YUCK HUMOR HELPS PUSH KIDS TO READ TEACHER OF YEAR MAKES IT FUN.Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer LANCASTER - Heather Chapman, a special-education teacher at Linda Verde School, is known for concocting unusual treats for her students who reach milestones in reading. After reading a book and passing a computer quiz, a student gets to put a lima bean lima bean: see bean. in a can. When the can is filled, Chapman makes what one school official called ``gross food'' that reflects a current lesson. The goodies have included cupcakes covered with chocolate pudding, gummy gummy an old sheep that has lost all of its incisor teeth. worms and stalks of celery for books read about growing plants. She has made Jell-O hearts, with black and red licorice licorice (lĭk`ərĭs, –rĭsh), name for a European plant (Glycyrrhiza glabra) of the family Leguminosae (pulse family) and for the sweet substance obtained from the root. strings standing in for veins and arteries, and Jell-O brains. After her class learned about dinosaurs, Chapman took chocolate pudding and mixed in Whoppers
Whoppers are chocolate-coated malted milk balls produced by The Hershey Company. malt balls, chocolate chips, candy worms and shredded wheat Shredded Wheat is a breakfast cereal made from whole wheat. It comes in two sizes, bite sized (3/4 in x 1 in), and normal size, which are sometimes broken into small pieces before adding milk. ``to give it a nice texture,'' and she called it ``Dino Dung Delight.'' ``The kids eat them. They complain. They go `eew,' but they eat it,'' Chapman said. ``They all taste pretty good.'' Chapman, 34, recently named Lancaster School District's Teacher of the Year, has been teaching at Linda Verde for 11 years - the last seven in special education. She teaches 13 students in third, fourth and fifth grades class. Their conditions include autism autism (ô`tĭzəm), developmental disability resulting from a neurological disorder that affects the normal functioning of the brain. It is characterized by the abnormal development of communication skills, social skills, and reasoning. and mental retardation mental retardation, below average level of intellectual functioning, usually defined by an IQ of below 70 to 75, combined with limitations in the skills necessary for daily living. . She took over the special-education class while she was working on a master's degree master's degree n. An academic degree conferred by a college or university upon those who complete at least one year of prescribed study beyond the bachelor's degree. Noun 1. in the field. ``I like the one-on-one,'' she said about her way of working with the students. She also likes the challenge. ``The kids are harder to reach. It's more of a challenge to reach them,'' Chapman said. She said there are days she is tempted to return to a regular class, but her students have a hold on her. ``The kids are so close to getting mainstreamed into regular education. I just like to help push them along.'' Principal Tara Brown said Chapman has a difficult teaching assignment: to develop individual education plans for students who are in three different grade levels. ``She gets results. The data show the children are making a great deal of progress toward goals (in each one's individual education plan) and toward state standards and benchmarks,'' Brown said. ``She empowers all the kids to reach their full potential. She has high expectations, and she really empowers the students. She really does believe that all children can and will learn, which is an attitude that every teacher should have,'' Brown said. ``When you have high expectations, you get the results you are looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. .'' Chapman also serves on school and district committees, makes sure the school's accelerated reading program is running smoothly, and dresses up as a Dr. Seuss Noun 1. Dr. Seuss - United States writer of children's books (1904-1991) Geisel, Theodor Seuss Geisel character, Cat in the Hat, for special reading events. At such events, Chapman reads from a book she penned, ``Homework and Tests,'' mimicking rhymes from a Seuss book, ``Green Eggs and Ham.'' Chapman is at school most nights and on weekends to attend committee meetings and prepare her students' education plans. ``It gets to the point where every day after school I have a meeting,'' Chapman said. Growing up as the daughter of a pest-control business owner and a full-time homemaker, Chapman initially thought of pursuing a career in business. She changed her mind after working as a tutor. ``I enjoy watching the kids learn and charting their growth and letting them see how much they learn over a year,'' Chapman said. ``It's nice. It makes you realize that it can happen. They can learn. You've got to find their strengths. You've got to find what works with each one and help them learn the same things other kids have to learn.'' Chapman got a bachelor's degree in liberal arts from California State University, Northridge CSUN offers a variety of programs leading to bachelor's degrees in 61 fields and master's degrees in 42 fields. The university has over 150,000 alumni. It's also home to a summer musical theater/theater program known as TADW (TeenAge Drama Workshop) that leads teenagers through an , and a master's degree in special education from California State University, Bakersfield As of fall 2002, some 7,700 undergraduate and graduate students attended CSUB, at either the main campus in Bakersfield or the satellite campus, Antelope Valley Center in Lancaster, California of Los Angeles County. . She lives in Palmdale with her husband, Gregg, and is expecting their first child in November. Karen Maeshiro, (661) 267-5744 karen.maeshiro(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Heather Chapman of Linda Verde School is the Lancaster School District's Teacher of the Year. (2 -- color) Special-education teacher Heather Chapman gives a high-five to student Brandon Cevallos after he bowled a good frame during a class field trip to a bowling alley. Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer |
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