disability awareness unit - · pdf...
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INCLUSIVE SCHOOLS WEEK
Inclusive Schools Week is the first week of December. Inclusive Schools Week is an annual event that celebrates students who have disabilities while encouraging all students to acknowledge that students are more alike than different! Making our students more aware of disabilities is one way that they can see things from others’ perspectives. Working to make our schools more inclusive is a constant goal. Knowing more about different disabilities will help students become more prepared to be inclusive of children with disabilities within their own classrooms as well as though daily interactions outside of the classroom.
OVERVIEW: The Disability Awareness Unit that we created should be completed with
the entire school. Each class should be given the daily devotionals. We have created these to help classrooms have a Biblical foundation for why disability awareness and inclusion are important.
Although the daily devotionals are for every grade, we also connected each grade to a specific disability so that they can learn more about that disability area throughout the week. We included short lessons (15 minutes/day) for grades K-‐8 to help aid their learning process about disabilities. Knowing more about the various disabilities will help children better understand some of the challenges that students with disabilities face each day, as well as how these students are more like them than different.
After each grade takes a closer look at one disability, through completing various activities, inclusive schools week could be wrapped-‐up with a final chapel. The chapel may include a speaker, a testimony, skits, or important figures that have connections with disabilities. The chapel’s purpose is to summarize disability awareness while encouraging the students to stand up for children with disabilities and include them in their daily lives.
CHAPEL At the conclusion of Inclusive Schools Week, the school will have a chapel summarizing what all the students have learned as they promote disability awareness. Some ideas that we thought might be impactful for the students would be to have:
A CHAPEL SPEAKER -‐-‐-‐who has a disability -‐-‐-‐who is the parent of a child with a disability -‐-‐-‐who is an athlete or prominent figure who has a disability
STUDENT PARTICIPATION -‐-‐Some students may want to give a testimony if they have a disability. They can talk about how they are MORE ALIKE THAN DIFFERENT. -‐-‐Also, some grades may want to participate in the chapel and share what they have learned throughout the week.
Special Education Awareness Devotions Monday You Are Special by Max Lucado
-‐ Read book. Tell students to listen for how God wants us to treat others, and how He wants us to think about ourselves. -‐ Talk about how God made each of us perfectly the way he wanted us to be. He does not make mistakes. Even though we are all different, we are still perfectly us. -‐ Ask students “How does the story show how God wants us to treat others? (Build others up, point out good qualities in other people instead of pointing out things they do wrong or that are bad about them. Nobody wants green dots on them.) “How should we think of ourselves?” (We are not better than anyone else, do not worry about what anyone else says about you because God created us just how He wanted us to be.) -‐ Give each student a Gold star to wear for the day to show that we have all been created and chosen by God?
Tuesday The Body of Christ
-‐ Read I Corinthians 12:12, 14-‐27 -‐ Have a human body cut out (maybe trace myself on a large piece of paper).
-‐ Invite students to come up and write their name on a body part on the paper. -‐ Talk about what life would be like if you did not have certain body parts. You can manage, but it is much easier if all the body parts work together. Some seem to have more important roles than others such as your hands, your feet, or your heart. But your eye lashes and eye brows, and toe nails also serve a purpose that makes living much easier. Talk about how eye brows keep sweat from dripping in our eyes, and eye lashes keep bugs and other things out of our eyes. Also talk about how toenails protect your feet especially when they are in your shoes and when you are running around. They keep your toes from rubbing on your shoes and giving you blisters. And, your toes help you keep your balance so you do not fall over when you walk.
-‐ Relate to classroom “body”. If all the parts do not work together it is much more difficult to get things done. Some students may seem like they are more important, but even if you feel small, you were created for a very specific purpose and the body is much better off if you are a part of it as well.
Wednesday Created in the image of God:
-‐ “What do you think God looks like? Draw a picture of what you think God looks like. There is no right or wrong answer because those who saw Jesus when He was on the Earth couldn’t take or draw pictures of him so nobody really knows what He looks like.” -‐ “Now, draw a picture of yourself next to him.” -‐ “What do you think the Bible means when it says that we are created in the image of God?” Discuss answers brought up. -‐ Tell students that we see Christ in them through their words and actions toward each other. They always need to ask What Would Jesus Do to make sure they treat each other nicely.
Thursday Learning how to serve those who have special needs:
-‐ Before reading, talk about David, who is was, that he and Saul were enemies (Saul tried to kill David so David had to hide from him, but David and Saul’s son Jonathan were best friends, and now David is King. -‐ Read 2 Samuel 9: David and Mephibosheth -‐ Questions:
What was wrong with Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth? Why did David want to be kind to Mephibosheth? What things did David do to serve him? If even King David was kind to someone like Mephibosheth who was not perfect, how do you think God wants us to treat others around us who may have difficulties doing things we do?
Friday The Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado
-‐Read the story Questions:
-‐Even though the lamb was crippled and everyone thought he could not do anything, what happened to that little crippled lamb? What did he get to do? -‐ We are all different and we all have things that we struggle with, and some have more struggles than others. But, do you think that God has a plan for you too? How do you know?
-‐ “Even though some of us have special needs, God still has a plan and a purpose for each of us.” -‐ Read Jeremiah 29:11 -‐ God does not want to harm us. His plans are always for our good. But, because of sin, sometimes bad things happen, but God always works it out for good. -‐ God is going to do great things through all of you! So be on the lookout for ways that God might be trying to use you to help others.
Kindergarten: We Are All Special
Materials:
• M&M’s (or colored goldfish)
• “Rainbow Fish to the Rescue”
• “Special Box” –box with a mirror on the bottom
• Book materials: ribbons, construction paper, ribbon, pompoms, glitter, glue, etc.
Monday
• Introduction
o Pass out M&M’s to the class. Ask them what makes each M&M different. (Answers: they are different colors) Then let the students eat them. Ask if the different colors taste different. (No, they all taste the same) Tell them that even though the M&M’s look
different on the outside, they are the same on the inside. o This is the same for all of us. We may look different on the outside, but we all have
feelings and similarities on the inside.
• Activity o Let students come to the front of the room one-‐by-‐one and look into the “special box”.
When they are finished looking, they should go back to their seat and draw what they saw.
o Talk about how even though what we see is different from what someone else sees, we
aren’t all that different from each other! (In each student’s drawing, there will be hair, arms, legs, smiles, etc.) Point these things out and tell them that God created us equal. We may look different, but we are all equally His children.
• Closing
o Discuss how God made us look different from each other, but we are also the same in that we are all God’s children.
Tuesday
• Introduction o Read: “Rainbow Fish to the Rescue”
o Talk about how even though the striped fish looked different from the other fish, he is still important, and they should be friends with him even if he is different.
• Activity
o Ask students if they have ever felt left out, or if they have ever left someone out. How
does it feel? Write responses on the board.
o Refer back to the drawings from Day 1. Give each student a “buddy”. Each will write something about the other on the back of their drawing. There should already be the
phrase” ____is special because_____.” Or “___ is good at ____.” Help students figure out what they want to say about their buddy. Once everyone is done, let the partners share what they wrote about each other to the class. Once you have completed each
child, talk about how they each have special things about them, and that God made them just like that. Talk about how they are all special to God, and made in His image and how God loves everything about them.
Wednesday
• Introduction o Start by talking about how God made us all. He made us all different. We all have
different abilities and different gifts. Even though we are different from others we are still special.
• Activity
o Play a game to demonstrate how we are different from each other, yet the same.
§ Have different tables set up in the room that represent different things, (long hair, short hair, blue eyes, brown eyes, green eyes, etc., tall, short, jeans, skirts, t-‐shirts, sweatshirts, and also let the kids pick some categories if they think of
some!) § Read one category at a time and have the children move to the right spot. § At the end have say “All students who are loved by God, sit in a circle at the
front of the room.” Show them that even though we don’t all have the same characteristics, we are all God’s children, and that is the most important group of all to be in!
• Closing o Have a discussion with the students, and help them reflect on this unit. Allow students
to ask questions also. § 1. Talk about all the ways God made you special. § 2. What are some of the things that you are good at or enjoy doing?
§ 3. Are there things that you are not good at or don’t enjoy? § 4. What if we were all the same – with the same gifts and abilities – there was
no one to do those things we are not good at and don’t like to do? What would
it be like? § 5. Talk about how you can use your special gifts and abilities to help others. § 6. How can you help others see how God made them special?
Thursday
• Make class book: “I am Special” using the self-‐portraits from Day 1.
• Ask students to write one sentence about what makes them special. “I am special because…!”
or “____makes me special!” Allow them to decorate their pages with different materials like, “glitter, ribbon, pompoms, construction paper, etc.
• For the front cover, let everyone put their finger print on the page using stamp pads. Talk about
how each of us has a different finger print because God made us that way.
Friday
• Chapel: present awareness posters/projects
1st Grade-‐-‐ Blindness Awareness Monday
Introduce blindness/ visual disability to students
What is blindness? Do you know anyone with blindness?
Read “The Pirate of Kindergarten”
Have students clear their desks of everything Handout a blindfold to each student and have them tie them around their head so they cannot see
-‐-‐-‐Give each student a blank piece of paper -‐-‐-‐Instruct students to find a pencil in their desk with the blindfold on -‐-‐-‐Have students try to write:
1. Full name 2. Age 3. Write a sentence about something they did the past weekend they
enjoyed Have students remove their blindfold and discuss what it was like to do these tasks
4. How did they feel?
5. Was it hard, easy? 6. Did they know exactly where to find their pencil in their desk?
-‐-‐-‐Shows the importance of needing to be organized
Tuesday Clear the middle of the room-‐ make a large open space. Group students in pairs of two Talk about good commands to use when giving directions-‐ remind which way is right and left
Tell them to each pick a number-‐ 1or 2 2 will be the walker-‐ blindfolded-‐ 1 will be the instructor Each will get a turn to do both
Send two groups out of the room Arrange random chairs and desks around the room and place two empty designated chairs scattered also
Allow students to come back in the classroom -‐-‐-‐#1 is going to direct #2 to one of the designated chairs -‐-‐-‐2 is blindfolded so he cannot see the obstacles
-‐-‐-‐With two groups it will make it noisier and harder for #2 to hear where to go -‐-‐-‐After all groups have gone once switch the roles around and do again -‐-‐-‐After activity discuss with students why it is important to be organized in the
classroom and be neat and tidy.
Wednesday Introduce students to Braille book called, “Silly Squiggles”-‐ in the Dordt Library or any other Braille book
Talk about how students who are blind use this type of writing to read Tell students the bumps each represent a different letter Hang up Braille alphabet cards on the blackboard
Demonstrate how to write names in Braille by writing your own Have students write their name in Braille
Thursday Hand out a blank sheet of paper to each student Have students draw and write about one thing they learned this week about how they can help a student who may be blind or have a visual disability.
Put all pictures together and hold together with fasteners to create a classroom book Create a class poster answering four main questions to display for the whole school:
-‐-‐-‐What is blindness?
-‐-‐-‐How does blindness affect school life? -‐-‐-‐How does blindness affect life outside of school? -‐-‐-‐How can we best make them feel comfortable and include them? Friends?
Friday All School Chapel
2nd Grade—Deafness Awareness Monday: What is Deafness?
• Briefly discuss as a class what students already know about deafness
• How do we hear? o http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7zh_66uGiY
§ Watch the first 5:15 of this clip (you can stop it when it starts to talk about balance)
o Discuss the main ideas of the video:
§ 3 main parts of ear, what they do, etc.
• What makes a person deaf?
o One or more of the sections of their ear might not be working properly § Outer ear – could be born without an ear or have a deformed ear
§ Middle ear – could have an ear canal that is too narrow or blocked by fluid § Inner ear – could have damaged hair cells or nerves
• There are 4 levels of deafness
o Mild deafness: would hear a baby cry or music from a stereo, but might not hear a whispered conversation
o Moderate deafness: would hear a dog barking or telephone ringing, but might not be able to hear a baby crying
o Severe deafness: would hear a chainsaw or drums playing, but might not be able to hear
a dog barking or a piano playing o Profound deafness: would hear a large truck or an airplane, but would probably not be
able to hear a telephone ringing
• http://www.healthaffairs.uci.edu/hesp/neuropathy/comp_demo.wav
o Listen to this simulation – It starts with normal hearing and goes through the stages of deafness until you hear what it sounds like to be profoundly deaf
• Discuss as a class: What was it like to hear that simulation? How hard would it be to be deaf?
Tuesday: How does deafness affect a person’s life?
• Use different ways off communication
o Sign language § A language that uses hands, arms, facial expression, and body posture to speak
without sound
• Sometimes deaf people can still hear by wearing hearing aids or cochlear implants
o Use this diagram to discuss similarities and differences between hearing aids and cochlear implants
Hearing aids Cochlear implants
• Amplify sound (Makes it louder) • Are worn only outside the ear • Do not work if nerve cells are
damaged • Often used by people who are mildly
or moderately deaf
• Changes sounds into electrical energy that goes through the nerve fibers into the brain
• Has two parts – one that is put under the person’s skin during surgery, and other that is outside the ear
• Can work around damaged nerve cells • Often used by people who are severely
or profoundly deaf
o Hearing aids and cochlear implants can help people hear, but that doesn’t mean that they hear exactly the same way that we hear
o http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpKKYBkJ9Hw
§ This simulation shows what it sounds like to listen to speech and music through different types of cochlear implants
§ Discuss what it would be like to hear everything through a cochlear implant
• People who are deaf can struggle to hear conversations because of distracting background noise
(All of the sounds in this classroom such as papers rustling, chairs moving, etc. can make it hard for a student who is deaf to hear the teacher)
o Activity: have students sit quietly in their desks for a few minutes and write down every
sound that they hear § Discuss: how can we reduce these noises to help our deaf friends hear better?
Wednesday: What can we do to help include these students in our classroom?
• Learn how to communicate with them
o Learn some sign language § Hand out sign language alphabet and have students practice letters § http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ikdqNVoCYQ&feature=player_embedded
• Watch video – have students practice signing along with the song (Pick out key words and phrases, such as “nice to meet you,” “hi,” ”friend,”
and “play.”
• You may need to play the song a few times until the students get the
hang of it o Discuss the best ways to communicate with a person who is deaf:
§ Always face each other § Do not cover your mouth when you talk § Speak normally. Do not shout
§ Do not exaggerate movements of the mouth § Use facial expressions naturally § Use hand gestures
• Be a friend o Love one another, for love is of God (I John 4:7-‐8)
o Have students each write a brief paragraph about how they can be a friend to a fellow student who is deaf.
Thursday: Project Day
• Materials needed: One sheet of plain white paper for each student, 1 large poster board, writing utensils (markers, colored pencils, crayons, etc.)
• Have each student create their own brochure about deafness o Fold a piece of blank paper into thirds
o Design a cover – Create a title and draw a picture o On the other flaps, have students write down things they have learned about deafness
§ Flap 1: Cover § Flap 2: How do we hear? § Flap 3: What is deafness?
§ Flap 4: Hearing aids/cochlear implants § Flap 5: Sign language § Flap 6: How to be a friend
§ Students can write down information, add their own illustrations, or use other materials to create their brochures
• Combine students’ ideas into one large poster that can be displayed throughout the school
o 1 idea in each corner of poster: How do we hear? What is deafness? Hearing aids/cochlear implants, Sign language
o Center of poster: How to be a friend. How would God want us to treat these people?
Friday: Chapel Day
3rd Grade—Physical Disability Awareness Welcome to Disability Awareness week! Every day, you will be provided a devotional covering a broad range of disabilities. These devotionals will help raise disability awareness in your classroom. You will also be provided with daily activities that
specifically deal with students who have Physical Disabilities.
Monday-‐ Watch the Physical Disability video at the link provided below. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYUbAwY2Yow&feature=related
Ask focus questions such as: What was similar with all the people in the video? What activities did you see them completing? What activities were they doing that you would like to do as well?
Tuesday-‐Simulation Day! Give the students five tasks that they must complete with the “physical disability” you assign. For instance, you may tell your students that they have a physical disability that that affects both arms and hands. However, now it is time to get out a pencil and write your name on the top of your assignment. After completing a few simulations with different physical disabilities, each student should take 3 minutes to write about the challenges they had while completing that activity and how it would change their day-‐to-‐day activities if they had that disability. Also, have them include what others may think of them. Would they think you are not smart? Not capable of completing tasks?
Wednesday-‐ Reflection Day! Each student will create a page for a book about disability awareness. The students will be required to illustrate and color a photo, include similarities between students with disabilities and themselves and finally they will include how they would include them in our class.
Thursday-‐Your class will be required to create a poster responding to the three prompts. 1. What is the disability? 2. How would it change day-‐to-‐day life/ how would it affect school life? 3. How can we include these children in our class?
The poster will be displayed in hallway so each class can have an opportunity to view all the posters created on various disabilities
Friday-‐Chapel Speaker will talk about students with disabilities.
Other grades are learning about: More alike than different-‐ K Seizure Disorder-‐ 5th Grade Blindness-‐1st Grade Autism-‐ 6th Grade Deafness-‐ 2nd Grade Down Syndrome-‐ 7th Grade Physical Disabilities-‐ 3rd Grade Learning Disabilities-‐ 8th Grade Speech/Language Impairments-‐ 4th Grade Feel free to use their activities to raise awareness in your classroom about a different disability!
4th Grade-‐-‐Speech & Language Impairments Awareness Overview: This unit focuses on the disability area of speech and language impairments. Each day the students will participate in a 15 to 20 minute lesson that will teach them about what speech and language impairments are, how they affect a person's life, and what we can do to include students with this kind of impairment in our classroom. Finding My Voice: Kids with Speech Impairment by Sheila Stewart and Camden Flath is a great resource for teaching this topic and will be used frequently throughout this unit. This book is available in the Dordt College library. Materials you will need: Finding My Voice: Kids with Speech Impairment by Sheila Stewart and Camden Flat Marshmallows Poster paper
Monday -‐Start this lesson by reading the story at the beginning of the book Finding My Voice: Kids with Speech Impairment by Sheila Stewart and Camden Flath (pages 7-‐24). Talk with the students about what Eric was struggling with in this story. Discussion topic Suggestions: -‐ What things throughout this story made Eric worried? What sorts of things worry you? -‐ What obstacles did Eric have to overcome? How did he do that? -‐ Talk about how Eric's life and the students' lives are the same and how they are different. Tell students that throughout this week we are going to be learning about speech and language impairments. We will learn what they are, how they affect a person's life, and how we can include them in our classroom.
Tuesday-‐ Start this lesson by using pages 29-‐30 of the book Finding My Voice: Kids with Speech Impairment by Sheila Stewart and Camden Flath, to explain what the difference is between a speech impairment and a language impairment. Then explain to the students that we are going to experience just a little bit of what it is like to have a speech or language impairment. For the simulation, give each of the student’s two large marshmallows. Then instruct them to place both marshmallows in their mouth (do not swallow). After the marshmallows are in the students' mouths, ask them to try and have a conversation with a partner while the marshmallows are in their mouths. Discuss how it was difficult to talk with your partner and how it was difficult to understand. This is similar to what a person with a speech or language impairment experiences. After students have experienced speech and language impairments, talk with them about how speech and language impairments are treated using pages 37-‐39 of Finding My Voice: Kids with Speech Impairment by Sheila Stewart and Camden Flath.
Wednesday-‐ Today the students are going to do some thinking about how their life would be the same and different if they had a speech or language impairment, and how they could help a student with a speech or language impairment feel comfortable in their classroom. Ask students to answer these questions in a journal entry.
After students have finished writing. Divide students into small groups to discuss how they answered the questions. If time allows, you can come together as a whole class to discuss what the class thinks is the best ways to make a person with speech and language impairments feel comfortable.
Thursday-‐ Today students are going to work in groups to create a poster about what they have learned about speech and language impairments so far this week. First, divide students into small groups and have them create a poster that includes what speech and language impairments are, how they affect daily life, and how we can make students with speech and language impairments feel comfortable in our classroom. These posters will be hung up in the hallway so that other students can learn about speech and language impairments.
Friday-‐ Today the students will attend an all-‐school chapel focused on the topics of disability awareness and including students with special needs in our classrooms.
5th Grade-‐-‐ Seizure Disorder Awareness Monday-‐ (15mins) Have students collaborate and come up with a definition of “seizure.” Read “Orchestra in the Brain” by Cynthia Fabian Discuss what a metaphor is, and talk about the metaphor in this book. Ask students if this book makes them think differently about seizures—how? After reading the book, ask if students can give a new definition to the term.
Tuesday-‐ (15mins) Research “What is it?” Divide students into groups and research the following categories using the resources below: Nature, causes, symptoms, treatment, types Resources: http://www.epilepsyga.org/index.shtml (Education tab) http://www.medicinenet.com/seizure/article.htm#what_is_epilepsy Taking seizure disorders to school: a story about epilepsy by Kim Gosselin I know someone with epilepsy by Victoria Parker Living with epilepsy by Patsy Westcott Let’s talk about epilepsy by Melanie Apel Gordon
Wednesday-‐ (15mins) Have students make a list of everything they have done since they woke up this morning Watch video clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5VkD82pF18 Have students circle all activities from their lists that could be dangerous if they fell over. Remind students that children with seizure disorder always need to be aware of their surroundings—something the rest of us take for granted every day. Make a list of activities that may be dangerous for students with seizure disorder at home and at school and what day-‐to-‐day life might be like for these students. Have students discuss with a neighbor what ways we can help students with this disability feel more comfortable in school or in our classroom.
Thursday-‐ (15mins) Create book: Divide students into three groups according to the three questions. Each group must come up with three pages for the book: a summary to the question, a graphic organizer, and a picture. Roles may be assigned to students (summarizer(s), graphic organizer(s), artist(s), recorder(s), etc.) Answer questions: What is it? What is school life & day-‐to-‐day life like? How can we make them feel more comfortable in our class?
Friday-‐ (Chapel Day) Set book in hallway for other classes to view Walk to other classes and learn about other disabilities
6th Grade-‐-‐Asperger’s Syndrome Awareness – An Autism Spectrum Disorder
Monday
• What is it?
o Turn lights off in the classroom. Allow student’s eyes to adjust to the darkness and then quickly turn the lights back on so that the lights seem very bright, causing students to squint. Begin
talking very loud, almost to the point of shouting. Then ask your students how they felt about that situation and what made them feel uncomfortable.
o Read aloud: Asperger’s syndrome (AS) is a neurobiological disorder that is part of a group of
conditions called autism spectrum disorders. The term "autism spectrum" means a range of developmental disabilities that includes autism as well as other disorders with similar characteristics (KidsHealth.org).
o Asperger’s is characterized by poor social interactions, obsessions, odd speech patterns, and other peculiar mannerisms. Kids with Asperger’s often have few facial expressions and have difficulty reading the body language of others; they might engage in obsessive routines and
display an unusual sensitivity to sensory stimuli (for example, they may be bothered by a light that no one else notices; they may cover their ears to block out sounds in the environment; or
they might prefer to wear clothing made only of a certain material) Experts say that Asperger’s follows a continuous course and usually lasts a lifetime. (KidsHealth.org).
o Show YouTube video clip from Arthur: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9eATBV-‐_lg
o Concluding questions § What everyday things could possibly upset or annoy someone with Asperger’s? § How might a person with Asperger’s struggle in their social life?
Tuesday
• How does Asperger’s affect someone’s learning and life at school? (Read this excerpt from
“Asperger’s Huh” by Rosina G. Schnurr, PhD., pages 31-‐33, to your class. The speaker is a young boy who is almost 11 with Asperger’s.)
o “I have to go to school like any other kid. I like school but I wish all the other children weren’t there. They both me. My teacher is nice though. I like her. My parents explained ‘Asperger’s’ to her. She knows how much I like the weather. She also knows that I talk a lot. It’s okay because we
have a deal. Whenever I am talking too much, she lets me know by pulling on her ear if she is at the front of the room or tapping on my shoulder if she is close to me.
“My teacher even tells me that I am smart. Some kids call me ‘dumb’ and ‘stupid’ and
‘weird’. I heard her talking to another teacher once who thought that I was ‘odd’. She explained that I was not off but just a little ‘different’ from other children. That was when I knew that she was my friend.
“The thing about school is that some parts are really easy and other parts are hard. I remember when I was in kindergarten and I could read. Everyone told me how
intelligent I was. But I felt really dumb when I had to tie my shoe laces. I still can’t tie them. It frustrates me so much that my mom and dad had to get me shoes that close
with Velcro. “That’s okay because my mom says that there is always a way around things. What she means is that when I have trouble with something, it is always possible to do the same
thing another way so that I won’t get so upset. She calls it being ‘adaptable’. It really means that if I CANNOT change, then the things around me CAN change. But I have to try really hard to change first.
“Recess isn’t too much fun. Nobody wants to play with me. I sort of hang around the other kids and pretend to be having fun. When I was a little kid and really, really liked bugs, I used to play ‘bug’ at recess. I would get down on the ground and crawl around.
No one wanted to play with me. My teacher told me that it was not ‘appropriate’ to pretend to be a bug. She gave me some pictures of bogs crawling around. The other kids thought my pictures of bugs were pretty neat and the science teacher told me that I was
very clever about bugs. “The tricky part is knowing what is appropriate and what is not appropriate. My teacher is really good about that. She never gets mad at me but she will tell me if she sees me
doing something ‘inappropriate.’ Anyway, the best thing about recess is when the bell rings to go back into the school. “I have a good memory. All the teachers think it’s ‘amazing’. That makes me feel good. I
can remember things like big words and long sentences. It’s strange that I can read more and faster than anyone in my class but when the teacher asks me questions about
what I have read, I don’t get the answers right. I can repeat the words but she wants me to explain them and that’s hard to do. That’s why I go to see a special resource teacher on Mondays and Thursday of every week. She is a nice lady and I try to work hard for
her.” o Concluding questions:
§ Place students into small groups of about 3 or 4 .
§ Instruct each group to list on one piece of paper, all the ways the speaker’s school day is different than theirs’.
§ Have each group share their answers to the rest of the class.
Wednesday
• How can our classroom include students with Asperger’s Syndrome? As a class, review what you
have learned about Asperger’s the past couple of days. Describe things that students with Asperger’s may struggle with as well as what they excel in. Brainstorm 7-‐10 ways that your class
could include these students academically and socially, in and out of the classroom.
Thursday
• Split class into four groups and have each group work to answer one of the following questions.
Have groups sketch different ways they could summarize/draw/present/cartoon on a piece of
paper the answer to their question to be included on the class poster about Autism. Once they are done brainstorming, have each group contribute to the poster. Remember, this needs to be clear
and concise so that most students in your school could look at the poster and understand it (think Kindergarten through 8th grade).
o What is it?
o How does Asperger’s affect someone’s learning? o How does Asperger’s affect someone’s life at school? o How can our classroom include students with Asperger’s Syndrome?
Friday
• Chapel
7th Grade-‐-‐ Down Syndrome Awareness Materials:
o Marshmallows o Gloves o Poster
o Journals o Computer/projector
Monday: What is it?
• Read a story about Down syndrome: See the attached document, “A Down Syndrome Story”—read the story for Monday.
• Say to the students: Explain to the students that it is disabilities awareness week and each
class is going to learn about a specific disability that they will later present about to the whole school. Tell the students that our class will be learning about and presenting about Down syndrome.
• Say to the students: To understand what Down syndrome is, I will show a YouTube video that gives an accurate explanation about what it is. This video will give a good description and visual
about Down syndrome.
• Play this YouTube video: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/video/living-‐with-‐down-‐syndrome-‐
15483374
• Journal Entry: Have the students write a journal entry about what they learned about Down
syndrome and have them write down any questions that they might have.
Tuesday: How does Down Syndrome Affect Daily Life and School Life?
• Read a story about Down syndrome: See the attached document, “A Down Syndrome Story”—
read the story for Tuesday.
• Discuss: Tell the students how Down syndrome affects peoples’ daily lives and their school life. Explain to the students that people who have Down syndrome can do most everything, but it
takes them a longer time to do these things or they need modifications, adaptations, and changes in the curriculum in order to successfully complete something in school or in their everyday life.
• Discussion and activities: Tell the students that we are going to learn and do activities that
represent ways in which Down syndrome affects school life and everyday life of students who have Down syndrome. Remind the students that these are real things that people with Down syndrome struggle with, so that when we do these activities we must respect our peers and
friends who have Down syndrome. Tell the students that we are going to do activities that represent the struggles that students with Down syndrome face each day.
o Activities ( go to the section “ hands-‐on activities”: http://www.dssri.org/awareness.html
o Make sure that you explain why you are doing each activity. For example: when you do the activity with the marshmallow in the mouth explain to the students that people who have Down syndrome have a
difficulty with their speech and have a difficult time being understood.
• Journal: Journal about how your life might be different if you had Down syndrome. Do they see
similarities and differences? Also have them journal about how these struggles that students who have Down syndrome face each day give them a better understanding of people who have
Down syndrome.
Wednesday: How do we make students who have Down syndrome feel at home?
• Read a story about Down syndrome: See the attached document, “A Down Syndrome Story”—
read the story for Wednesday.
• Tell the students that it is very important for students who have Down syndrome to feel at
home in our classroom and in their everyday lives. One way we can do this is by understanding that students who have Down syndrome are “ more alike than different”.
• Show the “We are more alike than different” YouTube Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StwSnjtMkxQ&feature=related
• Have the students write in their journals about how students with Down syndrome are more
alike than different.
• Activity: This will help promote equality amongst the students and help them to get to know
each other and realize that they are all more alike than different. o Have students point out their differences and things that are unique
about them. Each of the students will come up with something to say
and they will share it with the class. After each of the students say their differences have them all brainstorm ideas of how they are all equal or similar. Tell the students that we are all uniquely made in God’s image
and every part of each of us was designed for the good of the Lord. We need to celebrate our differences and remind each other that we are more alike than different because we are all made in the image of
Christ.
Thursday: Put together the poster and present it to the school. • Read a story about Down syndrome: See the attached document, “A Down Syndrome
Story”—read the story for Thursday.
• Recap: With the students recap what they have been learning about this week concerning
Down syndrome. Ask the students how their views on students who have Down syndrome
have changed or their knowledge has grown since the first lesson we had. Have students share their observations and insights with the whole class.
• Project: Tell the students that we are going to compile our information that we learned
throughout this week about Down syndrome. Tell the class that we have to make a poster to put up in our hallway to remind the school about Down syndrome awareness. Have the students brainstorm ideas of what we should include on the posters and have them include
important information that they see would be helpful for the school to know about Down syndrome. Split the students up into groups and have each of the groups creatively come up with ways to display information about Down syndrome on the poster. Put these posters up in
each hallway of the school.
• Presentation for chapel: Tell the class that for chapel we need to present our information
about Down syndrome to the student body. We want to give the students an engaging and informative presentation about Down syndrome. We also want to give the students an
accurate depiction of what Down syndrome is and accurately show how people who have Down syndrome are “more alike than different”.
• Presentation preparation: Tell the class that we are going to creatively present the topic of
Down syndrome to the school by each writing something they learned about people who have Down syndrome. The students will each take turns reading their insights in front of chapel.
When everyone had a chance to say their insight they will all conclude by saying that people who have Down syndrome are more alike than different.
o Examples:
-‐People who have Down syndrome have beautiful smiles. -‐They like to play sports. -‐They go to school and learn.
• Practice: Prepare an introduction for the presentation on Down syndrome for the chapel (the
teacher will do this). In the introduction explain what Down syndrome is and include some pictures or a video clip from the movies that were shown in the lesson. Have the students stand in a line and practice saying what they wrote on their piece of paper and have them
practice saying altogether that we are all more alike than different.
• Closure: remind students that we are more alike than different and that we need to accept
one another and look for the beauty and equality that we all have in Christ.
• Video: show this YouTube video about a brother who loves his sister who has Down
syndrome: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9b7y9UYt_fM
Friday: Chapel
8th Grade-‐-‐Learning Disabilities Awareness
Monday: What is a Learning Disability? 1.) Students will talk about what they think learning disabilities are with the teacher, and the teacher will write them up on the board. Questions you may want to ask-‐ what is a learning disability? Are there different types of learning disabilities? Who might have learning disabilities? 2.) Definition of learning disabilities-‐ A condition giving rise to difficulties in acquiring knowledge and skills to the normal level expected of those of the same age. -‐This may be given at the beginning or the end of the discussion to give the students an idea of what learning disability means. After showing this definition, talk about what the student got right or wrong. 3.) After talking about learning disabilities, students will get to take 2 tests which will put them in the shoes of someone that has a learning disability. The idea of this test is to show that they can do the work in other subjects just fine, but when it comes to that one subject the work is difficult to understand. The hard test is the vocabulary and the easy test is the math. (If you need to make the test easier you can).
Tuesday: Looking up information (Group Work) 1.) Students are broken into groups to look up information on their learning disability.
• Reading • Writing • Math • Speaking and listening
2.) Sites that may be helpful-‐ • http://www.ldonline.org/index.php • http://www.medicinenet.com/learning_disability/article.htm • http://www.ncld.org/?gclid=CNK9v7mPrrMCFexAMgodjgIANQ • http://www.helpguide.org/mental/learning_disabilities.htm • http://www.nichcy.org • They may use other sites they find.
3.) Ideas to look for-‐ describe the learning disability. How does it affect the students schooling and home life? What are a few ways to help this student(s)? How can “we” as a class help make this student feel more comfortable in the classroom?
Wednesday: Information (Group Work) 1.) They will be given more time to work on their research for the learning disabilities. 2.) They will come together with their groups to pick out the big topics which they will put on the poster. (They should have no more than 2 sentence description of the disability type. They should include: 2 ways to help the student with the disability.
2 ways it affects the student at home and 2 ways at school. 2 ways that “we” as a class can help this student feel more welcome in the classroom and at
school.)
Thursday: Poster Work Day 1.) They will come together and share what they have learned with the other groups in the class. 2.) Then they will make the poster in 4 sections talking about each of the different learning disabilities they have learned. The middle of the poster should be where the inclusive class (making the student feel more welcome) should be.
Friday: Chapel