In class we just did a non-verbal activity where we couldn’t talk and had to communicate through a conversation board. My partner Chris and I pretended to be in a situation where I asked him for his homework. We used the boards we just made in order to communicate in this exercise. I think this activity has shown me how many kids like Melody struggle in order to have a conversation with almost anybody.
The phrases and words I chose to use in this situation were mostly basic english words that help make up a sentence. I also tried to use words related to school because I saw the scenarios needed a lot of those words as well. Some basic words I used were: the, and, I, you, it, is, will, a/an, and my. School related words I used were: teacher, students, homework, school, pencil, and paper. If I ever did this activity again I don’t think I would need to change my words too much because almost all of them fit pretty good.
I think that this conversation that we did in class was fun, but it also got difficult at times. I sometimes got stuck and spent a little bit of time to look for my words and think of a way to say them. I felt confused and frustrated at times when I couldn’t just say what I wanted to and could only use my board to speak. This experience was really fun, but I do not think I would want to never be able to speak again because of how hard it must be.
Doing this activity now makes me think of Melody and how she overcomes her struggles a lot differently. I now think that she is living a really hard life and I think very highly of her now. I think that this will change the way I view the story because I can understand a bit more of how she is forced to speak. This experience has greatly influenced how I feel about Melody and people just like her.