In the realm of special education, nurturing self-advocacy skills in elementary students is a vital step towards their independence and success. By teaching students how to effectively express their needs, preferences, and challenges, we empower them to take an active role in their education and personal growth.
In this blog post, we will explore an engaging lesson plan that special education teachers can implement to teach self-advocacy skills. Additionally, we will introduce a goal poster activity that reinforces the skill and can be prominently displayed in the classroom. Let’s dive in!
Teaching Self-Advocacy to Elementary Students
Objective: To empower elementary students in special education to develop self-advocacy skills by effectively expressing their needs, preferences, and challenges.
Materials:
- Everyday Speech Goal Poster (available for download)
- Chart paper or whiteboard
- Markers
- Index cards or sticky notes
- Role-play scenarios
Procedure:
- Introduction:
- Begin the lesson by discussing the importance of self-advocacy and why it is relevant to the students’ lives.
- Engage the students in a brief conversation, asking questions like, “What does it mean to advocate for yourself?” and “Why is it important to express your needs?”
- Brainstorming:
- Create a mind map on chart paper or the whiteboard with the word “Self-Advocacy” in the center.
- Ask the students to contribute ideas related to self-advocacy, such as “asking for help,” “expressing opinions,” or “requesting accommodations.”
- Discuss each idea, emphasizing the benefits of self-advocacy in various contexts.
- “Advocating for Yourself” Goal Poster:
- Introduce the Goal Poster to the students.
- Hang the poster up in the classroom and explain its purpose: to create a visual reminder of the steps of how to advocate for themselves.
- Instruct the students to refer back to the poster to help them improve their self-advocacy skills (e.g., speaking up in class, asking for clarification).
Sample Video
Students learn best from watching real students their own age model skills. Try out this sample video-modeling lesson below. We offer our entire Social-Emotional Learning platform free for 30 days here!
