The Center for Arts Inspired Learning approached GroundWorks DanceTheater and Cleveland SignStage in the Fall of 2020 about creating a virtual residency for K-2 students in Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD). With excitement, Rebecca Burcher, GroundWorks Education and Community Engagement Coordinator, and Bill Morgan, Sign State Artistic Manager, got to work developing their residency titled Silent Signs for Virtual Times (SSVT). SSVT recognizes that while between 70-93% of our communication with one another happens non-vocally, the pandemic has caused students to rely even more heavily on non-vocal cues due to social distancing, mask-wearing, and decreased social interaction. Through SSVT students explore body language, facial expressions, gestures, sign language, and other forms of non-vocal communication to assist with social-emotional wellness and development.
Since February, SSVT has been hosted by Paul L. Dunbar, Mary B. Martin, William Rainey Harper, and Franklin D. Roosevelt Academy. Many of the students have had siblings, pets, caregivers, cousins, and others jump in and dance as well! Joining them from the GroundWorks team have been Rebecca Burcher, Nicole Hennington, and Annie Morgan. Guided by the Ohio State Curriculum Standards for Social-Emotional Learning, English Language Arts, and Math, the SSVT teaching artists address storytelling, shapes, and emotion through creative movement and theater games, activities, and exercises.
Each residency spans five weeks and contains five live virtual sessions via zoom and five pre-recorded lessons/activities for the students to do on their own or in class throughout the week. The pre-recorded videos provide the students with quick brain breaks that encourage movement and expression, allowing students to increase focus upon their return. The live zoom sessions begin with facial expressions, American Sign Language, and storytelling with Bill Morgan before GroundWorks tackles shape, emotions, body language, and body awareness.
After seeing student successes in communicating and expressing emotions, one principal decided to teach the entire school emotion signs in American Sign Language as a school-wide strategy for teachers and students to communicate about emotions.
Feedback from teachers includes:
Thank you so much for giving our class the opportunity to work with you all these past five weeks. It was an incredible experience, and we are very grateful! We look forward to working with you again!
Thank you so much for the fun lesson today! We have been receiving lots of positive feedback from parents about the virtual program!
Tuesday was great, the students had a great time. We look forward to Tuesdays, the students really enjoy this.
Program sponsored by and developed in partnership with: