Disability Awareness Program
This program is designed to foster disability awareness in classrooms. It can be adapted to various grade levels and integrated into different curriculum mandates.
This Program: Elements
SETUP
- Steps to set up the program
- Timeline to set up the program
CURRICULUM INTEGRATION
- Quick Suggestions
- Rubrics
- Feedback and link to Posts & Updates
TOOLS & RESOURCES
- Administration Documents
- Resource Documents
- Certificates
- Program Documents
- Curriculum Documents
Program Steps:
Timeline for Ride in My Footsteps :
Four Weeks Before:
Plan the weeks you will do the program. Block off half-day periods when it may not be appropriate to have a child in the wheelchair (class trips, assemblies, special events).
Three Weeks Before:
Locate a wheelchair you can borrow for the duration of the
program. Source adult assistants if doing the group activity with
multiple wheelchairs.
Two Weeks Before:
Send the letter and consent form to the parents /guardians for
your students and create a schedule for participation both riding
in the wheelchair and supporting/student role. (Downloadable calendar is available from forms section of this website)
One Week Before:
Begin introductory discussion of the program in the classroom.
Curriculum Connections
While there are hundreds of ways to connect to this program with your class curriculum, here are a few suggestions to get you started :
Math
Activity 1: Estimate how many pushes of the wheel will it take the person sitting in the wheelchair to move the wheelchair the length of the hallway.
Activity 2: Convert the distance a student in a wheelchair has traveled into kilometres, meters, centimetres and millimetres.
Activity 3: Identify and draw different shapes used in the design of a wheelchair.
Language
Writing
Have students write a journal response about the experience or a specific given prompt.
Example: What was your biggest challenge while being in a wheelchair? How can we make sure people in wheelchairs feel included in our community?
Reading
Evaluate students’ reading strategies and thinking with prompts such as:
- What connections can you make from your experience with a wheelchair to other books, movies or situations you’ve experienced.
- Read “The Girl and the Rock” in Stories by Carling and explain your idea of why the girl and the rock became friends.
- Read Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper. Discuss key themes and make connections.
Oral Communication
- Create a media text that conveys the challenges and the strength of those in wheelchairs.
- Produce a photo collage that depicts life in a wheelchair and identify why photos may identify an appropriate form of media to show life in a wheelchair.
Health
Activity: Compare the pulse rate of a person who has walked a lap of the gym with the pulse rate of someone who has wheeled themselves around the gym in a wheelchair. What comparisons can you make?
Discussion Topics:
- How can we help people in wheelchairs to have better access to public buildings?
- Why is it important to demonstrate friendship to people in wheelchairs as we would to others?