1. Westport Middle School

2. Discuss as a group. What are things that offend you
Discuss as a group. What are things that offend you? Why are they offensive to you? Example: I am offended when people make jokes about mothers. My mom is very important to me, so this really bothers me.
Icebreaker

3. Learning Target and Agenda
Learning Target: I can understand the Spread the Word Campaign and pledge to stop using the R-word.
Agenda:
Talk about the pledge and why the R-word is offensive.
Watch a video about the campaign.
Hear from people who would like people to stop using the R-word.
Activity- Make a mini-poster encouraging people to stop using the R-word.
Exit Slip
Learning Target and Agenda

4. The R-word is the word 'retard(ed)'.
Why does it hurt? The R-word hurts because it is exclusive. It's offensive. It's derogatory.
Language affects attitudes and attitudes affect actions.  
Pledge today to use respectful, people-first language.
Why Pledge?

5. What is This Campaign About?
What is This Campaign About?

6. Replace the R-Word with RESPECT!

7. “What’s wrong with "retard"
“What’s wrong with "retard"? I can only tell you what it means to me and people like me when we hear it. It means that the rest of you are excluding us from your group. We are something that is not like you and something that none of you would ever want to be. We are something outside the "in" group. We are someone that is not your kind. I want you to know that it hurts to be left out here, alone.”
How is it EXCLUSIVE? Joseph Franklin Stephens is a Special Olympics Athlete and Global Messenger for people with Intellectual Disabilities.

8. ”When saying the R-word, what we mean is that he is as stupid as someone who is mentally handicapped, and we mean that in the most [disrespectful] sense. The implication is that the only characteristic of mentally handicapped individuals is their stupidity.”
How is it OFFENSIVE? Crystal Stanford tells how it equates having an intellectual disability with being dumb or stupid.

9. “The word retard is considered hate speech because it offends people with intellectual and developmental disabilities as well as the people that care for and support them. It emphasizes the negative stereotypes surrounding people with intellectual and developmental disabilities; the common belief that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities should be segregated, hidden away from society.”
How is it DEROGATORY? Karleigh Jones is a Special Olympics New Zealand athlete.

10. We will have a large banner that we will display on March 7th
We will have a large banner that we will display on March 7th. If you pledge to stop using the “R-word,” you will receive a bracelet.

11. Using the STW Key Messages and Talking Points handout, create a mini-poster encouraging people to stop using the R-word.
Activity

12. Has your perspective on the R- word changed since hearing about this campaign? Why or why not?
Exit Slip