Disability Awareness - Inclusion Classrooms and Professional Development

As many of you know, my son has Autism and our life has its ups and downs for sure. But this year has especially been a challenge, as Garyn is a 5th grader. He has been facing bullying and name calling from his classmates. So this resource is one way for me to deal with the heartache both he and I feel about his daily struggle to fit in to our world, which can sometimes be a cruel place.

This resource, A Teacher's Guide to Disability Awareness, is aimed at the First through Third Grade student and can also be used for professional staff development for others at your school. This unit is divided into five sections; each has a picture book with response sheets as a way to begin exploring the objective. There are lesson plans for each section to guide you through the variety of activities that will create a more accepting environment in your classroom. You'll find hands-on activities, exploration of various disabilities, cooperative learning projects, and reflective moments throughout the unit. I promise you that this was a resource created from my heart, so you won't be disappointed with what you'll find.

Disabilities focused on in the unit are hearing, sight, learning, physical, and autism.

You'll receive:

►Forward and Unit Set-Up

►Literature Suggestions

►Vocabulary Word Wall Cards

►Lesson 1: Alike and Different

•Different Poem, Original Big Book

•Different Poem, Student Reader

•Things I Like Project

•How We're Alike and Different Partner Printable

►Lesson 2: What is a Disability?

•Disabilities Pretest

•My Brother Ronnie, Big Book about the daily life of boy with Cerebral Palsy

•Big Book Response Sheet

•Disability Truths and Myths Anchor Chart Parts

•Disability Cut and Paste Printable

►Lesson 3: Living with a Disability

•In My Shoes, Student Reader

•Various Awareness Activities (exploring braille, sign language, etc.)

•School Accessibility Survey

►Lesson 4: Assistive Devices

•Hero Dogs, Article (about Service/Therapy Dogs)

•Hero Dogs Response Printable

•Assistive Devices Comprehension Printable

•Design an Assistive Device Printable

►Lesson 5: Disabilities in School

•The 6 B's Flipbook- How to Befriend a Person with Disabilities

•Rock Your Socks (Down Syndrome Awareness activity)

•Disability Posttest

Please see the preview for a better look at this must-have unit. It's perfect for any teacher that has an inclusion classroom, at any time during the year!