Self-Advocacy What are my strengths and weaknesses? What supports help me to be successful?

Fall 2002Transition Services Preparation & Trainig Rational for Unit  As students start transition planning, they need to know how to advocate for themselves to increase independence and be successful in post-secondary settings. Deaf and Hard-of – Hearing students need to know their rights, responsibilities, what supports will help make them successful, and how to advocate for those supports. (e.g. requesting services from disability services at a college or trade school, requesting an interpreter or Assistive technology). Most students already educate friends, teachers, and extended family members about deafness and/or other special needs. This is one of the key elements in self-advocacy and will provide them with world knowledge on which to build new skills.

Fall 2002Transition Services Preparation & Trainig Design Process  This unit was planned using the Backwards Design, from the text Understanding by Design*, by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe in which the teachers defined understandings, determined acceptable evidence that demonstrates these understandings using the six facets, and planned learning experiences that will occur to address the defined understandings. * Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (1998). Understanding by design. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Fall 2002Transition Services Preparation & Trainig Class Make-up  This class located in a public school. It is a is a cross categorical class and contains varying ability levels and disabilities. The students are grades nine through twelve and the class includes both male and female students of varying ethnicities.

Fall 2002Transition Services Preparation & Trainig Student Needs  The students range from age thirteen to twenty- two. All of the students are below grade level in reading and math abilities. All but two of the students read at a first or second grade level, the remaining two students read at a seventh grade level. Students world knowledge varies from very naïve to fairly sophisticated. All of the students need to increase socially appropriate behaviors and knowledge of self-advocacy.

Fall 2002Transition Services Preparation & Trainig Unit Plan

Fall 2002Transition Services Preparation & Trainig (Overarching understandings) Unit Goals -(Overarching understandings)  What overarching understandings are desired? To understand the meaning of the concept of self- advocacy, identify examples of self-advocacy, and setting goals in their own lives to become better self-advocates. What will students understand as a result of this unit?  What will students understand as a result of this unit? Learning that by identifying personal strengths and weaknesses individuals can better identify what supports they need to help them be successful in a variety of settings.

Fall 2002Transition Services Preparation & Trainig Content Standards  Math (Grade 9-10) The learner will…  1. Identify situations involving independent and dependent events, and explain differences between and common misconceptions about probabilities associated with those events.  English (Grade 9-12) The learner will…  1. Deliver formal and informal descriptive presentations that convey relevant information and descriptive details.  2. Produce informal writings (e.g., journals, notes, poems) for various purposes.  Civics (Grade 10-12) The learner will…  1. Explain why it is important for citizens to participate in the public policy process  2. Analyze the impact of citizen participation on significant issues such as the civil rights movement, the effort to end the war in Vietnam, Earth Day.

Fall 2002Transition Services Preparation & Trainig Possible Lessons  Activities  Explain what it means to advocate for yourself.  Watch a movie depicting the life of Harriet Tubman and describe the things in the movie that depicted self- determination.  Role-play a situation (from list provided by teacher) in which you are being treated unfairly and need to “sick-up for yourself.”  Write a letter as if they were a Deaf student at Gallaudet College during the Deaf President Now Protest.  Read a short story about Rosa Parks, explain what the main character was feeling when she was made to ride in the back of the bus.  Reflect on how you advocated for yourself.  Performance/Evidence Criteria  Explain how you advocate for yourself when a friend or family member treats you unfairly.  Students can describe the main character’s strengths and abilities that contributed to her success in their own words and be able to give examples and non-examples.  Practice these skills at home by advocating for your right to do something (e.g. stay-up late, watch a favorite TV show, etc…)  Come back and share your experience with the class.  Insightfully describe how a student might have been feeling during this volatile time.  Explain how you would advocate for yourself about ________(issue of student choice) to parents vs. friends. Explain how you would advocate differently to each because of their feelings.  Journal about how you advocated for yourself at home, what were some of your strengths/weaknesses? What were some of the barriers/limitations you faced?

Fall 2002Transition Services Preparation & Trainig Unit Evaluation and Results  Each student was graded across the six facets of understanding (Wiggens & McTighe 1998.)  The culminating activity consisted of students creating and presenting a poster depicting images of strengths they feel they possess. Student’s presented on these strengths and how each would contribute to achieving a specific long term goal chosen by the student.  This unit proved to be very successful, the overarching goals were achieved by 85% of the students.