Introduction
Self-advocacy is an essential skill for students to develop, as it empowers them to voice their needs and concerns in an effective manner. By teaching self-advocacy skills, educators can help students become more confident, responsible, and self-aware. This blog post will provide an overview of self-advocacy skills, a no-prep activity for educators to use in the classroom, discussion questions to stimulate further conversations, related skills, and next steps for incorporating self-advocacy into your curriculum.
No-Prep Activity: The Self-Advocacy Role Play
This simple activity requires no preparation or materials and is designed to help students practice self-advocacy in a safe and supportive environment. Follow these steps to conduct the activity:
- Divide the students into pairs.
- Explain that one student in each pair will play the role of the person needing help (e.g., Tyler), while the other student will play the role of the helper (e.g., Serena).
- Give the students a few scenarios that require self-advocacy, such as asking for more time on a test, requesting help with a difficult assignment, or asking for a seat change.
- Have the pairs practice the scenarios, with the person needing help using the following self-advocacy steps: stating their need, explaining the reason, and ensuring they get what they need.
- After each scenario, have the pairs switch roles and repeat the process.
- Bring the class together and ask for volunteers to share their experiences and what they learned from the activity.
Discussion Questions
Use these questions to stimulate further discussions about self-advocacy:
- Why do you think it’s important to be able to advocate for yourself?
- How does practicing self-advocacy help you become more confident?
- Can you think of a time when you needed to advocate for yourself? How did you handle the situation? What was the outcome?
- How can we support each other in practicing self-advocacy skills?
- What are some other situations where self-advocacy might be important?
Related Skills
Self-advocacy is closely related to several other important skills that can help students succeed both in and out of the classroom. Some of these skills include:
- Communication: Being able to clearly express thoughts and ideas is crucial for effective self-advocacy.
- Problem-solving: Identifying solutions to challenges and obstacles is an important aspect of self-advocacy.
- Self-awareness: Understanding one’s own strengths, weaknesses, and needs is essential for knowing when and how to advocate for oneself.
- Assertiveness: Being assertive, without being aggressive, is key to standing up for oneself and ensuring one’s needs are met.
Next Steps
Teaching self-advocacy skills to elementary students is a valuable investment in their personal and academic growth. By incorporating these skills into your curriculum, you can help students develop the confidence and self-awareness they need to succeed in various aspects of their lives. To access free samples of skill-building activities and resources, including self-advocacy and related skills, visit Everyday Speech’s sample materials page.
