Students from the Deaf Education Program at Charles C. Bell Elementary School brought their fairy tale unit to life with a hands-on field trip to the North Carolina Arboretum this week.
Students explored the larger-than-life troll sculptures featured in the Arboretum’s outdoor exhibit- “Trolls: A Field Study,” by Danish artist Thomas Dambo. The visit connected directly to their classroom study of fairy tales, including “The Three Billy Goats Gruff,” giving students the chance to experience “real-life” trolls they could touch, climb, and explore. For these students, the tactile nature of the troll sculptures made the experience especially meaningful, said Megan Barker, teacher of the deaf and hard of hearing at Bell.
“For our deaf and hard of hearing kids, it’s really important that they’re able to use all their other senses in order to get a full grasp and understanding of different things within their world,” she said. “They’ve been really, really excited- wanting to run up, touch, feel, and explore.”
The Buncombe County Schools Deaf Education Program serves students who are deaf as well as hard of hearing, supporting a variety of communication modalities including American Sign Language and oral language. The program focuses heavily on building language, vocabulary, and communication foundations. Services are provided at no cost to families through individualized education plans.
