Wisconsin School for the Deaf - The Wisconsin Times Vol. 135 No. 4 Summer 2014 | Page 5

Adaptive Education Department
by Heather Martens

Fuzzy Friends
Christopher Fitzgerald and Julian Ortiz studied animals in
Science class. Joan Armfield had various animals in her
classroom and welcomed the two boys to visit. The boys
immediately took a liking to the kiddie pool, which had
ducklings and chicks waddling around in the pen. Julian
was eager to hold and pet them while Christopher was
apprehensive. Heather Martens and Joan led discussion
about the differences between ducklings and chicks and
what they will look like when they grow up. Christopher
filled up a water bowl and watched how the furry friends
drank. Ducklings drank while sitting and the chicks drank
while standing. The boys found this fun to watch. Julian
was eager to hold and pet the guinea pigs too. He seemed so
calm while he was petting it. Thanks to Joan for providing a
great real life, hands on experience for these boys.

ABOVE: Julian Ortiz enjoys studying the ducklings
and chicks in Joan Armfield’s classroom.

Testing Our Predictions
Julian Ortiz, Kaiden Messer, and Christopher Fitzgerald were discussing
plants during science class and were curious about how plants drink
water. Heather Martens brought in a white carnation for each student to
demonstrate. Four cups were filled with water, then red, yellow, blue, and
green food color drops were added to each cup respectfully. Kaiden chose red
and blue, Christopher chose yellow and red, Julian chose green and blue. The
class predicted how their flower would change with the colors they chose.
The stems were cut in half lengthwise. The boys spent the next few days
watching the colors appear. Each flower had colors appearing in different ways. Some of the flowers showed
colors on the edges first while others had colors showing up in the middle first. After a few days, it was
concluded that all of the boys’ predictions were incorrect. Kaiden’s flower’s colors were split in the middle,
half red and half blue. Julian’s flower was green in the middle with blue on the edges. Christopher’s flower
was all yellow with tints of red. Heather led a discussion about the different possibilities regarding why
their predictions were incorrect. While doing this activity the boys planted their own mini pots with either
sunflower or zinnia seeds as an experiment. The goal was to show that some flowers grow faster than others.
It will be interesting to see if their predictions are correct or not.

Vivid Thoughts Put On Paper
Kaiden Messer was encouraged to participate in the PBIS coupon design contest due to his excellent drawing
skills. Kaiden’s drawings show how keenly his mind sees things. The details he applies are awesome and
truly breathtaking at times. Kaiden’s pencil was sketching furiously on the paper and was followed by various
colors bringing his thoughts to life on paper. Kaiden drew a Fi ɕ