Wisconsin School for the Deaf - The Wisconsin Times Vol. 132 No. 1 Fall 2010 | Page 11

Colonial Government Simulation
Michelle Mickle and Karen DeFalco’s high school American
history classes teamed together for a simulation project about
colonial government. Students were faced with colonial problems
and worked in teams to solve them.
It began when King Robert Beyer (not George) asked the eight
students how they would deal with war and its aftermath. He was
looking for leadership qualities needed by the governor of the
colony. He chose Lori Eldred to be governor; she talked about
making a war plan to defeat the French and then building up the
economy afterwards.
The next step was to elect the Colonial Assembly. Two members
were needed to create necessary laws about civil rights. Aroosa
Bhatti and Lennon Morrissey were picked by the class to represent them.
The final organization step was for the governor to select two
members to serve on the Council. They would hold the money
strings and also serve as judges if legal matters came up, such as
the impending Peter Zenger trial. Governor Eldred chose Sierra
Weinfurter and Dakota Steinmetz for her Council.
Of the final three members of the class, Bradley Persson became
the prosecuting lawyer to investigate claims that the mayor of
the city was stealing funds, and Alejandro Evangelisto was the
defense lawyer. Olivia Percifield played a citizen who used
research to seek funding from the Council for building new roads
and schools.
“Role playing is a great way for students to better understand
and remember some of the issues that faced the early colonists,”
stated Karen DeFalco. “It’s interesting how the outcome of the
Zenger case changes from year to year depending on the focus
and dynamics of the lawyers and inclinations of the Council. Last
year he was innocent. This year he was found guilty of libel,”
commented Michelle Mickle.

New Teacher
Last year, in the middle of
winter, WSD acquired a brand
new half-time teacher in the
adapted education department
(AED). While Angela Lapworth moved to Wisconsin
from Colorado, she still calls
Michigan, where she grew
up, home. Her students began
a geography unit this fall on
Community by turning the furniture in their classroom into
landmarks on a map. They
made a map using desks,
doors, windows, and tables.
Once they understood that
concept, the WSD campus
Angela Lapworth
map was utilized. They took a
walk and, using both a paper campus map as well as the wooden
map outside of the Shipman Building, they located other buildings on the WSD campus.
One of Angela’s focuses is to build community skills through
mobility training in the community. Joining with Karen DeFalco’s sophomore class, they learned about the downtown Delavan
area, making their own maps of each block using Walworth
Avenue as the starting point. Throughout the weeks of October
they completed three full blocks of the downtown, visiting stores
and discussing why you would use each business on the block.
Vocabulary words such as deli, chiropractor, pawnshop, auto
repair, barber shop, resale, and many others were tested in the
classroom. They visited the Post Office and the Aram Library, as
well as the many other downtown business shops.
Angela’s class is culminating this activity by creating a handmade
Delavan map on the large bulletin board outside of her classroom.
When asked what the class will study next, Angela Lapworth
replied, “Food Stores to reinforce the food vocabulary needed to
shop. We also plan on a tour of Piggly Wiggly.”

Summer Play Group
While the majority of students who attend WSD do not come
to the campus during the summer, there is one group that met
regularly every two weeks. The Preschool Play Group came to
WSD on Wednesdays with a theme each time. The Preschool
Play Group is a collaboration between the Wisconsin Educational
Services Program for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Outreach
(WESPDHH) and WSD. Deaf mentor program director Bonnie Eldred and WSD preschool teacher Rene Ambrose shared a
classroom and taught a curriculum filled with language activities
that were both fun and hands-on. Parents would bring and stay
or drop off their children at 9:00 am on the scheduled days. Until
11:30, the children would play, create, enjoy art activities, eat a
snack, and familiarize themselves with the school, the restrooms,
and playmates. Bonnie commented, “We would encourage socialization and participation by all.”

A high five from pre-schooler Laela Chapin.

Fall 2010 - 11