a total and do
subtraction as naturally as they did addition.
Make sure that they learn the
vocabulary for addition. There are quite a
few words that can indicate the addition
concept. Go through the actions for these
words for kinesthetic reinforcement.
Addition words are: add, plus, increase, give
and more (like give him three more), gain,
and (like two and two), greater than, earn,
receive and multiply. Work with mental and
oral word problems using various terms
indicating addition. E.g.: Mary has 6
stickers in her book. She earns 2 more at
school and her dad gives her 5 for helping
him. How many stickers does Mary have
now? Use dice as long as they are helpful.
Numerical columns
You will probably need to spend
time on the concept of numerical columns.
Remind the students that all of our billions
of numbers are expressed with the use of
only ten symbols: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.
Compare these symbols to the use of letters
to make words. Instead of learning to spell
thousands of numbers, numerical values are
all expressed by their placement in vertical
columns and relating to the decimal point.
l 100’s l l 10’s l l I’s
[.]
l 999-100 l l 99-10 l l 9-0
[.]
Less than zero, 0, are 10th’s and
100th’s.
100’s, 10’s, I’s (9–0). 10th’s,
100th’s.
The numerals to the right of the
decimal point, after the ones column,
represent the tenths and hundredths
of dollars in the form of coins, E.g. 50
cents, quarters or $0.25, dimes or
$0.10.
As any numeral moves
further from the decimal point
by column, it increases in
amount to the left or decreases
in amount to the right of that
point. $0.10, one tenth, or a dime, is
more than $0.01, a cent, one
hundredth of a dollar, and $10.00 is
more than $1.00. Review column
value of $111.11
That fact, that so many numbers are
expressed through columns, makes the
correct use of columns very important.
Stress the importance of keeping accurate,
vertical columns when writing numerical
statements or equations. The symbols 0
through 9 are the only symbols that can be
placed in the “ones” column, or the “tens”,
or any other column. If this were not so, we
would have to remember many more
numerical symbols than the ten we now use.
Compared to spelling, mathematics
language is fairly simple in any language.
We use the same words or their derivatives,
just adding ten each time. E.g.: 9 is nine,
add 10, we have nineteen, 10 more makes
twenty-nine, then 39 and so forth. As soon
as a number is larger than nine, or smaller
than one hundred, we must form a “tens”
column. For example: eleven equals one
“ten” plus one “one”. Twelve equals one
“ten” plus two “ones”. Have the children
practice writing numerical statements,
revealed by tossing two or more dice, while
stating and writing how many ones and how
many tens are represented by the numerals.
The students might toss a six, a three
and a two. They would write the vertical
equation and say, “Six ones plus three ones
plus two ones equals eleven. We writ
 eleven in columns, one “ten” and one
“one”. The children use dice to confirm
addition and other math processes. When
writing numerals, different colored dice can
be used to represent tens and ones and their
column placement. Add more colors, to
represent hundreds, etc. as needed.
Dice and Dollars
Start to incorporate coins: pennies,
nickels and dimes into the practice sessions.
Describe pennies as each equal to one cent,
which can be equated with one dot on any
die. A five-pattern on the dice can represent
five cents or one nickel. When adding two
dice, the dime, ten cents, can be equated to
any two dice that equal the sum of ten.
Dimes represent the tenths column, pennies,
the ones in the hundredths column.
Because it is relevant information
now, it is not too early to introduce the
correct way to write and use the symbols for
dollars and cents, the dollar sign, $, and the
decimal point. Money will be one item that
everyone will need to comprehend and
compute in life. Moral and sensible values
relating to money, e.g.: greed, theft, honesty,
miserliness, budgeting, savings, etc., need to
be discussed during WIG or other sessions.
Coins
Understanding the vocabulary of any
subject is basic to understanding the subject.
This is one of the goals in mathematics
instruction. It has been interesting and
helpful to students at times to search out the
roots of certain vocabulary.
Make sure each small group of
children has some real coins to examine and
handle; perhaps their lunch money. Explain
that people call one side of the coins “heads”
and the other side “tails”. Ask them to
decide why this is so. Have them turn all of
their coins head side up on the table.
Encourage them to locate and decipher the
words, dates and whose heads are on various
coins. Examine coins from other countries in
a similar way.
A Roman Centurian
The big question is, where does the
coin tell us how much it is worth, its value?
Now they must turn the coins to examine the
tail sides. Somewhere on the back of each
coin they will find the word cent or cents.
Explain that “cent” comes from an old Latin
word, “centum”, which means one hundred.
It is used in words like century, which
means one hundred consecutive years. A
Roman Centurian was the captain in charge
of 100 soldiers and was paid in coins with
Caesar’s head on them.
Centimeter is a word in the metric
system, which means the one hundredth part
of a meter. Most countries today, base their
monetary systems on units of one hundred.
The dollar is the primary unit of money
among many nations and most businesses.
The dollar represents 100 units called cents.
100 cents are equal in value to one dollar.
Find and discuss the value of the penny, the
nickel, the dime, the quarter and the half
dollar. If the penny says one cent on it, how
many pennies would equal the value of
various coins including the dollar coin? If it
takes one hundred cents to add up to one
dollar, then coins expressed in cents
represent parts of dollars. Their value is less
than one dollar.
Whole dollars and parts of dollars
The students have already mastered
columns for ones, tens and hundreds. Now
they will master the columns to the right of a
decimal point. The cents between 10 and 90
go in the first column to the right of the
decimal point, in the tenths column. Ten
cents is one tenth of a dollar. Ten tenths or
ten dimes are needed to equal one dollar.
The second column to the right of the
decimal point is the hundredths column
because the cents in this column represent
hundredths of one dollar. One hundred
cents is equal to one dollar or one whole.
The dollar sign, $, and a decimal
point (.), are used because we are talking
about whole dollars and parts of dollars.
The whole numbers or dollars are in
columns to the left of the decimal point.
Show how we write one dollar, $1.00, five
dollars, $5.00, ten dollars, $10.00 and so on.
Tell the students to note that when writing
whole dollars, we always place a decimal
point after the dollar amount, followed by
two zeros to the right of the decimal point.
The zeros are the placeholders for
the cents, their value being less than one
dollar. What are the most cents that
someone can have that are less than one
dollar? One less than 100 cents is $0.99.
Therefore we need two columns to the right
of the decimal point for cents. Have the
students practice writing $0.01, $0.10 and
any number of cents up to $0.99.
Emphasize that the numerals to the
left of the decimal point express whole
numbers or whole dollars, while the
numerals to the right of the decimal point
express parts or fractions of the whole. Why
is there no one’s column to the right of the
decimal point? Everything to the right of
the decimal point is less than one whole
dollar or one whole, in general.
Practice writing dollars and cents
Have the students look at the coins
and write their values in correct columns
using dollar signs and decimal points.
Graph paper provides equal columns and
helps when learning to write money in
columns. Accountants use printed columns.
Play or “credit” dollars to buy play
items or rewards gives practical practice for
writing monetary receipts. They can learn to
correctly write the addition of dollars and
cents. Then they can figure out how much
several purchases add up to and whether
they have enough money to pay for their
purchases. Again, provide word problems,
which you work out together. E.g.: Jim
earned and saved $10.00 for mowing and
weeding. He received $5.00 more on his
birthday. If he earns $3.00 more today, how
much will he have for his savings account?
After they’ve learned subtraction
they can also figure out how much change
they should receive and write those
equations. Calculators could be used to
figure the amount of sales tax they must add
to find the exact cost of an item, but
calculators can not substitute for basic
knowledge.
Since columns relate the value of the
numerals, when working with money or
other decimal problems, it is necessary to
make sure that all decimal points are directly
beneath each other. Each decimal point
represents the 0 point between whole
numbers and fractional numbers. Keeping
the points in line tells us where the ones,
tenths and hundredths columns are. When
children learn early to understand that coins
are parts of one dollar, later activities with
decimals should be easier to grasp.
Subtraction with dice
Once the children are quite
comfortable with addition and
multiplication, explore the meanings of
subtraction, taking away and or dividing,
using the dice to clarify these operations.
When you teach subtraction, include all
vocabulary that can infer the subtraction
process. These words include: subtract, take
away, give away, decrease, lose or lost,
move away from, part of, percent of,
fraction of, less, less than, spend and divide.
Put the vocabulary words for addition and
subtraction into action. Provide situations
where the children can act out each process
using all forms of associated vocabulary. If
nothing else, the English language is
vocabulary rich.
Toss two dice, after you said,
“Ready? Look.” Say, “What did you see?”
“How much do both dice add up to?” Then
remove one of the dice. Ask, “Which
number did I take away? How many are
left?”
We saw six and four which totals ten
(6 + 4 = 10). Take the six away from the
total of ten. The four is left. The math
statement is ten take away six leaves four
(10 - 6 = 4). Then replace the 6 and remove
the 4. Have them write out each equation so
they begin to see the relationships between
6, 4 and 10. Teach the students the symbol
and equations for subtraction and review the
vocabulary until they are secure.
Algebraic equations, using letters to
represent numerical amounts, can be
introduced here. The numbers 6, 4 and 10
have a special relationship, as do many other
sets of numbers. We could call them a, b
and c. Then a + 6 = 10 could easily be
understood at this point in the instruction.
The letter a represents 4, so 6 is b, and 10 is
c. Move the equation’s letters and numbers
in a variety of sensible ways to make several
useful equations for addition and
subtraction. E.g.: c – 6 = 4, 10 – b = 4.
Explain that 2 of the 3 figures must be
known in order to find the third.
Multiplication and division with dice
By now, the children have seen and
written numerical problems from the dots on
dice, which repeat one sum, two or more
times. For example, they may have tossed
three “fours”, or two “fives”. If they have
been introduced to the game of “Yahtzee”,
they’ll understand the concept of three and
four of a kind. They have also dealt with
“ones” in pennies, “fives” in nickels, and
“tens” as dimes. Now they learn that when
the same number is repeated or added
multiple times we call this process
multiplication.
Sets of
With multiplication and division the
words “sets of” can be useful. How many
sets of six are there? Into how many sets
must this total be divided? The word set has
a great many meanings. For the purposes of
multiplication and division the word set
refers to a group of matching or related
things or people that are together for some
purpose. Together, the items in a set form a
unit, the set of apples in a basket or the set
of dots on a die.
With multiplication and division
using dice, if there were three fours face up
on the table, ask, “How many sets of four do
you see?” With the children’s correct
response, that they saw three sets of four
they know that four added three times equals
twelve. Explain that we could say that we
saw four, three times, or four times three is
twelve. How many sets of four can they
add, 4x5, 4x6? “Sets of” is replaced by
“times” or by “multiplied by” in an
equation.
Show the students with dimes how
much easier it is to count by tens instead of
by ones.
When they have mastered counting and
writing tens to at least, one hundred, show
them how to count by fives, using the fives
on the dice for verification and clarification.
Then have the children count nickels as
fives, up to one hundred cents or one dollar.
With division, show the children
how to separate a total number of dots into a
number of sets. For instance, if thirty dots
represented thirty dollars to be divided
equally among three people, we would want
to divide the amount of thirty into three sets.
How much would be in each set? How
much would each person receive?
With knowledge of 10’s & 5’s begin
estimating. How many 10’s are in 30?
Discovering with dice
Another way to explore the meanings
of multiplication with dice is to have the
children count the sums of two “fives” and
compare this to the sums of five “twos”. Do
the same with any two multipliers, such as:
three “fours” and four “threes”, three “tens”
and ten “threes”. The students will discover
for themselves, that they will get the same
answer with the same multipliers. Whether
it is 5x2 or 2x5 doesn’t matter for the
answer. It may matter with sets. Five sets
of two fruits may be quite different from two
sets of five fruits.
Describe the equations with the dice
and then with numerals. Allow the children
to manipulate the dice and coins to confirm
the meaning of the number and money
statements for as long as they need this
confirmation.
Associations using dice
With dice we have a representative
set of dots set off from other sets of dots by
the borders or edges of the die. When we
speak of sets we need to know how many
items or people are in each set and how
many sets are in our calculation. With
multiplication we put sets together. Each of
three people has $5.00. Show three dice
with five dots on top to represent three
people with $5.00 each. How many dollars
do the three have together? Three people
times $5.00 each is 3 x $5.00 = $15.00
altogether.
With division we have a total
number of items which we must separate
equally into a specific number of sets. If
four girls have a twenty-dollar bill to divide
equally, how much will each receive? To
demonstrate that division is a subtraction
process, give the students twenty pennies to
divide among four of them.
They give a cent to each in turn, until
the twenty cents has been evenly divided.
Then they will see that $20.00 divided by
four equals $5.00 for each girl. Reinforce
this division equation with dice to make four
equal sets that total twenty. It is important
to help children express a word problem in a
concise sentence, which provides the
structure for solving the problem. Practice
is key. E.g.: Twenty dollars divided into 4
sets equals $5.00 in each set, or for each girl.
With money and all decimal
fractions, round numbers off in the answer
to the number in the original problem, which
had the least number of decimal places.
With money this will always be to the
nearest hundredth as the cent is our coin of
smallest value.
Decimal fractions
Decimal fractions, just like dollars
and cents, have denominators, divisors, of
tenths, hundredths, or powers of ten. E.g.: .
05 is five hundredths, .20 is two tenths. To
get away from multiplying and dividing
ordinary fractions, a process, which most
people find very confusing, we can change
any common fraction like 3/4 or 1/8 to a
decimal fraction. We can use the calculator
to help us solve such problems. To find the
decimal equivalent of 3/4, we simply divide
the numerator 3 by the denominator 4.
Three, or 3.00, divided by four equals 0.75.
Try this with a quarter, ¼ dollar, or ½ dollar.
E.g. Divide $1.00 by 4 =$0.25. A decimal
fraction to the 100th’s is equal to a
percentage of the same figures since 100% is
equal to one whole whatever. So, 0.75 is the
same as saying 75% and vice versa.
Math for daily situations
Encourage the children to work in
pairs or small groups to explore, discover,
discuss, create, analyze and solve math and
money statements. Besides dice, provide
construction items like blocks, Legos, etc.
and an activity which requires results and
problem solving.
For instance, they could build a truck
or train car five cubits long by three cubits
wide and two cubits deep. How many sheep
could they transport to another place in their
truck? What questions would they need to
answer first? They need to know the actual
container size of their truck and how big the
sheep are. Tell them that cubits are any
system of measurement, as long as the
measuring unit remains constant,
unchanging in value.
They can use manipulative materials,
blocks with which to build and some
physical item to represent sheep. Tell them
to devise a story about their shipping or
trading, or other business. How will the
story change if some sheep die during the
trip? How will they keep track of their
expenses and losses? How will they figure
out how much to charge for sheep, and so
forth? Encourage students to act out
problems so they come to use concise
mathematical sentences. If they are selling
sheep to a cautious buyer, how will they
explain the reasonable cost of each sheep?
What would the buyers need to ask the seller
in order to come to a reasonable solution or
cost for value?
Did the sellers raise and feed these
sheep or are they moving them to market for
the farmer or rancher? Tell the team to keep
a diary of their transactions, in pictures or
words. Then have a story telling exchange
at the end relating all the teams journeys and
adventures. Really involve everyone on
helping to solve these and other realistic
problems. Find visitors who will talk to the
children about the numbers involved with
their businesses.
What is “Earning a living”?
Discuss the concept of “earning a
living” with your students. Why and how
was money invented? Include some history
lessons on how early, Mediterranean area
traders, invented cuneiform, on clay tablets,
to keep track of shipping and trading orders.
Math can come alive as children
role-play sellers, buyers or traders. They
must figure ways of keeping track of how
many clay pots, or whatever, they are
shipping and how much they figure they
must receive for their pots in order to make a
reasonable profit. A reasonable profit must
cover the sellers’ cost of living and of
continuing in the present business. The
profit must cover all the costs of production
as well as labor, so that the seller is left with
enough money to buy from others, those
products he or she does not personally
produce.
Make mind maps together, which
show the things that people living together
in a community usually need. They must
manage their life and community needs
throughout production or purchase. Lessons
such as these carry relevance for our living
in ever-closer communities.
Losses must be figured into the total
cost of staying in business; e.g. those pots
that break during transport and those lost
ships that went down in a storm. How
would such disasters figure into dealings
between sellers and buyers?
Clock patterns
The memorization of multiplication
tables is made easier by using the clock
pattern. Place the number to be multiplied
in the center of the clock. Place the
numerals one through twelve in their proper
places on the inner circumference of the
clock, and the answers to the central number
multiplied by one, two, three, etc. on the
outside circumference. For instance, if three
is in the center of the clock, then in line with
one o’clock, the answer three is given. In
line with six o’clock, the answer eighteen is
given.
Many children will find this an easier
method for memorizing their times tables
than the usual linear column: 3 x 2 = 6,
followed beneath with 3 x 3 = 9, on down to
3 x 12 = 36. The reverse process of division
can be easily learned from this clock pattern.
Place the division sign between the outer
numeral and the numerals: one through
twelve, and the = sign in line with the
correct sequence, 36/12 = 3. The same
clock pattern can be used for addition and
subtraction. Inside to out, 3+1=4 and back
the other way, 4-1=3.
Writing checks on a budget
Division and subtraction can be
explained with the concept of earnings
realized from work and the necessity of
having a budget and learning to write checks
correctly. My ex-student, Jim, reminded me
that it was in my class, he and his classmates
learned how to write checks, a relevant and
useful skill. He said, “Remember when you
took us to the bank and we received little
savings books?” Actually, I had forgotten,
but Jim helped me recall an activity that had
been meaningful and continued to be of
value to him as an adult.
Beginnings of measurements
Thousands of years ago, people of
Arabia, Egypt, Babylon and Rome, among
others had invented a circular system based
on ten and 60 which provided the framework
for the sixty minute hour and the 360 degree
circle that we still use today. Also, in order
to avoid fractions, early Romans referred to
an uncia as the twelfth part of a weight and
of value. From these beginnings we have an
inch as the twelfth part of a foot and the
ounce as a sixteenth
part of a pound. Time was judged with a
sundial following the sun’s circular path in
the sky and divided into 24 hours from one
day to the next.
Weights can be explored
kinesthetically with the brain’s response to
different weights in each hand comparable
to the pans of a balancing scale.
Container patterns
Three-dimensional geometrical
designs can be examined by separating the
glued sides of cereal or tissue boxes and
putting these patterns back together again.
The exploration of different container
patterns can be explored along with the
concepts of testing containers for strength,
shelf placement, or for conservation efforts
to save forests, et cetera. Take cardboard
paper rolls apart to see how this pattern is
devised. Let the children explore questions
with as many participatory exercises as
possible. Rely less on textbooks.
More measurements
Baking and following recipes, in
general, provide some of the best and most
interesting lessons in measuring, fractions,
degrees of temperature, plus dividing the
results into a certain number of servings.
How about producing a play? Most
people wouldn’t think of math skills needed
for a theatrical production. Yet, there are
many measurements that go into a
production. How big a stage would you
need? How would you set up the different
scenes within the stage area? How tall and
wide do you make a doorway? How can this
be measured? What is the floor plan like?
What size furnishings will leave room for
actors to move around? Will there be limits
on sizes for people and costumes?
 If you were to make costumes for a
production, how will you measure the
amount of fabric needed? How would you
make clothing or costume patterns to fit the
characters? These are questions that should
give children an appreciation for the need
for learning to measure things.
Plan a simple production. The class
could be divided into groups, each of which
would tackle one question or area of the
production. When the groups feel that they
have managed suitable solutions to the
problems, they may explain their solutions
to the rest of the class and try to answer
further questions in the minds of their
classmates. Rotate groups to each area of
production.
Numbers in a San Francisco Production.
The Phantom of the Opera, in
production in San Francisco, California, in
1994, produced this list of “Phantom Facts”
for us to think about. Hours the show runs -
2½ hours. Weight of chandelier - 1200 lbs.
Weight of Act two staircase, in tons - 2.
Operas seen within the show -3. Scenery
shops that worked on chandelier - 6.
Automated candelabras - 6. Months to
construct Phantom’s chandelier - 3. Height
of chandelier, in feet - 10. Height of tallest
candelabra, in feet - 14.
Scale models of set built by designer
- 22. Number of performers - 38. Orchestra
members - 19. Scenery and electrical
system operators - 37. Crew members - 60.
Total number of candles in show - 142.
Traps in Phantom’s deck - 119. Lighting
instruments - 335. Costumes - 240. Beads
in chandelier - 35,000. Total number of
motors - 54. Pyrotechnic effects - 14. Yards
of fabric in drapes - 2,700. Radio
microphones - 22. Scene shifts during show
- 22. Would some brave students like to
work on the costs of producing such a show?
Where does this money come from?
The need and value of mathematics
Within every one of the numbers
listed are so many other numbers and
measurements and schedules, no one person
would want to manage all of them alone.
The complete list of requirements for the
production of this musical drama is even
larger. We get some idea of the importance
of mathematics knowledge for a great many
jobs or professions in our world. Perhaps
small groups of students could take on the
various roles of some of the producers of
this show and try to figure what kinds of
math they might need to know for their jobs.
Students might be encouraged to
make mind maps around the subject of types
of work and workers involved in such a
production, or areas of production, such as:
script, music, stage sets, props, carpenters,
electricians, procurement of needed
materials, try outs for parts, time schedules
and so forth.
Perhaps some brave students could
get together to explore the possible costs of
this or simpler productions. How would
they get the money needed for such
productions? Compare this to the costs and
receipts of particular movie productions.
Consider what happens without financial
planning.
How important is financial planning
for every family or worker? You might
even discuss loans, credit, interest,
investment risks, profits and losses and
stockholders.
 Chapter 15. AAA: Arts, Acting and Activities
Textbooks alone do not involve
enough students, nor involve any of them
enough.
These objectives relate to “Art, Acting
and Activities” as learning processes.
1. Improve integration of right and left
brain modes of thinking.
2. Give equal time to right and left brain
processes in education
3. Improve spatial and artistic perceptions
4. Combine action, imagery and thought to
arrive at solutions
5. Incorporate tactile-kinesthetic methods
and improve memory
6. Improve creative thinking
7. Increase personal and interpersonal
awareness and comfort
8. Recognize and reward intelligence other
than linear intelligence.
9. Learn out of one’s seat (stand up and
talk) and have more freedom to move as
well as to discuss while trying new
ideas.
“What we learn with pleasure, we never
forget.” Alfred Mercier
Art, acting and activities can cover a
wide spectrum of activities. For this reason
this chapter will be limited to some of the
activities which were tried and found to be
successful in my experience. Once the
students were excited about learning, time
was more easily spent in the more traditional
methods with students working at their
desks at their own levels of success.
Scholastic achievement was always a goal,
as was achieving it with methods other than
reading and texts.
Art as “self”
Child psychologists learned what
most mothers of toddlers took for granted.
The drawing experiments end when the
color pens dry up. Children are interested in
the markings they are able to produce with
their color pens or crayons or paints. The
marking activity is a learning process.
Young children often start by using
the drawing instrument as if it were an
extension of themselves. They act through
the instrument. A one and a half year old
girl hopped her felt pen across the paper as
she said, “Hop, hop, hop. This is a rabbit
hopping.” She was being the rabbit’s feet
through her pen. When she showed her
drawing to her mother, all her mommy could
see were little marks spaced across the page.
Artistic expression into adulthood
Expressive marks as part of the
drawing experiment don’t end at two years
of age. People’s personal connection of
their feelings and beliefs with the desire to
make two dimensional images go back
further than cave drawings.
Elementary school teachers are
familiar with expressive art related behavior.
A seven-year old boy, who had drawn a
plane, was drawing speedy firing lines from
the front of his plane toward his target.
These were accompanied by his emotional
vocal sounds “blam! blam! blam!”. The boy
was totally involved in the reality and
tension of his activity. The drawing itself
may not have looked like much to an art
critic, but it was much, much more than art.
Children’s art develops with
recognizable stages: gesturing, expressing
emotions and lines as edges. The use of
drawing and painting instruments would
appear to give the artist freedom to move
through inner feelings out onto the two
dimensional surface. This is rightly called
artistic expression. A combination of
sketching, bodily movement and gesturing
are all retained into adulthood. This
explains why we can feel our way into
becoming our art as in role-playing.
Polarities in art and role-playing
Art can have some splendid
therapeutic values in most classrooms or
homes when used with sensitivity and
understanding. The value lies in letting
individuals interpret or “become” their
work, in their own way, in a safe and loving
environment.
Individuals may be able to clarify
their own values through drawings, which
they feel comfortable enough to interpret
verbally for themselves and others.
Identifying with one’s art expression allows
individuals to understand their inner
conflicts and bring about more comfortable
solutions to those conflicts. Group members
also learn from hearing and watching others.
A method for guiding children, or
anyone, to find ways to integrate two sides
of themselves is to fold a 12 x 18 inch
drawing paper so that there are two 9 x 12
inch areas in which to work. An assignment
is given that has two polarities. E.g.: Use
only two colors, one color on each side of
the paper. Or suggest two polarities, such
as: light and dark, bouncy and heavy, sunny
and rainy, giver and taker, quiet and noisy.
This often results in the person feeling the
split between two sides of self.
When time is called on the art
production part of this exercise, the children
are encouraged to think about being each
side, or color of their artistic expression. An
area of the floor is cleared for this purpose.
Time limits are suggested to allow each one
a turn to talk as well as to draw. In small,
secure groups, each one carries on a
conversation between the two sides or
polarities of their drawing from physically
different places. Pretend that one side or
person was talking to the other. Different
voices and postures are to be exaggerated
until the person feels the power struggle
going on within him or her self. They
consider which side has the greater power.
They are encouraged to work out some
compromise wherein both sides could
become more friendly, more integrated and
share the power.
Alternating polarities
Sometimes, without folding the
paper in halves, the students used only two
colors on the page, in any way they chose.
When everyone is finished, or time is called,
the children are told to think of themselves
as being first one color and then the other.
Then encourage small groups to tell each
other about experiencing themselves as each
color. Children usually relate feelings and
action quite readily to paintings or drawings,
or anything else with which they are able to
identify. One student’s interpretation can
influence another’s interpretation. That
doesn’t matter, for each still relates from his
own feelings.
I am what I do
One of the objectives in these
exercises is to become aware that everything
we do is an expression of who and what we
are. Children can then see that they are
expressing themselves through careless
work and through neat work. The child’s
dialog between the careless and neat sides of
herself might suggest that producing “neat”
work is somehow stressful for her. Then
this child, playing her own two sides, can
usually come up with self-suggestions to
help her accomplish what she really wants to
do.
If welcomed, group members might
suggest ideas for the child to consider, BUT
the child makes the final decision of which
methods she’ll try if they seem good to her.
Self-awareness through art
The following are important
objectives of art and acting exercises.
1. Reduce fears of self and other’s criticism
2. Understand and accept one’s self
3. Find workable solutions for one’s self
4. Accept ideas different from our own
5. Become aware that everything we do or
say is a personal expression.
6. Accept responsibility for our actions
When we acknowledge ownership of
all our actions, we no longer blame others
for what happens in our lives. Then we can
begin to find the answers we were looking
for and we will be more comfortable and
secure in our world.
Can art help behavior?
One year, my teaching principal was
interested in and beginning to understand the
value of the guided imagery, the art and
acting activities that my students and I were
doing. He had two fifth grade boys in his
class who were constant behavior problems.
With the parents’ permission, the two boys
were scheduled to meet with me for twelve,
half hour sessions, on a twice a week basis.
The purpose of this six week
experiment was to work only on the boys’
self understanding in hopes of improving
their behavior. The program consisted of
leading the boys through short imagery
sessions after which they would draw and
then write some positive statement about
their drawings. The last few minutes of the
period were given to the boy’s discussing
their reactions and feelings. A diary of our
activities recorded the boys’ reactions and
their final written feedback of our time
together
Todd and Jerry’s foot dragging
First of all, can you imagine how two
pubescent, fifth grade boys initially felt
about coming to special education to work
on their behavior? They were dragging their
feet, I assure you. It was not until the fourth
session that they came on their own. Both
boys missed a couple of early meetings so
that we actually worked together nine or ten
times instead of twelve.
Jerry had more serious educational
and hyperactivity problems, while Todd just
didn’t get his work done. When Jerry came
alone, on the first day, he easily relaxed into
imagery of a meadow where he saw
valentines coming out of the earth. When
even one other student was present, Jerry
acted anxious, nervous and distracted. Then
he would not close his eyes during imagery
and had difficulty concentrating. Todd was
bouncy and silly during the first class
imagery, but he really settled down, got into
and enjoyed the next one.
The sessions
Todd and Jerry were led through the
garden imagery where they saw themselves
as special flowers. They wrote stories about
their experiences and talked about their
stories. Then each drew a picture of their
flower. Since Jerry seemed so flighty, he
was reminded to draw his roots and he drew
extensive roots. Both boys enjoyed these
activities. Dr. Emmett Miller’s guided
imagery tapes were also used.
The boys enjoyed the imagery and
drawing. Their positive written and self-
assessment statements, concerning their
experiences in these classes, improved with
practice. Jerry complained about the writing
and had more difficulty on that level. Later
dominance screening showed Jerry to be
crossed dominant, which explains some of
his learning and behavior problems.
Final visit evaluations
On the boys’ final visit, Jerry was
sullen and recalcitrant. Perhaps the ending
was difficult for him. Both boys were asked
to write about anything they had learned
about themselves during these few weeks.
They were asked to mention anything they
thought might help others.
Even with Jerry’s considerable
problems, he commented. “I like going
here. It did help me a little. It wasn’t a
waste of time. It taught me about myself.
The beach fantasy was my favorite. It
taught me more about myself. The beach
fantasy would help someone else.”
And these are lines from Todd’s
evaluation. “Some days I say to myself, “I
am going to get this done! and I do. But
some days I’m lazy and I don’t complete
things. This class (imagery) could help
someone in the same position I am in. What
helped me is seeing myself improving. It
wasn’t a waste of time coming here because
I learned how special I am. This class could
help a person who feels left out.”
Yes. And how often crossed
dominant, dyslexic children feel left out in
most classrooms. They are struggling to put
their spatially, rounded, intuitive thinking
into linearly, logical, squared presentations.
“The whole world’s a stage...”
Acting out stories, even word
problems in mathematics, strengthens
comprehension of the whole, gives insight
into the feelings of the characters and into
the meanings of situations. When one has
played the part of a protagonist, it is much
easier to relate to the situation in other ways,
as in writing about it. Getting into the skin
of another is enlightening. Encouraging
participants to imagine or envision an action
before performing, no matter what the
activity, is more likely to produce positive
results. Prepare a small stage area for role-
playing. Alternate players frequently and
reverse roles.
Dealing positively with difference
Some of the polarities that will
enhance students’ comprehension of the
many dilemmas facing our planet, today,
could be based on the two or more sides of
environmental issues. The objective of the
meetings would be to work out solutions for
all sides. Have some act the part of the
fishermen who are depleting the fish
available for their livelihood. Others play
the wildlife managers who are attempting to
preserve enough of a species to keep it
around for future generations. Still others
play the people who want plenty of fish in
stores and restaurants. Rotate roles and have
several groups play the same parts
Later, some could play the
lumbermen who want to continue to cut
down forests faster than they can be
replenished. They want to continue the
family heritage of lumbering. Others play
those who are trying to save the forests and
preserve the habitats of species dependent
on forest environments. Others are
consumers. What alternatives can each
party see? Which jobs will benefit all?
International desires and rules could
also be examined on the stage as preparation
for life. Have pairs of students represent
viewpoints of 2 countries and then have
them reverse roles. There is no end to
controversial issues for which students can
attempt to grasp the interests and issues at
the extremes of two such polarities. By
acting both sides of such issues, coming
from extreme ends of polarities, they may
find better ways of reaching some
meaningful compromises in their lifetimes.
Twenty first century issues may
encompass overpopulation, climate control,
world economic cooperation, peace or war
and other final solutions. Helping children
bypass sexist and other types of stereotyping
would certainly benefit the world. It is a
real and scary, mind opening education, to
hear angry, sexual stereotyping from the
mouths of very young children.
Psychoanalyst, Dr. Alfred Adler broke with
Dr. Freud on the comparative value of male
and female persons. Dr. Adler said,
“Civilization will never be complete as long
as half the people in it are considered
inferior.”
Listen, read, act
Role-playing may be the best method
at our disposal for helping future generations
manage their world better than present and
past generations have done. Solutions
require whole brain attitudes. Action
oriented methods help all children feel a
little more involved in learning for the
enjoyment of it.
Acting out story chapters enhances
reading comprehension, grasp of sequence
and numerous other reading and writing
related skills. The book reports that dyslexic
students produced, while using this action together in small groups, not insisting that
method, went from struggling to write single individuals read aloud by themselves. Use
paragraphs in early months to final reports visual markers. Comprehension is more
of neatly written, four and five loose leaf important than diction or speed. Discuss
pages with few errors. The self-esteem was together the reading. Look up words to
palpable with each student’s presentation of enrich vocabulary. Allow time for each to
her/his fantastic report. From experiences think about the scene in preparation for
like these, it was necessary to conclude that related activities.
it is better to read, role-play and write about
one memorable book than to read ten
forgettable ones in the same time span.
Pages 1 & 4 of one intelligent boy’s
book report at age 11, following methods
presented here. At age 9, he came to R.Sp.
reading & writing below 1st grade level.

Rotate roles
Divide the larger class into two or
three groups of rotating actors and audience
participants. The students in group-one play
various characters in the story, trying to be
true to dialogue, thoughts, sequence, etc.
though not telling the story verbatim. The
students can take turns as the different
characters, enriching the number of
Comprehension is the important factor
interpretations each one brings to the story.
Some children need a slower, in
The listeners can remind the actors when
depth approach to comprehension, but even
they forget an important action or sequence,
for those who don’t, this complete approach
but should interrupt as little as possible and
to reading and writing is more interesting,
be ready to continue the story when their
memorable and fun. Choose an interesting,
turns come up. To assure attention, call time
action and thought provoking plot with
and have the students who were listening
several characters. Read the stories aloud
change places with acting students. Role
changing is whenever, like musical chairs.
Combination of skills
Combine several skills with reading
and acting. Use your stopwatch for
dictionary games and to allot time handicaps
for a more level playing field and to keep
excitement going.
1. How many pages of the dictionary are
devoted to each letter and which letters
contain the most words?
2. The first person or small group to open
to this letter gets 100 points. - Be
generous.
3. The first to open to these first two letters
gets 200 points. - If the same one or two
people are always winning, give them a
ten or 20 second handicap before they
start so that others may win.
4. The first person to find this word from
the story.
5. Write the word in personal dictionaries
then find the dictionary definition that
best corresponds to the meaning in the
story. After group consensus, everyone
writes this definition in their personal
dictionaries. - For 500 points. Everyone
gets points for these tasks.
6. Writing time. Use at least two of the
new words in the personal dictionaries in
one sentence. When everyone has
finished writing, each one gets to read
his sentence aloud. - for 1000 points.
Check sentence structure and spelling
together. Limit red marks.
7. At the end of the week everyone writes a
synopsis of the story to that time.
Different groups may have to be on
different levels of reading material, but
this method worked with wide ranging
abilities.
Toys and puppets
With pre and beginning readers and
writers, tap into young children’s natural
creative dialogue for characters using a
familiar story. The children can use toys or
puppets to represent their characters at first.
Read and discuss the story. Then
have different children take turns acting the
parts of the characters. Encourage the
children to be able to take over a character’s
part anywhere in the story by changing the
actors and actresses every two to five
minutes. Reward the courteous listeners and
keep everybody involved most of the time.
Geography
Consider the cleared floor as the map
of a state, country or area. If you have seen
the comedian, Gallagher’s, imitation of the
first European settlers crossing the United
States, you will know the set-up. (Gallagher
is the TV comedian who splats watermelons
on his audiences.) Gallagher’s spoof was
not only hilarious, it demonstrated an
educational way for children to learn about
the history and geography of this country.
Gallegher pretended that he was
walking over rivers and up to mountain
ranges as he crossed the USA, an excellent
approach to geography and history for
students. With the help of an actual map,
place markers or obstacles at logical
intervals in the room, to represent: the
Atlantic coastline, wooded areas, the
Mississippi River, the Great Plains, the
Rocky Mountains, the Southern deserts,
coastal mountains and the Pacific Coast.
Review orally and with drawings, the
facts to be enacted. Starting at either coast,
have the students, in workable groups, begin
their trek across the country. They must
hike every trail, climb every mountain,
paddle every creek or river, swim, when
they fall out of the boat, and crawl over
every desert.
They must name the places they are
in, as they go. Where are you? Where is
this Allegheny mountain range? How did
these mountains, rivers, etc. get these
names? How high and how wide are they?
What rivers and creeks will we have to
maneuver? Read to them. The important
fact is to learn and retain the information,
however each learns best.
Spot check and expansion
After managing an overview of a
country or area, limit the distance to be
covered in any period and help the children
get down to specifics. Spot test the
individual students as they enact their trek.
If they forget where they are they can go
back to the coast to begin again when
another party starts out. On different days,
take different routes across or up and down
and around the countries you are studying.
You could read parts of pioneer diaries like
Lewis and Clark’s Discovery journeys.
Bulletin board size depictions of a
curriculum study can evolve with the
students’ learning about their subject.
Starting with basic subjects like: Traveling
the USA, The European Content, Around
the World, or Under the Sea, add
geographical characteristics, flags, capitals,
products, governments, regional
characteristics, as they are learned about
during the semester or school year.
Individual reports can be included in a
newsletter that goes home to parents.
Walk and talk out word problems
Provide experience, then vocabulary
and language for the experience, then write a
story or draw a picture to show
comprehension of concepts and vocabulary.
Don’t forget mind maps.
Encourage story telling of the
students’ own experiences. Then encourage
writing, using all the spatial as well as linear
methods at their disposal. Write those
spelling demons in spatial memory shapes
with bold colors. Have students suggest
creative music and rhythms to accompany
some activities. Use homemade musical
instruments. Learn songs related to your
study. Learn some dances. Make some
costumes. Use lots of bright colors. Then
plan and put on talent shows.
History lessons
Perform similar activities for history
lessons. Let students “be there”. Let them
use costumes whenever possible. Teachers
who dress up in Lincoln hats, or whatever,
to impress students, would do better to allow
the students be the actors. Students will
remember their own action experiences
longer than if they had only watched or read
and they will have fun learning. The text
would be used as a guide, rather than as a
book containing all there is to know about
the subject.
Math and science in a box or bag
With mathematics and science, make
sure that the girls get into the act as often as
the boys do. Use preparatory lessons on
how to make items work together to
accomplish simple tasks. Teach them about
the use of inclined planes as they were
probably used to build the Egyptian
pyramids. Insist that each one experiment
with how heavy weights can be rolled over
logs or cylinders. Teach them about
fulcrums and levers, or handles, wheels and
axles. Then everyone experiments with
these items to see for themselves how and
what works for different situations.
Provide that box or bag of similar
items for each student or small group as they
do in engineering school. With the
assortment of items, give a related
assignment to make or do something special
with the items in the container. Set a time
limit and make preparations for a contest at
the end.
Game boards
Most classrooms incorporate board
games as ways of making memory drills a
little more fun. A simple game board, a
winding trail with ten to fifteen spaces from
start to finish, can be copied on card stock,
colored and laminated for multiple uses.
Then keep one or more game boards in a bag
or box (at home and school) with buttons as
markers and perhaps dice or cards as game
tools.
 Set up games for two or three
players. The game boards can also be used
as a solitaire score card. With each correct
answer the child moves one space toward
the end goal. Errors are like lost moves.
The player stays put. Special cards can add
an extra element of chance by telling the
player to move back or forward an extra
space.
Sums of seven
Example: When children are learning
sums or other math concepts with dice, e.g.,
the sum of seven with two or three dice, they
can move their marker forward one space
every time they throw and recognize the
seven sum. They must remain stationary
with other sums. Six might be the exception
that forces them back a space and two might
move them forward an extra space. This
way they will actually be learning more than
the sum or number that moves them
forward.
This game board can also be used
with letters, saying a word that begins with
the letter on a card turned over. Add four
leaf clover cards for extra moves and so
forth. There are many more ways to use
games to practice newly learned skills while
having fun.
Favorite card games
Some favorite classroom games were
card games called: Memory, Skeeter and
Dead Man Out. Most of you are familiar
with “Memory” where the players collect as
many pairs of cards as they can by
remembering the placement of a card’s
double. Sight words can be substituted for
designs. This game builds visual memory.
Some games are played mainly as
rewards. Skeeter is just like Slap-Jack,
except that the cards have cute pictures of
insects on them. When a mosquito pops
face up on the central pile, the first hand on
top collects all the cards beneath the Skeeter.
Different types of sets can be substituted.
Go Fish was another game played mostly for
fun, but these games help visual recognition
and attention span.
Dead Man Out  1980 L. Rockefeller
How “Dead Man Out” got started is
hard to recall, but it probably had something
to do with the eye-hand coordination task of
making yarn dolls. This is a game of total
coordination and attention. This is a fast
paced game, but it is so organized that even
slower children and drop-ins can join in.
I’ve never met a child or adult who didn’t
love this game. If dead man offends, try
Blue Man or Odd Man.
Materials needed
This game requires playing cards
with enough sets of four so that each player
holds four cards. The active circle should be
limited to maximum of 20 players and 80
playing cards. Players in excess of 20 can
watch outside the circle waiting for their
turn. You will also need ten or more chips
depending on how many games you play.
Another requirement is the same number of
four-inch yarn dolls as there are players with
one color being the “Dead Man” or you can
have one less yarn doll than the number of
players in the circle. It is more fun to have a
blue yarn doll.
Yarn doll craft for game
Have the students make yarn dolls
wrapping different colored yarns 35 times
around the length of four-inch cardboard.
Arms can be wrapped ten times around a
three-inch length card and tied in between
the head and waist. Legs can be tied off by
dividing yarns below the waist. The dolls
should be made of any hues of brown, black,
tan, red, orange and yellow, with one doll
made of blue yarn.
Seating
The players sit Indian fashion in a
circle on a rug or grass. The dealer counts
the players and makes sure that number of
sets with four cards is the same as the
number of players. She places the same
number of yarn dolls as there are players
exactly in the center of the circle. One doll
will be the only blue doll or dead man.
Ready, pass
The dealer or leader shuffles all the
cards and passes them face down, one at a
time, to the person to her right who passes
them to his right and so on around the circle
until everyone has four cards face down, on
the floor in front of their feet. When the
leader says, “Ready.”, everyone picks up
their cards holding them close so no one
sees anyone else’s cards.
When everyone is holding his hand
of four cards close to the chest, looking for a
set of four the dealer says, “Ready?” and if
no one says, “Not ready.” the dealer
continues with the command, “Pass.” The
players then simultaneously discard one card
by reaching to the right and placing that card
face down on the floor in front of the player
to their right.
Pick-up and match
Then everyone picks up the card that
was just passed to him and sees if it helps
him toward his goal of four of a kind. The
dealer keeps saying, “Ready? Pass.” until
someone places his set face up and takes a
doll. It doesn’t take long for someone to get
a set of four.
Silent victory
Each player will strive to be the first
one to get a set of four of a kind. The first
person to see that she has four “aces, kings,
threes, whatever” must silently place her
cards face up in front of her feet and grab
any yarn doll except the blue one.
Pay attention in here and there
While everyone else is also
rearranging cards looking for a set of four he
or she must also keep an eye on everyone
else and the yarn dolls. As soon as any
player puts his set of cards on the floor face
up and takes a yarn doll, everyone drops
their cards and also tries to get a yarn doll.
It is a rule that no player has long
fingernails.
Victory and defeat
Each time there is a victory with a
player laying down a set of four, there is
also “the dead man”, the player who got the
blue doll or no doll. The person who grabs
or is left with the blue doll is out. He must
leave the circle. Anyone outside the circle
who hasn’t played in this game can enter at
this point, taking the place of the player who
got the “dead man”.
Repeat until one left
The dealer repeats the process.
While the rest close the circle the dealer
removes one doll and one set of four cards to
keep sets and dolls the same as the number
of players. The circle gets smaller with each
deal until only one player is left. He is the
winner and receives a chip. Then the whole
game begins again with a maximum of 20
players until all the chips are gone. The
winner, with the most chips, can be the next
dealer.
False grab
If anyone jumps the gun and starts a
false grab when he doesn’t first place his set
of four cards, face up on the floor, he is out.
The dealer removes a chip from those set
aside for winners and starts a new game with
the remaining players. If it’s hard to say
who jumped the gun first, start over, but one
chip goes into the box to discourage false
grabs.
--End of Game “Dead Man Out”--
----------------------------------
Field trips
Field trips can be just for fun like
going to an amusement park. Their purpose
can be to broaden a child’s perspective of
her world, or the objectives can be both fun
and facts. It is a real pain to get parent
permission slips returned and to get permits
for the parents’ and your vans to carry
school children on field trips, but there’s no
lesson like “being there.”
Rewards of following WARM class
rules included: We will be able to go on
field trips. My main rule was that a child
could not go on the next field trip if he was
seriously out of line on the last one, unless
his parent came and held his hand. Children
who won’t be able to go on a specific field
trip can be assigned work to do in another
teacher’s classroom, with that teacher’s
permission.
Within walking distance
Sometimes there are interesting
places or people to visit within walking
distance of the school. Fewer parents and
permits are needed for these. The world of
work and workers is always interesting. The
teacher and students discuss the where and
why of field trips before the fact. Children
should be aware of what they might see,
whom they might talk to and what to look
for before taking a trip. They should be
ready to tell and then write and draw about
their experiences when they return to class.
Some field trips for my students
included walking to: a nearby egg farm, a
small organic vegetable farm, a senior
citizen’s center in Halloween costumes and
walking around the neighborhood to learn
what was going on there. We rode in
parents’ and teacher’s vans to: a large
grocery store to learn how it is managed, / a
bank to learn about deposits, withdrawals
and savings accounts,/ a sewer treatment
plant,/ the fire and police departments,/ a
veterinarian,/ an aviary/ a florist shop,/ plus
the rear of a fast food chain. While there, we
also bought lunch.
A recent TV news story related an
unusual activity that could be considered a
field trip. A Resource Specialist in Southern
California started practicing for his 26-mile
marathon run. He soon had some of his high
school students running with him. Within a
couple of years, hundreds of students were
on the 26 mile trail with this teacher,
learning about setting goals and the
discipline needed to meet them.
The big endeavors
The biggest parent-teacher trip we
took was a three-hour ride, one way, to
Marine World-Africa-USA, during gas
rationing. It was unforgettable, even if each
remembers something different about that
long trip. I recall that the sun was bright, the
weather great, even if some things weren’t.
For other trips, we joined other
classes on school buses to historical settings,
to tide pools at the ocean, to the aquarium
and on a boat trip to see the whales. We saw
no whales and I don’t recommend a sea trip
with children. Even having taken
medication for seasickness, some children
and myself were so miserable we were lying
on the deck of the boat praying to be
returned to land. For us, this was only a
“worst of times” trip.
The students’ increased
understandings of what happens or happened
at different places made it easier for them to
write about their experiences. The final
editions of their stories were published in
our monthly newsletter that went home to
parents (and this was before we had
computers or copiers) and out to other
classrooms and administrators. Students
always wrote thank you letters to our hosts.
Visitors who involve children
Find and welcome classroom visitors
who enjoy the company of children. They
can tell children about their lives and work
and answer appropriate questions. Some
adults (they don’t have to be parents) are
willing to bring materials needed and show
kids how to do something like cake
decorating, pottery making and many other
activities.
Making things
Crafts help develop eye-hand
coordination and are an outlet for creativity.
From gathered fabric scraps, yarn, buttons,
sequins, felt, vinyl, etc. the students enjoyed
making texture books, pages, cards and gifts.
The patterns the children make for their
designs help guide their eyes and hands in
cutting fabric or other materials.
 A favorite craft at home and in
school was making little animals from yarn
pom-poms. This was done similarly to the
making of the yarn dolls. A length of string
was taped to both ends of a new pencil.
Then the yarn was wrapped 35 to 50 times
around pencils of different diameters to
make heads and bodies. The long string was
used to pull and tie the loops tightly together
as they were slid off the pencil. The loops
were snipped away from the center where
they were tied, making pom-poms. Ears,
facial features, feet, and the rest were cut
from felt scraps and glued to the pom-poms
to make cute animals.
Photography
Children’s photography is now
within the financial reach of most and can
also be used for gifts and cards. A student
can learn much through selecting a subject
like: clouds, flowers, trees, men, women,
children, pets, which she can photograph
and write about. Some children will enjoy
doing their own guided imagery or use other
ways to tell a story using three to five of
their photos.
From photography children can learn
about genealogy, history, families,
relationships and family trees. They can
discern family characteristics and study how
people are alike and different and how we
all came to be in the USA or wherever you
happen to be.
The children can write to more
distant relatives to ask about their lives and
perhaps add photos to their family albums.
They can learn how to label photos without
harming them and the need to write names,
dates and even what was happening when
the picture was taken or other interesting
details.
Gardening and other memorable times
Every student should plant seeds and
watch them grow into seedlings. They
should keep a diary with dates, drawings and
comments about the seedlings. But, if there
is a place where kids can use trowels,
shovels, hoes and rakes and care for rows of
plants, this is much better.
One of the activities most enjoyed by
some of us 12 and 13 year old boys and girls
at P.S.13, Queens, N.Y. was belonging to a
school gardening club. Our leader, a man,
would meet us at the garden on the public
school grounds on Saturday mornings in
spring and summer. We had fun and learned
much. After harvesting our summer
vegetables, the teacher took us on the only
school field trip most of us ever knew. We
took the subway and went out to lunch
together in a New York City restaurant.
Each of us felt so special to be treated so by
our teacher.
Hand tools
Discuss projects like “Habitat For
Humanity”. Find ways to instruct children
on types and uses of hand tools like
hammers, nails, screwdrivers, chisels, planes
and saws. Girls and boys need to see tools
in use and learn how to use them. If this
isn’t your specialty, invite someone in to
guide related activities. Some will become
interested in habitat projects. The janitor
might enjoy showing students how to
change washers and do other handy jobs.
Cooking and Baking
No classroom activity list is
complete until food preparation, cooking
and baking are included. One of my son’s
best school memories is that of beating
cream into butter in nursery school. He
remembers that he was so proud of his butter
in his little dish that he took it to bed with
him. Another easy food for young children
to make is instant pudding. Each can make
their own by dividing the powder into
single, 1 Tbsp. servings, measuring a ½ cup
of milk into cups and stirring.
Classroom cookies
Rolling out cookie dough and getting
the cookies cut and on baking pans develops
a number of coordination skills. The Activities like “Habitat For
students learn to follow recipes and the Humanity”, “Peace Corps” and
meaning of measures. With very clean “Americorps” say and do much to educate
hands each measures and mixes their own all people in caring and learning about each
ingredients into their bowls. They can roll, other. These action methods are the most
pat and cut the dough on waxed paper on likely to bring peace and caring to our
clean classroom tables. When the children world. “Actions speak louder than words”,
have initialed their cookies on the cookie holds as true as it ever did.
pan, the teacher or aide can take the full The synergy of right and left brain
pans to heated and waiting school ovens. intelligence should be what we’re all aiming
The children can clean up while waiting for for. This combination results in the best and
their baked goodies. most inclusive education as well as more
happily educated people on our planet.
Fund raising Resourcefulness, creativity and variety
More than once bake sales were held combine the best in education.
by my students, where they, not their
parents, made all the baked goods in school
kitchens and sold them in front of stores.
Parents and teachers helped, but the students
set up the sale tables and took care of the
money and customers. The money from
these sales paid for educational items. One
year we bought four audio tape recorders so
that more children could listen to books on
tape while they tried to follow the pages of
matching reading books with their fingers
and eyes.
Helping others
When you combine Art, Action and
Activity in learning experiences, everyone
will want to be involved. Making special
gifts for others gives as much pleasure to the
givers as it does to recipients. Birthday
cakes or other gifts given to individuals who
would seldom receive gifts is especially
rewarding and educational. Making and
delivering gifts can be aimed at those:
without families, in homes for the disabled
or otherwise alone or abandoned people or
animals, providing important lessons for
children and the accompanying adults.
Education for living on this planet
incorporates caring for each other. This
includes caring within and for families,
communities, states, nations and the world
community. We all need to work for a
better and integrated world.
Chapter 15. AAA: Arts, Acting and Activities 171

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Chapter 15. AAA: Arts, Acting and Activities 175

Key Words – Sensory Dominant Screening, Sensory Dominant Instruction, Learning Patterns,
dyslexia, right brain, brain dominance, diagnostic prescriptive, elementary school,
educational alternatives, teachers, parents, classroom, learning, teaching, techniques,
senses, activities, Stanford University, Mneumonic, right brain/left brain, cutting edge
testing, dominance pattern characteristics, physiological dyslexia