Disability Rights Lesson Plan: Civic and Political Institutions

Grade Levels: 6-8, 9-12

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This lesson accompanies the BrainPOP topic Disability Rights, and supports the standard of explaining how groups of people make rules to create responsibilities and protect freedoms. Students demonstrate understanding through a variety of projects.

Step 1: ACTIVATE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

Ask students:

  • What do you know about the civil rights movement?
  • How might this movement relate to people with disabilities?

Step 2: BUILD KNOWLEDGE

Step 3: APPLY and ASSESS 

Assign the Disability Rights Challenge and Quiz, prompting students to apply essential literacy skills while demonstrating what they learned about this topic.

Step 4: DEEPEN and EXTEND

Students express what they learned about disability rights while practicing essential literacy skills with one or more of the following activities. Differentiate by assigning ones that meet individual student needs.

  • Make-a-Movie: Produce a documentary about disability rights that answers this question: What was the significance of the 504 Sit-in?
  • Make-a-Map: Create a timeline identifying important events and resulting legislation from the disability rights movement.
  • Creative Coding: Code a digital museum exhibit featuring artifacts representing the contributions of different disability rights activists.

More to Explore 

Related BrainPOP Topics: Deepen understanding of other social movements with these topics: Paralympic Games, Civil Rights, Women’s Suffrage, and Harvey Milk.

Teacher Support Resources:

Lesson Plan Common Core State Standards Alignments

Related:

    Filed as:  6-8, 9-12, BrainPOP, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.2, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.3, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.2, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.7, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.2, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.7, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.6.3