November 2009 Vol. 1, Issue 10 (PDF - 16.2Mb) - Department of ...

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A fast heartbeat is okay Sometimes a little story can help a student with ASD recognise that an increased heart rate is safe. Read and re-read this story to your students with ASD before and after exercise and this can help to calm their anxiety. My heart is an organ in my body. It’s job is to pump blood around my body. When my heart beats it makes a little ‘bump-bump’ in my chest. Usually I cannot notice my heart beating unless I concentrate hard. When I am relaxed, my heart beats softly. This is called my ‘resting heart-rate’. Sometimes my heart beats faster than the ‘resting heart-rate’. This might happen when I am really excited, or scared, or when I do exercise. Then I will be able to feel my heart beating harder. It may feel like a ‘pulsing’ or ‘throbbing’ in my chest. When I do exercise it’s a good thing if I can feel my heart beating. This shows I am working my body harder, and helping myself to be fit. It is okay if I can feel my heart beating faster. I am safe. I try to stay calm and take deep breaths when I am finished exercising. This helps my heart slow down, until I can’t notice it anymore. For further information on support for children with ASD, visit http://autismstateplan.dhs.vic.gov.au Live Reptiles at your school EDUCATIONAL • INTERACTIVE • FUN Hold a snake • Feed a lizard • Say hello to a frog • Touch a turtle • Wrestle a crocodile! Other programs available: WHAT’S SAFE IN MY GARDEN? Invite our Magnificent Mini-beasts to crawl around your school or kinder. Beetles, Stick Insects, Scorpions, Spiders, Giant Cockroaches & more! ANIMALS WITH ATTITUDE Targeting Challenging students Years 3–11. We bring live: Lizards, Sporpions, Bird-eating Spiders, Giant Cockroaches, Huge Snakes and Crocodiles. • Public Liability Insurance • Presentation designed by teachers • K to 12 WE GUARANTEE no student attacked by the crocodile (unless requested)! Tracey Sandstrom 0418 B.Ed. Dip.Teach. 227 W.D.L. 083 www.roamingreptiles.com.au snakes@roamingreptiles.com.au
Behaviour Shine 19 Why playing chess can reduce schoolyard fights It’s just another one of life’s little ironies: the world’s original war game is fast becoming a tool for peace. Yes, that’s right – playing chess has been found to make children calmer. By Eamon Evans Australia’s largest chess organisation, Chess Kids, recently surveyed over 200 of the many schools that participate in its coaching programs and tournaments. The study predictably found that many ‘hard’ benefits result from students playing the ancient strategy game – problemsolving skills, improved concentration, and so on – but with that finding came a surprise. Over 98 per cent of schools also reported a range of ‘soft’ or behavioural benefits too – better anger management being high among them. The irony is fantastic: get kids thinking about battlefield tactics, and less violence can be the result. “Many children benefit from the rigid routines of chess,” says Robyn English, whose chess club at Boroondara Park Primary is fast becoming too big to manage. “You can play the whole game by staring at the board. There’s no need for eye contact with the opponent. Today’s violence is about bashings and drugs and thuggery, but chess is about removing pieces from the board respectfully, not smashing them down or verbally abusing the opponent.” Yvonne Reed, who presides over an increasingly popular chess club at Kingsley Park Primary School, says the game’s cerebral challenges simply don’t leave much room for emotions. “The calmness and concentration required quiet the temper,” she muses. “I have often witnessed children with behavioural problems playing chess in an engaging manner.” For the founder of Chess Kids, David Cordover, this was no surprise at all. “Chess is competitive and war-like, which can appeal to some boys. But the fact that kids can take out their aggressive tendencies in a positive way is great. They get to see the results of violence – their pieces die too; they sometimes lose. And they also get the feeling of winning and losing and have to deal with that. They start to see the other person’s perspective.” Also important for Mr Cordover is the fact that the ‘violence’ in chess is governed by very strict rules. “Certain rules can’t be broken; while others, like strategic rules, can be broken and then you see the results,” he says. “This reinforces the idea that we have laws in society which can’t be broken and rules that should be followed for the benefit of all. But within that system of rules you have plenty of freedom and ability to be creative.” Overseas, efforts are even being made to make chess part of the curriculum. As Jamaica’s Chess Federation President puts it, “one of the beautiful things about playing chess is that it gives you such focus and such discipline. “From my experience, a lot of people who act violently are people who can’t reason well, and therefore they turn to brute force as a way of compensating.” But in the era of video games, YouTube and two-minute attention spans, can we get kids to concentrate on learning chess in the first place? For Mr Cordover, that’s a moot point. “It’s the easiest thing in the world,” he says. “Chess is a naturally interesting game. It wouldn’t have survived so long if it wasn’t enjoyable!”
Page 1: Shine A publication of the Departme
Page 4 and 5: 4 Nov 09 Messages Xxxx Welcome to t
Page 6 and 7: 6 Nov 09 Briefcase Xxxx What’s ne
Page 8 and 9: 8 Nov 09 Briefcase Xxxx What’s on
Page 10 and 11: Cyberethics summit showcases studen
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Page 22 and 23: Early Years Awards wrap-up The Earl
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