Welcome Page

Section One: Reframing the Narrative

Section Two: Inclusion Year-Round

Section Three: Ideas for Any Disability Event

Section Four: Four District-Recognized Disability/Inclusion Events and Ways to Celebrate

• Disability Awareness (Any Time)
• National Bullying Prevention Month and Unity Day (October)
• Inclusive Schools Week (First Week of December)
• Disability History Month (March)

In other sections of this toolkit, you will find activities and resources that are tailored to specific disability and inclusion celebrations. This section focuses on activities and resources that can work for any event or celebration throughout the year, including Disability Awareness events, National Bullying Prevention Month, Unity Day, Inclusive Schools Week and Disability History Month or the awareness months and days listed on the Welcome Page.

This read aloud video is the story of a boy who learns that bullying and teasing makes others feel bad and that spreading kindness makes you and others feel good. Use these Simple Acts of Kindness Ideas from the book to inspire students to take action.

Meet 10 friends with different disabilities! This video is disability awareness and neurodiversity affirming and introduces the friends in the form of a social skills story or narrative.

Click the link below for printable and digital activities, like Boom Cards and slides!

Share this video to teach students an overview of what a disability is, about the ADA and a brief overview of important history.

Give students writing prompts related to accessibility, kindness, acceptance, inclusion and equity. These prompts can also be on printable cards or worksheets.

Teachers Pay Teachers Kindness Writing Prompts

Some sample prompts include:

• I can be a good friend by...
• I need a friend when...
• What does inclusion mean?
• I feel included when...
• I feel excluded when...
• I will be inclusive by...

Add messages of kindness, acceptance, accessibility, equity and inclusion to your classroom doors! Parent volunteers can decorate the doors, and the decoration can include contributions from students in the class.

Cover the door in butcher paper as the background of the design. Be sure to measure carefully and do not cover any windows in the door, door handles, doorknobs or doorstops. Add paper or 3D pieces that contribute to the theme. A fun idea is to utilize the space around the door as part of the design.

Give all students the opportunity to create a piece for a schoolwide art project. Choose a theme for the project that promotes equity, accessibility, acceptance or inclusion. Get creative!

Sample themes:

• Rainbow or Kaleidoscope of Friends
• Inclusion means...
• I matter because...
• Where Everyone Belongs
• I will be inclusive by...
• Better Together

Every student can have a section to decorate in a large mural. The mural can be comprised of tiles/paper squares that create a larger picture or collaborative poster, or the mural can be made up of identical or similar shapes that fit the theme. Both types are pictured below.

Collect all student art and arrange the individual contributions into one large art piece. Display the art project on campus for everyone to see!

Note: If using shapes to create a mural, you can use a template, cut out the paper shapes and add them to a background made of butcher paper.

Here are some examples that have been used in Conejo Valley USD.

• Hot Air Balloons -- We Rise By Lifting Others
• Circles -- In the Circle, we are all Equal. No one is in Front • No one is Behind • No one is Above • No one is Below
• Fish -- We may all be different fish...but in this school, we swim together!

Follow the same process for the schoolwide art project (see above), but on a scale for the classroom. Pick a theme that emphasizes friendship, kindness, acceptance and inclusion.

The example pictured has the theme

All Hands on Deck for the Friend Ship!

Students can create a collage, video, art project, poem or essay to express what accessibility, acceptance, equity or inclusion mean to them. Display all the projects in a gallery.

Some examples of prompts are:

• What does inclusion mean?
• I feel included when...
• I can be a good ally by...
• How might it feel NOT to be included?
• What does it look like, feel like or sound like when someone really includes you?

An alternative idea for a quick classroom activity is to use a program like Google Jamboard that allows students to submit quick responses anonymously to a writing prompt or question.

Have students and student clubs create banners or posters about Kindness, Acceptance, Inclusion, Accessibility and Equity to display around campus. Banners can include space for students to add handwritten messages, and posters can be posted on campus or online.

Host inclusive lunchtime activities and games where all are welcome. Make sure that the activities are accessible or modified so that everyone can participate. ASB or student clubs can arrange the activities. Consult with students to find out what they would enjoy doing!

One of the best ways to center the voices and perspectives of people with disabilities in any disability or inclusion celebration is to have a disabled speaker or presenter at a school assembly. Presenters can be well known advocates, community leaders or students.

These disability affirming posters can be hung around the school, hung in a classroom or used for a disability event. These downloadable posters are neurodiversity affirming and were created by and in collaboration with those in the disability community.

The first link is to posters designed for elementary and middle school students.

The second link is to posters designed for high school students.

An exit ticket is a great way to assess and reinforce learning. The exit ticket is a question or prompt that is posed to all students prior to the ending of a class or learning activity. Students can write their answers on a slip of paper, index card or a printed exit ticket.

A great exit ticket strategy is 3-2-1: ask students to list three things they have learned, two things they liked and one question they still have. For additional ideas, check out this List of 10 Quick and Easy Exit Tickets for Any Lesson.

Here are some examples of exit ticket prompts for high school students.

• I wonder why...
• I didn't know that...
• I was surprised by...
• My key takeaway is...
• Today's topic was important because...
• I wish I could have said this in class today...

Accept entries of student artwork for annual posters that recognize disability and inclusion celebrations. This can be done at the district or school level. Have administrators or community leaders judge the contest. Announce the winners and share the posters, either printed or virtual, around the district or at your school during celebrations or awareness events.

Ask students to move outside their comfort zones and connect with someone new at lunch. Check out this Mix It Up Lunch Guide for ideas on how to plan a successful event.

Your school librarian can set up a display of inclusive books in the library for any disability or inclusion celebration. Remember to center the voices of people with disabilities and include books written by disabled authors to ensure authentic representation. This list of children's books about disabilities is a good place to start.

Sharing photos and information about disability and inclusive celebrations on social media are a great way to amplify the messages of acceptance, accessibility and inclusion, to educate the community and to promote school spirit and pride around disability issues.

Some disability awareness and inclusion events have social media kits created by sponsoring organizations with images, potential tweets and suggested hashtags. Feel free to create your own posts and tweets with photos, quotes and messages!

Be sure to make your hashtags inclusive by using #CamelCase, which is capitalizing the first letter of each word. This makes your hashtags accessible by anyone using a screen reader and easier to read for everyone. #AccessibleHashtags

Create a Chalk Art Gallery where students and staff can work collaboratively on chalk art pictures that celebrate acceptance, accessibility, equity and inclusion.

This can be done before school, after school, during lunch or during class time. Choose a location with a lot of blacktop or concrete for the gallery of mini-murals.

Another idea is to hold a Chalk Your Walk Event. For this activity, students and staff can draw messages of kindness, acceptance,

inclusion and belonging on walkways around campus.

Students with disabilities can also be unhoused or socioeconomically disadvantaged. So why not organize a drive to provide support for these students?

Suggested items for donation:

• Fragrance free toiletries
• New sensory-friendly clothing made from soft fabrics, without tags and seams
• New adaptive clothing, particularly jackets and sweatshirts
• Adaptive backpacks
• Sensory items, including chewy and squish toys
• Fidgets
• Weighted blankets
• Noise-blocking headphones
• Sensory brushes

Hosting a Walk & Roll to School Event is a great way to create comm-UNITY and demonstrate inclusion. It gives all students and their families an opportunity to come together, interact and connect in ways that might not happen when they pass each other in cars at drop-off and pick-up.

Check out the link below for ideas to organize your event!

• Erin Bell, SEDAC Chair
  
• Jenny Crosby, Committee Chair, Newbury Park High School SEDAC Representative

• Lee Ann Holland, Committee Chair, SEDAC Member At Large, Colina Middle School SEDAC Representative
• Carole Shelton, SEDAC Member At Large
  

• Denise Benic, SEDAC Chair
  

• Lee Ann Holland, Committee Chair, SEDAC Parliamentarian
• Lana Clark, EARthS SEDAC Representative
• Karen Kyle, SEDAC Member At Large, Weathersfield Elementary SEDAC Representative
• Neptune Mizrahi, Cypress Elementary SEDAC Representative
• Michelle Murphy, Wildwood Elementary SEDAC Representative
• Danielle Vega, Community Member