Posted by Community Relations staff on 11/2/2018
As a Designed Instruction teacher at Glover Middle School, Cunningham develops specialized teaching strategies based on each of her student's unique learning needs. This is her second time to receive the grant.
“In addition to our regular academic students, there are also non-readers and non-traditionally academic kids. Our focus is to make them adaptable and job-ready,” she said. “We have to find creative ways to teach them skills that most of us take for granted.”
Once or twice a month, students get to cook, giving them a chance to learn how to slice, dice, chop, mix, fry and blend. Cunningham remembered one student who was on a steady diet of Lunchables and TV dinners and had no idea he could make his own meals.
“He did not know what a strawberry was until we started cooking with him,” she said. “He was able to learn some recipes that he took home and shared with his mom.”
They do messy science projects like creating “elephant’s toothpaste” and adding Mentos candies to soda to watch the foaming, explosive reactions. There are paints, color pencils and construction paper for art projects. Students also practice sorting, by shape, size, color or purpose. Cunningham has several shelves worth of neatly stacked boxes filled with myriad items: clothespins, paper clips, cotton balls, beads and buttons, nuts and bolts. Besides sorting, students take things apart, and put them back together – tasks that help with fine motor skills and following directions.
“We’re providing these experiences and opportunities,” she said, “that are making a huge difference.”
