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Saltillo Elementary fifth grader Laith Hussein creates modeling clay masterpieces

Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal - 4/29/2022

Apr. 29—SALTILLO — On opening night of the Lee County Impressions Art Show, visitors crowded around Saltillo Elementary School fifth grade student Laith Hussein as he named and shared fun facts about some of the hundreds of dinosaurs and ancient creatures he's made from modeling clay this school year.

Laith, an 11-year-old on the autism spectrum, began working with modeling clay on Fridays in October 2021. His weekly "modeling time" is part of Saltillo Elementary School's positive behavior intervention strategy (PBIS), which focuses on promoting positive behaviors rather than negative.

Because of Laith's love for art, his teacher, Misty Ratliff, decided to integrate art into his PBIS plan to motivate him academically and behaviorally.

So far, he has filled two glass display cases with his tiny creations. One display case contains "100 Creatures Before the Life of Dinosaurs," while the other has "100 Creatures During the Life of Dinosaurs."

Creating clay masterpieces

Laith can rattle off the names of each of the creatures he's modeled.

"This is the Acanthostega," Laith said, holding a model of a tadpole-esque animal with four limbs.

The extinct creature is Laith's favorite. It was one of the first vertebrates to have recognizable limbs, and its name means "shiny roof."

"How do you spell that, Laith?" Ratliff asked.

Without a second thought, Laith correctly spelled the creature's name. It took him about two-and-a-half seconds.

As he creates clay models of each creature, he adds their names, pictures and a brief description to a digital slideshow that accompanies his display.

It takes Laith less than five minutes to create a new model, doing his best to scale each to size, according to Ratliff.

Laith bases his models on videos from Nicholas Dodge Animations on YouTube, along with a dinosaur book he has in the classroom.

"I copy the dinosaur's looks and names and then I read it," Laith said. "Then go on to the next page and repeat that."

Learning in different ways

Each child learns differently. Naturally, they react differently to discipline as well.

"There is no cookie-cutter approach to discipline that works for every child," Ratliff said.

She realized early on that Laith reacts best to positive reinforcement. Working in collaboration with his support teacher, Wendy Roncalli, Ratliff developed an individualized plan to reward Laith on a weekly basis for positive behaviors in the classroom.

More Information

Want to see Laith's tiny prehistoric creations for yourself? The Lee County Impressions Art Show will remain on display at Saltillo Elementary through May 12.

In Laith's own words, he gets to work with modeling clay by "doing good" — displaying good behavior, being respectful and finishing work.

He works hard throughout the week on classroom assignments and tests to ensure he has time to craft his clay creations each Friday, Roncalli said.

The school's main goal is to keep children in the classroom despite any disabilities, Ratliff said. Laith's love of shaping clay has helped him excel academically this year.

Laith said he enjoys working with modeling clay because he loves dinosaurs, enjoys creating things and wants to make sure his display includes all of them.

Laith is now hard at work on a third collection of clay models featuring 100 prehistoric beasts. He's already made approximately 30 models for that set.

"Dinosaurs are one of the top favorite things of my life," Laith said, adding that he's interested in them "because of their looks and those sharp teeth."

blake.alsup@djournal.com

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(c)2022 the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal (Tupelo, Miss.)

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