A Nature Walk and a Story

It was a beautiful Fall day. I was subbing for the DEAR teacher for 4-6 graders.  My first assignment was 5^th grade science inclusion for three energetic young ladies.  The regular class was learning about tree rings and sedimentary layers. Because the elementary school sat on the edge of a nature preserve, the class spent part of the period taking a walk down to the creek and looking at the layers of soil above the creek. Being a nature lover myself, I pointed out the foliage, fallen logs, and soil layers to the girls. As we rounded a curve in the trail, we noticed a tree stump that had been turned into a seat.  Of course one of the girls wanted to sit on it.  It provided rest for her tired feet.

The walk lasted maybe 20 minutes. Then the class returned to a covered area where a group of about 5 tree stumps had been arranged in a circle. The students were to determine the history of the tree from the rings on the stump.  My girls were engaged, but were slow in writing their information on the sheets provided.

Later in the day, I was teaching ELA to two of the girls I had walked with earlier. The assigned reading was a book on unsolved mysteries such as the Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot, and Chupacabras. The girls were very interested in these topics. We had finished the readings and we had some extra time. I suggested we write a story. Using that morning’s nature walk for our setting, we wrote a story about meeting a baby Bigfoot in the woods and helping him find his family. The stump seat figured prominently in the story as a meeting place between us and the little Bigfoot. Because these girls had a difficult time writing on their own, I was the scribe as they told the story to me. They acted the story out as they told it.  I asked them questions like “what happened next?”  When it was complete, they had written a wonderful story they were very proud of.

Autistic kids can do amazing things. These girls were able to create something amazing in a nontraditional way. If only all educators could see the potential for greatness in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, and change their teaching methods so that not only these children, but all children with active imaginations and different learning styles, could excel in their endeavors.  I look forward to the day when these highly imaginative and intelligent students are integrated into the mainstream of society, and are appreciated for the contributions they can make, if given a chance.