Teach students about disability rights activist Judy Heumann and what work in schools and communities still remains.
11 Results
Teach students about what disability means, and the tools and accommodations that people with disabilities need.
GRADE LEVEL: Elementary School, Middle School, High School
COMMON CORE STANDARDS: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, Language
SEL STANDARDS*: Self-Awareness, Social Awareness, Relationship Skills, Responsible Decision Making Using Video and Film in the Classroom
Short evocative videos and films can be a great way to engage young people in conversations about identity, diversity, bias and social justice. This lesson plan includes compelling and powerful, short films…
Nearly one in five (19%) people in the United States are living with a disability. Disabilities can be physical or cognitive, visible or invisible, severe or minor. Ableism, which is bias or discrimination against people with disabilities, can take many forms, including: employment, housing and other institutional discrimination; lack of accessibility on streets, buildings and public transportation; stereotyping and ableist language, lack of media portrayals or stereotyped depictions of people…
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” —First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America These 45 words make up the First Amendment. The words haven’t changed since they were adopted by the United States as part of the…
The Present is an animated short film that was released in 2014 and quickly went viral. The film was created by German animator Jacob Frey who was inspired by a comic strip by Brazilian artist Fabio Coala. Frey said he was in awe of the storyline of the comic and was inspired to translate it into an animated short film. The film is about a boy who is enthusiastically playing video games indoors; his Mom comes home and brings him a new puppy as a present but the boy seems more…
GRADE LEVEL: High School
COMMON CORE STANDARDS: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, Language The words that make up the First Amendment haven’t changed since they were adopted by the United States as part of the Bill of Rights on December 15, 1791. For over 200 years, the First Amendment has been the cornerstone of freedom in the United States. Commonly referred to as the “five freedoms,” the First Amendment has helped people in the U.S. exercise their rights to…
GRADE LEVEL: Elementary School
COMMON CORE STANDARDS: Writing, Speaking and Listening Recently, there have been several news stories about consumers demanding, and toy companies creating, more diverse representations of dolls for children. This includes more dolls of color, dolls with disabilities, and dolls with different body types as well as other physical characteristics like eye color, hair texture and skin complexion. Dolls are one of the first and most common toys for children. They…
Derrick Coleman, a football player with the Seattle Seahawks, is the only legally deaf athlete in professional football history to play offense. In early January 2014, he made a commercial* where he talks about the impact his hearing impairment has had on his life. The video went viral and in less than a week, had 5.5 million views. Coleman’s story provides an excellent teaching opportunity to discuss disabilities and the importance of safeguarding the rights and dignity of people with…
In November 2013, the FBI released the Hate Crime Statistics, 2012, a report that has been compiled every year since the early 1990s. This lesson provides an opportunity for students to learn more about hate crimes, the annual report and background on the 2009 Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act (HCPA). Students will also explore possible actions they can take to prevent hate crimes. For more information, see ADL’s webpage on Hate Crimes Law and the No Place…
For centuries people with disabilities were thought to be helpless, indigent citizens, and were forced into institutions and asylums without equal opportunity or equal protection under the law. The disability rights movement of the 1960s marked a critical turning point with the rise of a grassroots effort that eventually led to the legislative victories of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act in 1975 (renamed IDEA in 1990) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990.
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