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in Together Jesus
Confirmation with First Eucharist Preparation
Suggested Accommodations for Students with Special Learning Needs Mary Pat Carter
Page numbers following the headings in this document refer to the Teaching Guide for Together in Jesus Confirmation with First Eucharist Preparation.
One of the most common dreams of parents
of students with disabilities is to see their child welcomed and accepted in their faith communities. The religious education program is an ideal setting for this to take place. Teaching by example is a powerful tool when trying to develop the faith life of each student. What better way to show students that we respect all life than to welcome all members of our communities to learn and worship together?
This guide is designed to help you as a catechist so that you feel better prepared to include students with different learning challenges in your classroom. General guidelines follow:
• Concentrate on what the individuals can do rather than what they can’t do.
• Be willing to ask for information and help.
• Parents are wonderful resources; don’t hesitate to
ask them for information.
• Understand that students with disabilities do
not have to master all of the concepts being presented. Having parents reinforce at home what is presented in class is a great idea for all students.
• Mistakes are opportunities for learning. Don’t be afraid to make them.
• Remember to focus on what is most important in each lesson.
Lesson 1
I BELONG TO A COMMUNITY
OPENING PRAYER (page 14)
The theme of this lesson opens with a prayer experience. All students would benefit from seeing the words to each song in large print as well as hearing them. The meaning of most of the songs would be enhanced by images or pictures. Pictures
of houses and churches could be used to talk about where we belong. For students who are nonverbal or have speech impairments, instead of saying their name at the appropriate time in the song, they could hold up a picture of themselves and the rest of the class could sing their names.
I BELONG TO A COMMUNITY (page 15)
To make this part of the lesson more experiential,
you might begin with an activity involving colored circles and having students stand on the circle that
is the color of their shirt. Thus they would belong to different groups. Numerous examples of belonging could be used. Belonging to a group of boys, a group of girls, a sports team, etc. For students with hearing impairment, additional visual pictures may be needed to enhance the discussion of page one. Pictures of Jesus from common scripture stories (e.g., Jesus as the Good Shepherd) may also be helpful. An excellent resource for images is religious clip art available online or on CDs.
WE SHARE FAITH IN JESUS (page 15)
Most students belong to a family and this concept could help expand their understanding of Church as God’s house. Comparing God’s family to the student’s family helps students relate the more abstract concept to their everyday lives. Many students
may not be capable of interviewing someone and writing their response in the blanks on page one. An alternate approach would be having the students tape the interview and bring it to class or have an older student or parent record the responses during the interview. For students with limited cognitive ability, creating a church (God’s house) from construction paper and pasting pictures of familiar people in the house could suffice.
An alternative to writing their names on page one would be to type each student’s name on a label and simply have them add their names to page 1.
© 2001, 2011 Pflaum Publishing Group, Dayton, OH