October 15, 2021
Teachers can do a great deal to increase the success of all students in their classrooms. Explore these resources and discover what’s possible.
Endearing Story of How Children Interact with Disabilities
A Helping Hand is a heartwarming and inspiring tale of friendship and dealing with disabilities told through a series of letters. The story is about a young girl with a prosthetic limb and how she fits in at her new school, written in journal-style letters from the child who is asked to show her around. The story shows an endearing insight into how children interact with disabilities in an honest, no-holds-barred way. This Creative Commons story from Pratham and Storyweaver is Level 4 for older children and fluent readers. The full text of the story appears on the FreeKidsBooks website, which also links to other free children’s stories about disabilities.
Courses Tailored for Students with a Math Learning Disability
Dyscalculia.org is dedicated to advancing understanding and treatment of specific learning disabilities in mathematics, also known as dyscalculia. The nonprofit educational organization provides free public information about math learning disability: history, terminology, science, research, treatment, and causes of innumeracy, as well as best practices for diagnosis, treatment, teaching and learning—and more. Dyscalculia.org also offers full-credit math courses—in partnership with educational content developers and publishers, and in partnership with diploma- and degree-granting institutions—tailored specifically to reach those with dyscalculia. The courses include the history of math, basic numeracy, basic math, the language of mathematics, prealgebra, geometry, high school algebra, college algebra, statistics, trigonometry, precalculus, calculus, math for advanced sciences, math for the social sciences, business math, life-skills math, accounting, bookkeeping, history of math, women of mathematics, and physics.
American Sign Language Mirroring Spoken Language Varieties of Black Americans
Signing Black in America is the first documentary about Black ASL, the unique dialect of American Sign Language (ASL) that developed in historically segregated African American Deaf communities. Black ASL today conveys an identity and sense of belonging that mirrors spoken language varieties of the African American hearing community. Produced by Films Media Group, the 27-minute program for grades 6–12 highlights the different uses of space, hand use, directional movement, and facial expression, which are ways Black ASL distinguishes itself as a vibrant dialect of American Sign Language. Teachers can view the video on the Described and Captured Media Program (DCMP) website. Free membership is required.
Mentorship Program That Helps Students with Learning Differences
Since 1998, Eye to Eye has grown into a nationwide nonprofit that pairs middle school children who have a learning difference with a college or high school mentor who has a learning difference. Eye to Eye’s curriculum uses art as a means of self-expression. Every activity in the 18-week program centers on a specific social–emotional learning objective. Each lesson builds on the previous one, moving students from self-doubt to empowerment.