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Grade 6-8: Shannon Farm Foundation Project
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Giant Steps St. Louis
The Purpose and Essential Questions:
Motivation! Working with students with severe special needs, we must find subject matter that truly engages and entices the students to want to learn. As teachers we must be willing to challenge our creativity and think outside the box. We go to where the student is feeling successful, or where their interests lie, and start there. Animals were a topic that interested most students on some level. We discovered this when we had a reptile man bring his animals to our school. We observed this again when we brought in a petting zoo or visited the zoo. Reading about Shannon Farm, we felt we found a perfect match, a place in the community where our students could apply their heartfelt caring with meaningful actions. As teachers, we wanted to create an ongoing experience that all students could participate in and was appropriate for personal development. Some students would do the research and some students would hang flyers. As teachers, we saw it was possible to involve every student. As we began engaging in service-learning, we asked: What can our students do? How can we engage all the students when there is such a discrepancy in skills? Where is it safe to go? How can we ensure reciprocity -- that the actions benefit students and community?
The Story:
Many students at Giant Steps love animals. For children with autism, learning must be of high interest. Once, to motivate some challenging students, the staff brought in their dogs. One student began a dog walking/grooming service. This activity motivated him to write persuasive letters to staff, practice being polite, create posters, budget expenses, research dog care, and buy products. Next, baking dog biscuits began. They were so good the biscuits sold for 3 for $1.00. The students took orders, packaged, tied, and delivered. There was a job for everyone’s skills set. Next, we heard about The Shannon Foundation, a farm in St. Clair, Missouri, that cares for abused, neglected, and disabled pets and farm animals. Students began research to find out what the farm needed. They began collecting old towels and comforters. Art class made posters that were displayed around the building, and letters written home requested help in the form of donations. The towels and blankets had to be sorted, counted into bundles, and tied. At the end of the school year, all students visited the farm. They saw over 100 animals. They observed a horse being shoed and then they were able to help. They brushed dogs (they had practiced this before they made the visit) and fed them homemade dog biscuits. The students presented the farmer with a check for over $500 dollars for much needed supplies.
Public Relations:
Twice, we had events at our school where we highlighted the Shannon Farm Project. These were the Governor's visit and a press conference to announce the Governor's Blue Ribbon Panel on Autism. The Director of Giant Steps, Betty Berger, spoke at the press conference to introduce our school and talked about our service-learning project. Over one hundred people attended. When the Governor visited, we highlighted our service-learning experiences from 2002 through the Farm on a bulletin board depicting each with the learning and service accomplished. The visitors were given a one sheet information sheet highlighting every service-learning opportunity that benefited our students and the community.
The St. Louis Post Dispatch, Franklin County, also wrote an article about us.
Assessment and Evaluation:
The students' level of participation, attention to task and endurance to complete activities were assessed. Students demonstrated skills of waiting, team work, and following directions. The students were able to go to a new setting and actively engage with the activities.
The Director of Shannon Farm was very impressed with the students' attitude and abilities. She invited us to come back and do more activities. She was overwhelmed that this group was able to raise such a large donation. She said this would help her through a difficult time of flooding when funds were low. She called us and told us the dogs loved the dog biscuits.
Lessons Learned and Next Steps:
We learned that though there are plans, the experience takes on a life of its own and expands and develops in areas that are surprising. Students rise to the challenges and enjoy every aspect of the learning and service. There are more things to be done than expected and it all gets accomplished. Students learn life-skills from service in the community and clearly can perform and be successful.
About the Teacher:
My name is Jan McMichael and I have been teaching students with autism spectrum disorder for eight years. To teach my students, I have to make the learning relevant and hands-on. Adding service to this style of teaching was literally the next step. My Asperger students love animals and Shannon Farm has motivated them in many ways that I could not have been able to do in the classroom. As an instructor at the Missouri Humane Society, I was able to invite the students to the classroom at the Humane Society for instruction in animal care and responsibility. The most influential person to help me get started with service learning was Cathryn Berger Kaye. We were fortunate to have her make a presentation at our school in 2002 and I was sold. Also, her book and extra topic workbooks have inspired my work and teaching in the field of service-learning.
About the School:
The mission of Giant Steps of St. Louis is to empower children with autism spectrum disorder to participate fully in all aspects of life, including home, community and education. Giant Steps was established in 1994 by a group of parents of children with autism. The program was modeled on Giant Steps of Montreal, an agency that had pioneered a cross-disciplinary approach to autism that emphasized sensory integration activities in all therapies and academic instruction.
