This document discusses the importance of creativity for slow learners. It notes that slow learners learn at a slower rate than their peers and creative activities can help with their emotional growth, stimulate thinking, promote other learning, and help teachers understand the child. The document then describes various creative activities that can be used, including paper activities, chalk activities, painting, drama, and modeling. It concludes by emphasizing the need for teachers to properly plan and encourage the creative abilities of slow learners.
3. Introduction
Slow learner represents a group who underachieve
in the classroom.
Today the term ‘slow learner’ describes children
and adolescents who learn or underachieve in one
or more academic areas at a rate that is below
average.
Burt (1937) has rightly pointed out the term
‘backward’ or ‘slow learner’ is reserved for those
children who are unable to cope with the work
normally expected of their age group.
Kirk (1962) took ‘rate of learning’ as the basis of
identifying slow learners.
4. Importance of Creative Work
• Acceleration of Emotional Growth
• Stimulation of Thinking
• Promotion of Other Learning
• Understanding of the Child
5. Acceleration of Emotional
Growth
When creative work in taught there is a
relaxed, happy atmosphere in the class room
and the children are encouraged to find some
means of expression, creative activities are
very useful to slow learners which enable
them to unfold their hidden potentialities.
The pent up feelings of hostility or
frustration find a safe out let in creative and
expressive activities. This fosters emotional
stability and finally leads to emotional
growth.
6. Stimulation of Thinking
When the child is making something, he is
learning more about it and he will became more
observant and he thinks about what he observes.
Slow learners are more limited in verbal
expression.
So, they need alternative means of expression.
Art stimulates intelligence and compels the child
to express his thoughts in a precise form.
Creative work provides suitable condition for the
development of power of concentration. Thinking
is involved in the choice and use of materials for
creative work.
7. Promotion of Other Learning
Creative works helps in improving motor
co-ordination of slow learners.
So we can provide activities which can
improve co-ordination of slow learners
Art, craft and dance etc. are such means of
helping the slow learners.
When the teacher encourages creative
activites which arise naturally in
connection with other work it will lead to
incidental learning.
8. Understanding of the
Child
Creative work leads to greater
understanding of the child since the
child’s expressions often reveal what
experiences he has had.
Creative activities provide ample
opportunities for the teacher to observe
the child in new light. This
understanding is very essential when
the teacher is dealing with slow
learners.
12. Paper Activities
The teacher can instruct the students
how to make some simple cutting in
paper.
So that they can make some basic
shapes like triangle, square, rectangle
etc.
Basic shapes cut from paper can be put
together to make flowers, vehicles,
buildings etc. according to the
imagination of students.
14. crayon work
The crayon work has many
possibilities when it is combined
with other Art media.
The teacher should instruct the
students to make preliminary
sketches with white crayon for
crayon pictures.
16. Chalk Activities
Students should be
encouraged to develop bright
pictures on construction paper
using colored chalk.
Chalk activities develop
creative thinking and motor
co-ordination in slow learners.
19. Blow Painting:
Blow painting through straw is a
creative activity. Here the student
drops blocks of paints on a piece of
paper and moves the paint around
on the paper by blowing through
straws. In this way the student can
make his own design according to
his imagination.
21. Finger Painting
It is a creative activity which is enjoyed by all
students.
Finger paint paper is used for this creative
activity.
First the paper should be wet completely with
a wet sponge and smoothened to get rid of
wrinkles or air bubbles.
Place a spoonful of paint on the paper and the
teacher should demonstrate how to use fingers,
finger tips etc to get different effects.
After painting the paper should be dried.
23. Portait Painting
The teacher should motivate
portrait painting as fun.
Teacher must encourage the
student to make self portrait or
another student’s portrait.
25. Modelling
Modelling is a creative activity which the
children enjoy very much.
Clay modeling in the most common type.
The teacher should provide help and
motivation for students working with clay
so that they will reveal their creative ability.
Variety of materials like plasters of paris,
thermo coal, card board boxes, match boxes
etc can be used for modeling.
27. Drama
Drama can be effectively used to develop
personality of slow learners through
spontaneous dramatic activity.
It provides opportunities for the
imagination.
When the teacher gives opportunity for
slow learners to compose their own plays it
provides out lets for their aggressiveness,
destructiveness and feelings of antagonism
towards authority and other children.
29. Conclusion
It is very important to teach creative work to slow
learners so that they can make interesting
manifestation in some creative work or other.
Though creative work the students get satisfaction
of creative expression, by which child achieves
balance and harmony in his process of growth.
So, there is a need for properly planned and
conscious effort on the part of teachers for the
nurturing and stimulation of creative abilities of
slow learners.
30. References
Chinthamani Kar. (1994). Exceptional Children:
Their Psychology and Education. Sterling
Publishers Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi.
Panda K.C (1999). Education of Exceptional
Children, Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd, Delhi.
Reddy G.L., et al., (1997). Slow Learners ; Their
Psychology and Instruction. Discovery Publishing
House, New Delhi.
Sharma, R.A.(2008). Fundamentals of Special
Education, R.Lall Book Depot, Meerut.