Embedded Files
All the Way to the Top
All the Way to the Top
Use this text to think about unfairness and injustice and how we respond to it. People with certain physical abilities enjoy privileges that not everyone experiences. Are there barriers in our school building that our Special Education teachers, students and families can help us identify so we can collaborate for change? In addition to thinking about how building structures might create barriers for people with ability challenges, how does this also affect our relationships? If I spend my entire recess on the field, and some else is not able to access the field, what might that mean for our friendship?
From the Publisher: This is the story of a little girl who just wanted to go, even when others tried to stop her.
Jennifer Keelan was determined to make a change―even if she was just a kid. She never thought her wheelchair could slow her down, but the way the world around her was built made it hard to do even simple things. Like going to school, or eating lunch in the cafeteria.
Jennifer knew that everyone deserves a voice! Then the Americans with Disabilities Act, a law that would make public spaces much more accessible to people with disabilities, was proposed to Congress. And to make sure it passed, Jennifer went to the steps of the Capitol building in Washington DC to convince them.
And, without her wheelchair, she climbed.
ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP!
Questions for families to discuss:
Questions for families to discuss:
What does it mean to be included? What does it mean to be excluded?
There are many types of disabilities, let's see if we can name a few. (Ideas: vision impairment, deaf or hard of hearing, mental health conditions, intellectual disability, acquired brain injury, autism spectrum disorder, physical disability).
What does it mean to be an “activist”? Have we ever been part of something where we were hoping to change the world, big or small? How did it feel?
What if my best friend was suddenly in a wheelchair. How would that change things for us?
Learning Goals:
Learning Goals:
For the Month of March, we are focusing on making sure all our friends are included.
Students will recognize that people’s multiple identities interact and create unique and complex individuals. (Identity 3)
Students will recognize traits of the dominant culture, their home culture and other cultures and understand how they negotiate their own identity in multiple spaces. (Identity 5)
Students will express comfort with people who are both similar to and different from them and engage respectfully with all people. (Diversity 6)
Students will respectfully express curiosity about the history and lived experiences of others and will exchange ideas and beliefs in an open-minded way. (Diversity 8)
Students will recognize unfairness on the individual level (e.g., biased speech) and injustice at the institutional or systemic level (e.g., discrimination). (Justice 12)
Students will identify figures, groups, events and a variety of strategies and philosophies relevant to the history of social justice around the world. (Justice 15)
Go here to learn more about the Learning Goals, The Social Justice Standards
Listen to the author read the story
Learn more about Jennifer Keelan
Learn more about Jennifer Keelan
Page updated
Report abuse