Letting Students LEADLearn, Explore, & Advocate Differently

A guide for parents, guardians, mentors, and partners who support student learning

Page 1

ABOUT THIS GUIDE

This report was developed by the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation at North Carolina State University.

The mission of the Friday Institute for Educational Inno-vation at the NC State University College of Education is to advance education through innovation in teaching, learning,

and leadership. The Friday Institute conducts research, develops educational resources, provides professional development programs for educators, advocates to improve teaching and learning, and helps inform policy-making. The Friday Institute is in the process of developing the North Carolina Digital Learning Plan, which includes a comprehensive asset and needs assessment of how schools and districts in the state can transition to digital learning to improve student outcomes. The plan in-cludes an emphasis on human capacity, which builds upon the Friday Institute’s extensive experience in providing and evaluating professional learning opportunities for state and district level leaders, principals, instructional coaches, and educators. http://fi.ncsu.edu/

Creative Commons Licensing: This work is licensed under the Creative Commons At-tribution 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecom-mons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.

Page 2

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to Letting Students LEAD, a guide for you to use while your child completes the Students Learn, Explore, and Advocate Differently online course (Students LEAD). While your child is experiencing and learning about themselves through the Students LEAD course, we invite you to learn alongside them and engage in conversations and strategies that will support them both in and outside of the classroom.

Learning Primer

Please take ten minutes to review the following resources. We all come with preconceived notions about school and learning - after all, we were all students and experienced school ourselves. We ask that you review these resources as a primer and reflect on how this compares to your own learning experience. How does it push your thinking? What would this kind of learning environment do for your child?

• Learning: How It Works and How To Do It Better, Trevor Ragan. Note: We recommend watching until 5:11, with the remainder of the video being optional.

• One Size Doesn’t Fit All: 3 Activities to Help Kids Understand Learning Differences, Elizabeth Kavan, Common Sense Media

Remember that it takes purposeful time to build a relationship with your child. We are all so busy that it’s easy to get caught up in the day to day without realizing that we haven’t had the time or the opportunity to sit down with our child to really talk about things--and that’s okay. Through this course we encourage you to take that time for your relationship. Follow their lead sometimes, mimic and/or play with them. Have conversations about learning and be honest about your strengths and challenges (and encourage them to do the same!). And take time to listen and push your learner when you feel it’s appropriate, but also give them the space to process and reflect. This is meant to be a fun learning experience for you to go through together and we hope you find the learning and conversation fruitful.

Is your child signed up? If not, your child (aged 13+) can register for Students LEAD anytime at studentslead.fi.ncsu.edu.

Page 3

FOCUS ON STRENGTHS

Learner Variability Resources

• Learner Variability is the Rule, Not the Exception | Digital Promise This brief was written by Digital Promise in 2018 and explores the many ways in which we are all different learners. It’s geared towards teachers, but the information is useful for everyone. As you read, think about your own learning experience - does any of this resonate with you? What about your learner’s classroom experiences?

• Understood.org This website is a terrific resource for parents of children with identified learning disabilities, particularly those related to learning and attention issues. Understood provides a wealth of resources so you can really dig deep on this site!

• Twelve ways to be a more successful learner | The Mitchell Institute This quick article provides great strategies for you and your child to use while learning. As you read the article, think about which of these strategies you use and which ones you want to try moving forward.

Learner Variability Activity

Below is a two-part activity you can try with your child. First, you will have a conversation about what you think are your strengths as a learner and how that compares to what you each think a “good learner” looks like. Second, you will both use the Learner Sketch Tool to get a sense of your own strengths and challenges as a learner as some experts might see it. Try to set aside about 30 minutes to do this together, but if you need to split it up, part 1 should take about 10-15 minutes and part 2 should take 15-20 minutes.

ZONE

1

In this zone, your child will reflect on how they best learn about the concept of learner variability. The key activity during this zone is the completion of a “Learner Sketch,” which will highlight your child’s strengths and challenges and begin to provide strategies and tools to support your child holistically. As a parent, we encourage you to learn alongside your child, build curiosity of learning and take the Learner Sketch yourself! This information can provide a platform for conversation about your differences and similarities, and what makes each of you unique. We encourage you to check out the following resources to expand your own understanding of learning differences.

PAR

T 1

PREDICT-A-STRENGTH

1) Make sure that both you and your child have a piece of paper (analog or digital). Create space for three lists:

a) Three characteristics that make someone a good learner 1

2

3

b) Three characteristics that make me a good learner 1

2

3

c) Three characteristics that make you a good learner 1

2

3

2) Next both you and your child should complete responses to all three lists.

3) Once you are both finished, share both lists you wrote, and discuss:a) Compare and contrast how you and your child label/define a good

learner.

b) Compare and contrast how you and your child label/define yourselves as learners. Were you aware of each other’s strengths as learners?

c) What areas are you similar? What areas do you differ? Follow up when appropriate. Why might you be so similar/different in styles?

d) How can we work together to use our similarities/differences to support challenges moving forward?

PAR

T 2

TAKE THE LEARNER SKETCH

1) This is an opportunity to learn more about yourself and your child. Take the Learner Sketch and explore the information and strategies provided at the end of the assessment with your child. Share if anything surprised you in the Learner Sketch

2) Now that you have explored your results with your child, ask them to share their results with you. Ask your child: a) How do they feel their strengths impact their learning?

b) How do they feel their weaknesses impact their learning?

c) How do they or might they use their strengths to support their weaknesses?

Page 6

EXPLORE STRATEGIES AT HOME

ZONE

2

With the new knowledge you and your child have learned about each other, we can now reflect on strategies your child currently uses and how you might expand upon them, as well as new strategies to try out! Every person is different; we encourage you and your child try a variety of different tools and strategies to see what works.

In this zone, your child will choose two focus areas and dig deeply into those areas: attention, memory, expressing ideas and organization and time management. Talk to your learner about which areas they’re digging into and why. Each of the focus areas includes resources to expand your knowledge, strategies you can try at home with your child and online apps/tools that you and your child might find helpful. If you want to learn more about any of the other areas for yourself, we hope you’ll also find this useful!

Use the links below to navigate to the specific focus areas:

Memory

Expressing Ideas

Attention

Organization and Time Management

Page 7

Resources

• Why Attention Is Essential To Learning And The Formation Of Memory | eLearning Industry One of the reasons it’s hard to learn when you’re not paying close attention is that our brain cannot turn information into memory when we are not paying attention. This article shares a bit more about why attention is so important to learning.

• The Importance of Attention | PBS For those parents/ guardians of children with diagnosed ADHD, this short article explains why school is so challenging for children with attention issues.

• 7 Ways to Increase a Student’s Attention Span | Edutopia Edutopia provides seven concrete things you can do with your child (and that they can share with their teachers) in this short, easy-to-read blog post.

Strategies

• Check their progress. Practice organization and project or task planning such as checklists that capture progress. Sit down with your child ahead of time and come up with milestones, such as completing four math problems, writing a few paragraphs of a paper, or reading a chapter of a book. After each milestone check-in and ask what they’re learning and celebrate/ take a brief break.

• Keep their hands busy. Try giving your child’s floating attention a nice mindless task, like squeezing a ball, to stay occupied. This allows us to better focus on the task at hand—learning—uninterrupted.

• Dedicate a space for studying. Create a quiet space in your home specifically for homework or studying. If they need to use a device to complete their work, encourage them to use apps and web tools to eliminate distractions by blocking websites such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Support Tools

• Announcify | Announcify reads aloud various kinds of information, including events or whole documents. (Chrome extension)

• Strict Workflow | Strict Workflow forces a 25 min/5 min workflow: 25 minutes of distraction-free work, followed by a 5 minute break. Repeat as necessary.

ATTENTION

Like so much in school, attention isn’t an all or nothing thing. Students (and adults for that matter) don’t “have attention” or not. It’s a constantly changing part of our brains and is so dependent on context, our working memory (see the memory section below), and more. It’s also important to note that if your child is struggling with attention, it may or may not be due to a real, diagnosable problem such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). While many of the resources will explicitly mention students with ADHD, not all learners with attention issues have ADHD. Still, many of the strategies that help ADHD students are helpful to all of us as we try to pay attention and increase our learning. Often, attention is a symptom, not a root cause so it’s important to figure out why it is hard to focus.

Note: If you think there is a per-sistent pattern of inattention that inhibits your child’s ability to be successful, please contact your teacher or school psychologist to go through the proper diagnosis process.

Page 8

• Momentum | Momentum is a personal dashboard designed to eliminate distraction and provide inspiration, focus and productivity. (Chrome extension, firefox add-on, Play store)

• Otter Voice Meeting Notes | This app records lectures or meetings while creating digital transcripts of the recordings. As people talk, the app displays their words on screen, so kids can see what the speaker is saying in addition to listening. Once recordings are created, kids can listen to them and follow along with the transcript at the same time. The app highlights each word as it’s read aloud. Another great feature is that it automatically creates of list of keywords for each recording. The recordings and transcripts are also searchable, and kids can share them with others. (iOS and Play store)

ATTENTION

Page 9

Resources

• 5 Ways Kids Use Working Memory to Learn | Understood.org Gain a perspective on what working memory is and how it may affect your child’s learning in different content areas and classroom environments.

• Supporting Students with Working Memory Difficulties | CanLearn Society Learn what working memory is, how to recognize when your child may struggle with working memory and specific strategies to try with your child in order to support their working memory.

• How we Make Memories Video | CrashCourse Psychology Our brains constantly collect, sort and store information all the time. This video takes an in-depth look at the complexity of how our memory works and the different functions at work in order for our brains to create memories.

Strategies

• Dedicate a Virtual Space. Use tools such as Google Drive or OneNote to organize assignments and tasks. Help your child to set up a system they can use consistently and utilize it at home as much as possible to set organizational practices as habits.

• Traditional Strategies. When there is information you are required to memories, teach your child mnemonic devices, help them set up and practice with note cards, and help them annotate notes to improve their recall of information.

• Create a System. Help your child come up with a system for flagging important information, tasks or things they have questions about using symbols and color coding that can be used consistently across school and home life.

• Get Creative. When helping your child study new material, be creative! Tieing stories, experiences, and examples to the information they are trying to learn will help move information from your short-term to your long-term memory.

MEMORY

Short term and long term memory play a large role in the present and future success of a student. In the present like it or not, students are often judged by their ability to recall bits of information for quizzes, tests and even school schedules. On the other hand long term memory serves to build critical thinking skills, synthesis of complex systems and foster empathy. For the purposes of this online course we focus on strategies and routines that you and your child can build upon for future success.

Page 10

Support Tools

• Apps built into your phone | Most smartphones have built in calendars, notes, and alarm clock features. Work with your child to use these to support their memory. For example, do they need to do a chore every night? Set a daily alarm for 7:45 PM and name it so that every evening they get a gentle reminder before it gets too late (all devices).

• Google Keep | If you’re already deep into using Google Apps like gmail, google docs, and more, google keep might be a great way for you to keep track of things. It has reminders, notes, and a place to save sites for later. Available online, as a Chrome extension, and on iOS and Android. OneNote is an excellent alternative for Microsoft users.

• Voice Memo apps | Using voice memo apps can be a quick and easy way for your child to take note of something before they forget it. Work with your child to find a way to incorporate the voice memos into their notes, calendars, assignments, etc...

� The built-in Voice Memos app that comes with iOS is easy to use and allows users to trim recordings, send them through airdrop/text/email, save them onto Google Drive or Dropbox and add them to notes and more.

� Audio Recorder is a free app you can download onto Android devices with much of the same basic functionality. You can record, trim, save and send to a variety of locations, and it’s free!

• Calendar Apps & Websites | Teach your child to utilize the calendar available on the device they are most comfortable with, such as Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, or Microsoft Outlook. If it helps, ask your child to share their calendar with you so that you may help them with reminders and organization, as well. Additionally, their school agendas, both paper or digital can be a lifeline in remembering school work. If they are interested, try out color coding agendas and calendars to support color-oriented memory recall.

MEMORY

Page 11

Resources

• 10 Activities to Develop Expressive Language | NorthShore Pediatric Therapy For parents of young children who are struggling with expressive language, this article provides insight into the processes behind expressive language and strategies for helping your child better express their thoughts.

• Focus on Expressive Language | Carolina Pediatric Therapy For parents of teens who struggle with expressive language, this article provides an insight into what expressive language is, and specific strateges for their age group to develop expressions skills.

Strategies

• If your child prefers verbalizing ideas:

� Talk it out. Try using dictation software that turns verbal words into text. This will take some practice as we speak differently than we write, but with time, a tool like this can be useful and impact your child’s learning.

� Verbalize Tasks. Before your child starts an assignment or task at home, ask them to talk about what they are thinking or how they plan to tackle the task. Take notes for them or ask them to write down what they say to help them organize their thoughts.

• If your child prefers writing ideas:

� Journal. Get your child a journal and diary to let them capture and process their thoughts and observations from school and life.

� Capture discussion responses by writing. Encourage your child to jot down notes or reflections during homework that might come up in class discussion so your child has something prepared to share. You can even encourage them to create their own shorthand or symbols for quick notes.

• If your child prefers drawing ideas:

� Sketch notes. When learning something new, taking notes, or organizing a project or paper, encourage them to try sketchnoting or graphic organizers.

� Plan ahead. Encourage your child to go to class with one or two ideas that they are ready to share.

EXPRESSING IDEAS

There are two types of language: expressive and receptive. Expressive language has to deal with how we share what’s in our brains with those around us. It can be written or spoken. Receptive language has to do with how we take in language we are reading or hearing. For the purposes of this online course we are focusing on expressive language and how our students can express ideas.

Page 12

EXPRESSING IDEAS

� Illustrate learning. Encourage your child to illustrate their knowledge during class or create a visual to accompany the assignment, project or presentation that demonstrates their learning.

Support Tools

• Dictation.io | For students who are better at speaking ideas than writing them, Dictation is a web app that uses Chrome’s speech recognition engine that allows you to dictate much larger chunks of text right inside a simple web app. It’s only designed for Chrome, but this free web app is worth the try.

• Apps for sketchnotes | This article shares three apps your graphically inclined child can try out. It includes free and for-purchase apps and showcases many examples.

• ShowMe | Educreations | Either of these tools will allow students to create their own tutorials. See if building tutorials behind a screen might encourage your child to be more comfortable explaining his/her thinking.

Page 13

Resources

• How to Teach Time Management Skills to Teens | Very Well Family This article explains both why time management matters and some strategies you can try with your teenager.

• Time Management Tips from Fusion Teen Talk Show | Fusion Teen Talk Show This video, made by teens for teens, is short, sweet, and to the point. You can watch with your child or share it with him/her to watch alone.

• 7 Ways to Teach Your High-Schooler Organization Skills | Understood The title says it all – this is a quick read with specific things you can try with your child.

Strategies

• Help them chunk their time. Sometimes the struggle lies in just getting started. Tell your child to take five minutes to begin the paper or assignment and then give them a quick break or reward for doing it. Next time, try a ten-minute chunk of time, continuing to increase the duration each time. Short dedicated time can minimize distractions and increase efficiency which will help make the assignment feel easier to manage. Strategies like the Pomodoro Technique, where you work for 25 minutes and take a break for five minutes, have been shown to increase productivity and prevent procrastination. Over time, turn this process over to your child to manage themselves!

• Help them break down their large projects. Large projects or assignments can be overwhelming and can stop us from getting started. Take some time with your child to chunk a large project or assignment into smaller chunks and build a task checklist together. As they complete each smaller piece, they are working toward the whole and can visualize the progress by checking off the chunks they complete.

• Keep up with a daily agenda & to-do list. Task lists help us visualize our progress and make us feel like we are moving forward. Challenge your child to organize their school tasks as to-do lists with checkboxes to mark completion.

ORGANIZATION AND TIME

MANAGEMENT

There are two types of language: expressive and receptive. Expressive language has to deal with how we share what’s in our brains with those around us. It can be written or spoken. Receptive language has to do with how we take in language we are reading or hearing. For the purposes of this online course we are focusing on expressive language and how our students can express ideas.

Page 14

Support Tools

• NowDoThis | NowDoThis is an online one-at-a-time to-do list. The simplicity and black and white appearance makes for less distractions.

• Toby | Organize your browser tabs so you can access key resources in one click. This tab collector allows you to label, share and maintain your browser resources for all kinds of past and present projects.

• Trello | Trello works well for older students, because of issues around CIPA and COPPA compliance. With Trello, students can share a project management board and then move tasks from one location to a new location (such as to-do, doing, finished). It is easy to archive lists and add resources and links to things like Google Docs.

• Google Docs & Sheets | Google Drive is a collaborative tool which makes it perfect for project management. Check out the Google Docs add-ons to better manage projects.

Activity

When Learning is Difficult – Role PlayEven after exploring the resources, strategies and tools discussed in the prior section (attention, memory, expressing ideas and organization and time management), you and your child may still find that sometimes learning is just plain “hard”. You and your child are bound to have these real or imagines obstacles.

“I don’t want to do my homework it’s dumb.”

“This is hard!”

“I hate my teacher he/she didn’t explain it so

I’m not doing it.”

“I never learned this - I don’t know how!”

“I forgot!”

Knowing these tough questions will someday rise to the top, how might we practice ahead of time and set norms to head them off at the pass? Read the following role plays and act the scenario out with your child. Talk about what you might do to approach the problem and how to handle this situation effectively in the future.

ORGANIZATION AND TIME

MANAGEMENT

LEARNING STRUGGLE ROLE PLAY

Topic Setting Characters Role Play

“I don’t know why I have to do this.”

Living Room

Parent calls on way home from work.

Student & Parent

Family Rule: Do homework before other activities (such as playing with friends, video games, watching tv, etc.) is a family rule. The student is trying to make excuses for not following the family rule.

“I hate my teacher.”

Dinner Table Family & Student

Student’s grades are not going well because the student is not completing the tasks assigned by their teacher.

“I’m going to fail this test/assignment.”

Bedtime Student & Parent

Student just finished “studying” for a pending test/assignment. The parent does not know how they studied for the test/assignment. Even if they did know how they studied they may not be able to help their child.

“You can’t make me.”

Home after school

Siblings Siblings arrive home from school. Both of you are supposed to do homework. One refuses to do homework, laughs and says, “You can’t make me.”

After each learning struggle role play, devise a plan or phrase to repeat as your “go to” in times of trouble. Write these responses down and discuss why they are more appropriate than the negative ‘self’ talk.

Tips

Tip 1. When the cats are away the mice will playMany of us might not always be home when this negativity to learning is drawn out. How might we combat it when we are away?

Scenario:I don’t know what my homework is

Possible Solutions: • Scenarios/phrases should be handled when parents are not home. • Outline the steps or phrases on a visible whiteboard/poster paper that need to be taken/

expressed when student is home alone. • Call a trusted friend• Email the teacher• log-in to an online portal (if your teacher uses something like this) to look at the syllabus

Tip 2. How can I help my child with homework?Scenario:Child brings work home.

Possible Solutions: • Let them have a bit of time to unwind after school – they will have been working all day.• Give them a snack and drink – their brains work better with fuel.• make sure they have a suitable environment to work in. Let them choose a comfortable

space, clear away any distractions and keep siblings away from them.

• Decide together how long their homework will take.• Make sure they have everything they need before they start – notecards, markers,

pencils, eraser.

Tip 3.What if they get stuck?Help your child problem-solve by explaining or showing them the steps to complete a task. Let them do the steps though.

Possible Solutions: • Make up a similar question or task as an example. Show them how to work through it

and then get them to have a go at their homework task.• Try giving clues rather than the answer, but be aware of frustration levels – both theirs

and yours.• Keep the clues simple – remind them of all the other times they have been able to work

things out.• Ideally homework will be connected to something they’ve already learned, so

encourage them to think back and start from what they can do.• Don’t help them too much, for example, explain where and how to find information,

rather than giving it to them.

Tip 4. What if I don’t understand their homework?If you’re confused by your child’s homework, talk to their teacher – you won’t be the first parent to do this.

Possible Solutions: • Make up a similar question or task as an example. • Show them how to work through it and then get them to have a go at their homework

task.• Or it may be that your child is happy to ask for help and then they can explain things to

you• They may also be able to find answers by using the internet or the local library, or by

asking an older sister or brother.

Tip 5. I’m having trouble making this context work for me?A wonderful digestible framework that has been originally created for leaders also lays the groundwork for a wonderful discussion that most ages can understand. It’s called “Above and Below the Line” and its about how you respond to things you trust vs. things you fear.

Watch this video to learn more.

Read all about Above the line Behaviors/Thinking

Page 18

Resources

• Self- Advocating | CanLEARN Society This in-depth document shares the what, the how, and they why of self-advocacy. It provides activities you can use with your learner to help them build the skills needed to advocate for themselves effectively.

• A Teacher’s Journey with Student Self-Advocacy – A Strategy for Parents | LD@Home In this blog, a teacher shares with parents how she approaches self-advocacy and explains an activity parents can use with their child. Note that while this is geared towards students with disabilities, it is an effective approach for all parents, educators, and students. “Although this was a strategy initially designed to be used solely within the school environment, this is a great activity that you as a parent can do with your child. The benefits of this approach is that your child will begin to understand themselves as a learner and it will push them to find their voice.”

• Self-Advocacy: Tips for Students, Parents, and Teachers | University of Kentucky This document provides an extensive checklist for students, parents, and teachers to use as they strive to empower students to advocate for themselves.

• Agency | Ted Dintersmith This video and discussion guide dig into the concept of agency and encourage you to think about what school could be for students.

Strategies

• Talk regularly. In order to help your child get comfortable with self-advocacy, normalize the conversation. Ask them how you can be supportive. Explicitly discuss topics like “What conditions do you need to be able to do your best studying?” and encourage them to make it for themselves. But...

• Stay quiet & listen. As parents/mentors/caretakers our tendency is to fix problems or challenges for our child. In the face of a difficult classroom or other environment let them talk through how to approach the situation. You can ask some probing questions such as “Who have you talked to about this? Who else do you think you should talk to?” or “What can you do to fix the situation?”

ADVOCATING AT SCHOOL

ZONE

3

We encourage students to take ownership of their learning experience by utilizing strategies, tools and their strengths to support their weaknesses, and advocate for themselves when necessary. Most teachers in middle/high school are responsible for roughly 90 students or more a day in their classrooms, and sometimes your child might have a need that a teacher is not even aware of.

This is where student agency and advocacy comes in. Student agency and advocacy come together as the ability for students to make decisions in their own learning, the willingness to open up a conversation with the teacher about their needs or requesting the supports or adjustments they need. Below are some resources you can review to build on your own understanding of these concepts. You might consider sharing these resources with your child and having a conversation around these topics.

Page 19

• Invite them to the table. Invite your child to participate in or lead the next parent/teacher conference you have scheduled. Prepare your child for the conversation by having a conversation about strengths and struggles and possible things to try ahead of time. Again, this is not about you providing him/her with the “right” answers. It is about getting their authentic input and ideas.

• Encourage your child to write an email. Email is becoming a major way of communicating between students, parents, and teachers. Not only that, but email affords us time to think, plan, and review what we want to communicate to be sure we are clearly communicating our needs. Next time your child has a question, help him/her construct an email for him/herself. Read through the email, ask your child questions, and help set them up for a successful exchange. If you need a resource to give your child some tips, here’s one you can use.

Activities

• My Advocacy Plan – Throughout Students LEAD, your child engaged with and contributed to building their MAP - My Advocacy Plan. Build on this document with your child and tackle a specific problem or challenge they’re facing in school. Focus on strengths and develop a plan for your child as he/she self-advocates.

ADVOCATING AT SCHOOL

ZONE

3

Thank you for engaging in Letting Students LEAD with your child. If you want to learn more about other Learning Differences programs for students, schools, and teachers visit our website at go.ncsu.edu/learningdifferences.

Page 20

AD

VO

CA

CY

PLA

N

ACTIVITY

On a separate piece of paper or document walk through the following questions and steps:

1. What challenge/problem do you want to focus your advocacy plan?

2. What are the causes of this challenge/problem?

3. What are the changes or outcomes you want to see?

4. What other people and/or leaders/organizations could help out?

5. What are the best ways to present your ideas to other people?

6. (Check at least 3, including letter writing/email.)

¨ letter writing/email —

¨ announcements —

¨ meet with person(s) —

¨ phone calls —

¨ petition —

¨ posters —

¨ literature (newsletter, editorial) —

¨ lobbying —

¨ press/media release —

¨ parent involvement —

¨ newspaper editorial —

Page 21

AD

VO

CA

CY

PLA

N

ACTIVITY

Outline your action plan:

1. What supplies do I need?

2. What steps will I take? What are the assignments?

3. What is the timeline of my plan?

4. other

Page 22

AD

VO

CA

CY

PLA

N

ACTIVITY

Consider this Scenario – This will help students understand what self-advocacy really is all about. Share the example in italics below and discuss the questions together (adapted from http://www.teachhub.com/teaching-strategies-build-self-advocacy)

Alexa just got a pair of glasses to help her see far away. However, Alexa is still getting used to them and feels she needs to sit in the front of the classroom. One day Alexa came to school and her teacher had switched her seat to the back of classroom. Alexa stayed after class to talk to her teacher about moving her seat to the front of the classroom.

After you have read this scenario to your child, ask them the following questions to make sure they are understanding why Alexa had to speak up for herself.

1. Why was it important for Alexa to talk to her teacher after class?

2. Did Alexa do the right thing?

3. What would you have done if you were in Alexa’s situation? Why?

4. Have you ever been in a situation where you had to self-advocate?

5. Did you find it difficult to speak yourself? Why or why not?

6. How did standing up for yourself impact your future?

Page 23

CONCLUSION

Zone 1You and your learner talked broadly about learning differences and learner variability and considered your individual strengths and challenges.

Zone 2Your child focused on at least two specific areas: attention, memory, expressing ideas and organization/time management.

Zone 3You and your child learned about student agency and advocacy. We hope that you and your child found the resources, strategies, tools and activities useful in your quest to support your child’s learning.

Thank you for engaging in Letting Students LEAD with your child. If you want to learn more about other Learning Differences programs for students, schools, and teachers visit our website at go.ncsu.edu/learningdifferences.