Lessons Based on Book Don't Call Me Special
Teaching Tolerance With Preschool Lesson Plan on Disabilities
Sep 14, 2009
When preschoolers begin school they will be exposed to new ideas, activities, and people. Some of their peers may have special needs. Preschool students can be taught in a gentle, reassuring way about physical and mental disabilities by reading the story, Don’t Call Me Special [NY: Barron’s Educational Series, 2000] by Pat Thomas. This book is specifically written for the young child and answers many questions and concerns that children will have about their friends with disabilities.
Assumptions About Disabilities
In the book Don’t Call Me Special, author Pat Thomas explains that assumptions people sometimes make about those with disabilities can end up hurting feelings. For example, children (and adults) may assume that because someone has a physical limitation, he or she will not enjoy sports. This point is illustrated in the book, and used to encourage children to get to know friends before making guesses about them based on what they look like.
Everyone Is Special
Teachers can discuss tolerance in simple terms that preschoolers will understand. Explain to young students that all people are unique with different strengths and things they will need help with. If all children were the same, the world would be a boring place to be. During circle time, children can be asked about what they are good at, and what they would like help with to do better.
Teaching Tolerance Through Play Acting
Incorporating play acting into the lesson plan can develop understanding and tolerance in young children. For example, preschoolers can be taught to appreciate what it might be like to get along with only one arm by placing a hand behind their backs. Or, using a set of headphones can demonstrate what it might be like to have a hearing impairment.
Once students understand the types of disabilities that can occur, describe some of the special equipment that they might see a child with special needs using (wheelchair, hearing aid, etc.) As preschoolers become exposed to these special tools, they may come to understand that they are simply aides, and not an extension of the disabled person.
Don’t Call Me Special
Labeling children with special needs can be harmful. Teaching children that it is unacceptable to call people names is one of the most important parts of the preschool lesson plan on disabilities. In Don’t Call Me Special, Thomas adeptly explains that special needs children, just like all students, dislike being made out as too different from their peers.
Encouraging children to buddy with a child who has special needs can be a wonderful way to teach tolerance, empathy, and understanding. But like name calling, giving too much help can make a child with special needs feel useless and different. Monitor the situation to make sure that the helper is not doing everything for the disabled child, only offering assistance when necessary.
A preschool lesson plan on disabilities can teach tolerance and understanding to young children and answer the many questions they may have about people with special needs. Using the book Don’t Call Me Special, children can be taught in a safe and encouraging way that their peers who have disabilities are just like them on the inside, and can be great friends to have.
Further reading: Teachers may want to consider promoting autism awareness in the classroom and learn about ways to decrease the incidents of school bullying for these students.
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