HONOURING DIVERSITY GRADES 7-9
Initiative Task:
A Guiding Voice to Changing Perspectives
In order to create empathy and awareness towards students who are Visually Impaired or Blind, the students will undergo an activity that will aid in changing their perspective of how they can provide support to these students.
A Guiding Voice to Changing Perspectives
In order to create empathy and awareness towards students who are Visually Impaired or Blind, the students will undergo an activity that will aid in changing their perspective of how they can provide support to these students.
Class Discussion
Split the class into smaller groups of about 4/5 students. Ask them the following question: What can you do to help support other students who are Blind or Visually Impaired? Have them discuss this question with their group and write down their responses on large sheets of paper. Once the students have finished (after about 5 minutes) have the groups share one unique suggestion they made.
Split the class into smaller groups of about 4/5 students. Ask them the following question: What can you do to help support other students who are Blind or Visually Impaired? Have them discuss this question with their group and write down their responses on large sheets of paper. Once the students have finished (after about 5 minutes) have the groups share one unique suggestion they made.
Task - A Guiding Voice
The purpose of this task is to give the students a sense of some of the dynamics people who are Blind and Visually Impaired face everyday. Even though it is impossible to create a truly authentic experience, hopefully the students will be able to gain some new insight.
Have the group find a partner. Each pair must grab one blind-fold and select the student who is going to wear it for the activity. Note: this is a trust activity, and thus should be done in an emotionally and mentally safe manner. Ensure the group has had some community and trust building experiences beforehand. Have all of the individuals with the blind-fold stand on one side of the room, with their partner standing across from them on the other side. Explain that the student without the blind-fold is expected to guide their partner vocally across the room, avoiding any obstacles along the way. The person with the blind-fold is only allowed to remove it when they have reached the other side. The entire group will perform the activity at the same time.
Ensure the group has understood the instructions, and tell them to begin.
Make some observations as you watch the students participate in the activity. Is anyone getting frustrated? Are people shouting across the room? Are any students using any unusual/create forms of communication? Is there any great teamwork taking place?
The purpose of this task is to give the students a sense of some of the dynamics people who are Blind and Visually Impaired face everyday. Even though it is impossible to create a truly authentic experience, hopefully the students will be able to gain some new insight.
Have the group find a partner. Each pair must grab one blind-fold and select the student who is going to wear it for the activity. Note: this is a trust activity, and thus should be done in an emotionally and mentally safe manner. Ensure the group has had some community and trust building experiences beforehand. Have all of the individuals with the blind-fold stand on one side of the room, with their partner standing across from them on the other side. Explain that the student without the blind-fold is expected to guide their partner vocally across the room, avoiding any obstacles along the way. The person with the blind-fold is only allowed to remove it when they have reached the other side. The entire group will perform the activity at the same time.
Ensure the group has understood the instructions, and tell them to begin.
Make some observations as you watch the students participate in the activity. Is anyone getting frustrated? Are people shouting across the room? Are any students using any unusual/create forms of communication? Is there any great teamwork taking place?
Debrief
Once the students have finished, have the students who were blind-folded meet together, and the ones that were not blind-folded meet together. Have each group talk about the biggest challenges they had with their role throughout the activity. What were some challenges they think their partner faced. Have each group share a couple of their answers with the whole group.
Lead the following discussion with the whole class.
How did you feel like the activity went?
How did you feel about your role?
What was hard?
What was easy?
Was there anything that you felt, or that happened to you during the activity that surprised you?
After this experience, is there anything you would change from your original suggestions in the class discussion?
Once the students have finished, have the students who were blind-folded meet together, and the ones that were not blind-folded meet together. Have each group talk about the biggest challenges they had with their role throughout the activity. What were some challenges they think their partner faced. Have each group share a couple of their answers with the whole group.
Lead the following discussion with the whole class.
How did you feel like the activity went?
How did you feel about your role?
What was hard?
What was easy?
Was there anything that you felt, or that happened to you during the activity that surprised you?
After this experience, is there anything you would change from your original suggestions in the class discussion?
A Note to the Facilitator
It is important for students to realize that what they perceive to be important or helpful when supporting students who are Blind or Visually Impaired may not be the case according to those students. This activity provided them with an opportunity to try and experience life without vision, and hopefully opened their eyes to better, and more authentic ways to support their friends with vision impairments.
It is important for students to realize that what they perceive to be important or helpful when supporting students who are Blind or Visually Impaired may not be the case according to those students. This activity provided them with an opportunity to try and experience life without vision, and hopefully opened their eyes to better, and more authentic ways to support their friends with vision impairments.
"Honouring Diversity Grades 7-9" By Ashley Schellenberg
