Kindness and empathy can be as important as reading comprehension skills, especially for younger learners. Reinforce both with a lesson based on Rolling Along: The Story of Taylor and His Wheelchair by Jamee Riggio Heelan. As pupils read, they use discussion questions to guide their reading and complete a few closure activities to demonstrate what they have learned.

Concepts

disabilities, physical disabilities, kindness, empathy, friendship, accepting others

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Additional Tags

english language arts

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Instructional Ideas

• Have youngsters discuss what they already know about wheelchairs, and whether they know someone in a wheelchair
• Assign the activities for homework for individuals to work with parents and discuss what they have learned
• Use in a school-wide focus for acceptance and anti-bullying

Classroom Considerations

• Due to the sensitive nature of the story, discuss cerebral palsy with kids to create prior knowledge before they begin reading

Pros

• Provides relevant vocabulary and assignments after the reading is done
• Promotes open-mindedness and kindness in the classroom

Cons

• None

Common Core

RL.K.1 RL.K.3 RL.1.1 RL.1.3 RL.2.1 RL.2.3 RL.3.1 RL.3.3