Celebrate National Inclusive Schools Week

Teaching Theme of the Week

by Gary Hopkins, Editor-in-Chief, Education World®

Activities and lessons to help your school celebrate National Inclusive Schools Week in December.

Subjects: All Subjects, Special Education

Grade: PreK-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12

Keywords inclusion, special education, tolerance, empathy

Activities/Lessons

National Inclusive Schools Week, the first full week in December, is sponsored by the Urban Special Education Leadership Collaborative, the Education Development Center, and others. The Week highlights and celebrates the progress of our nation's schools in providing a supportive and quality education to an increasingly diverse student population. It also provides an important opportunity for educators, students, and parents to discuss what else needs to be done in order to ensure that their schools continue to improve their ability to successfully educate all children.

Education World is proud to be a contributor to the National Inclusive Schools Week Celebration Kit. Following are a handful of activities gathered from Education World that are part of that kit. Be sure to check out the kit (see link in the sidebar) because it is packed full of excellent ideas for recognizing this special week.

Hello Amigos!
For ESOL tutors or teachers in schools with a multicultural population: Create a poster with hands of different colors and write on each hand the word hello in a different language. Ask students to introduce themselves and to say hello in their native languages if they can. This is a nice icebreaker, and the children enjoy learning to say hello in different languages.
Idea submitted by Cynthia de Leon and Yolanda Heredia, Manatee Elementary School in Naples, Florida

We Are All Unique!
Invite students to list some traits that make them unique. From that list, create a BINGO-like card with a square for each student. Write one fact from each student's list in one of the squares. Then the fun begins! Provide each student with a copy of the BINGO card. Students must ask one another if they "sleep with a stuffed lizard " or another question that relates to the information on one of the squares. When students identify the person who matches the information in a square, that person writes his or her intials in the box. Set a time limit and see who collects the most initials before time runs out. We learn some very interesting things about one another. This activity reveals commonalities and creates lively conversation.
Idea submitted by Brenda W., Silverwood School in Silverdale, Washington

Paper Dolls
Have students cut out paper dolls. Each doll is 2 feet tall, and all are alike in the beginning. Then students "dress" their dolls by coloring or making clothes out of fabric, wallpaper, wrapping paper, and other materials. Tell them to leave the face portion blank. While students dress their dolls, I use a digital camera to take pictures of all of them. We crop the pictures so that we see only faces, blow them up to fit the paper dolls, and students glue their faces to the dolls. We laminate them and hang them in each child 's coat cubby. It is a colorful display, helps kids find their cubbies, and appears to be a quiet class standing in line. Students and parents love them! At the end of the year, students take their dolls home.
Idea submitted by Phyllis Diggins, Rochester City School #12 in Rochester, New York

If I Were an Animal?
If your students could become animals, what would they be? I demonstrate for my students: "My name is Mr.H., and if I were an animal I'd be a turtle," I say, "because I'm always rushing around. Sometimes I wish I could slow down." Then I give the students a little time to think about what animals they might like to be -- and why. I encourage them to be creative, to be different and unique. The first student to one side of me in the circle starts out. After the first student finishes, I say, paraphrasing, "My name is Mr.H., and if I were an animal I'd be a turtle because I'd like to be able to slow down. And this is Emily, and if she were an animal she'd be a hyena because she likes to laugh a lot." Then it's on to the next child. After each child speaks, try to repeat all the other kids' name-and-animal combinations in order. That's always good for a laugh or two; it shows kids that the teacher isn't perfect either! Next, I ask the kids to draw themselves as their animal, leaving space at the bottom of the drawing to write a complete sentence following the format "If I were an animal, I would be a(n) ____ because ?" The activity is a fun way to learn about your students. As I call on students during the day, I'll always repeat their names and their animals.

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