Put Yourself In My Shoes

Activity 1 - Different words

Who in our class speaks a different language?

Stand in front of the class and say one sentence in your language.

What do you think they said?

Discuss:

• How does it feel to not be able to understand something?
• How quickly did the class give up? What are some other ways you could have tried to communicate?
• How is this similar to people with disabilities who can talk but are hard to understand or who cannot speak at all?

Activity 2 - No words

I have written a simple sentence on a piece of paper that I will show to one student. This chosen student must let the rest of the class know the sentence without writing, speaking or using any letters of the alphabet.

Discuss:

• Was it difficult to communicate using this method?
• What would have helped?
• How can we communicate with someone who can’t talk back?
• How can we help them communicate?

Activity 3 - Difficulty understanding

All students sit back to back with a partner. One student has a paper with an abstract shape or character on it. Without seeing each other, you must explain to your partner how to draw the shape or character. The second student will have a pencil and piece of paper. You must draw the shape following your partner's directions.

Discuss:

• What were the problems?
• What would have helped?