Multigenre Project

By: Alexia Miller

Bullying takes place all around us. Junior high and high school is where bullying seems

to be the most common time to take place. To help reduce the amount of bullying and to help my

students get a more empathetic side, I would like to introduce the topic of ableism to them. This

lesson would be most ideal for students in grades 6th, 7th, or 8th, so they can have a better

understanding of the severity of the topic and can understand the assigned reading. Ableism can

be defined as discrimination or prejudice against individuals with disabilities (1). This is an

important topic to discuss because there are many people around us who live with a disability

and they really are not that much different than we are.

Ableism is an important topic to discuss because many students do not realize that students

with disabilities are just like them. These students only want people to see that just because they

have a little trouble or have a different way of performing some tasks than most people, it does

not mean that they are any less of a person. People with disabilities do not like to be looked at

like they are anything less. A good quote from David A. Patterson shows that people with

disabilities want to prove themselves. The quote says, I have had this desire my whole life to

prove people wrong, to show them I could do things they didnt think I could do. Another

powerful quote and example would be Susan Boyle saying I was slightly brain damaged at

birth, and I want people like me to see that they shouldnt let a disability get in the way. I want to

raise awareness I want to turn my disability into ability.

Another reason as to why ableism should be taught is to help students understand that

students with disabilities dont really have disabilities. They just have different abilities. To help
with the understanding, have someone visualize their favorite animal and think of an ability that

the animal can do that humans cant. An example would be birds can fly, humans cant. Now ask

them if they ever thought they were less of an organism because they didnt have the ability to

fly. Their answer will most likely be no. This activity can help people visualize and understand

that different things and people have different abilities. And even though they have different

abilities, they can still figure out how to accomplish the same tasks, just in different ways. If

referring to the bird example, humans accomplish flying by taking a plane, even though it is not

a natural ability for them.

I want my students to realize that although people with disabilities are like everyone else,

they often get treated less than who they are. They get bullied at school or dont get treated

equally in the work place. Some people may not even hire with disabilities even though there is a

law to prevent this sort of discrimination from occurring. I want my students to be aware of what

is happening around them. I want them to realize that students with disabilities are not scary;

they are just like everyone else, just with different abilities. I want my students to be the type of

person that will step in and defend someone and even be their friend. That is why teaching about

ableism is important.
 Readings/activities for my topic

To help teaching my lesson about ableism, I would like my students to read a few books from

a few different genres. Along with the assigned books, several class discussions will take place

involving how to handle situations where discrimination is occurring, different types of

disabilities, and most importantly, teach them to know that people with disabilities are people too

and they just want to be treated as any other normal kid. Conversations can be made to discuss

name some problems people with disabilities may face and talk about the dos and do nots when

interacting with students who are different from them (2). The following includes the list of

readings I would want to assign my students.

I am Still a Person by Sarah Ismail is a poem all about ableism. The poem is told in first

person with the speaker unknown. An excerpt from the poem is below.

Not drunk, I swear, I really cant walk

At least not the way you do

But Im still a person, just like you.

I can walk well but need this white stick

I need this wheelchair but Im not thick!

Im not just the girl with the walking frame

Im a person like you and I do have a name.

I believe that this poem can open peoples eyes and realize that people cannot control the fact

that they have a disability. They have to live their lives in a different way but that does not make

them any less of a person. This really shows that people with disabilities just want to be seen as

one would like at any other person. They enjoy the same things as everyone else and would love

to hang out with others. I believe that this poem was made to open peoples minds to see that
they are just like everyone else and are different in their own ways, because everyone is

different. No two people are exactly the same.

This poem has quite a few literary elements within it. The uses repetition of the line I am

still a person just like you to stress the point that they are just like everyone else. They do not

want to be treated and looked at differently just because they have a disability. There is a various

serious mood that comes with the poem. A lot of people with disabilities are just wanting to be

seen as normal people. After reading this poem to the class, I hope to have a discussion with

them to see what they think the message of the poem is. I want to talk a bit more about how they

want to be seen just like everyone else is and that they want to have friends too. I want the class

to know not to discriminate against others who a little bit different than others because I want

them to understand that everyone is different in their own ways. What a person looks like and

what they can and cannot do should not affect how people look and act with each other.

I would follow the discussion with an activity and allow students to explore poetry. I will

introduce them I am poems then give each student a different disability. Have them research

about that disability and write an I am poem as if they were talking from someone who has that

disability.

Joey Pigza Swallowed a Key by Jack Gantos is about a boy named Joey Pigza who has

ADHD. This book follows him as he goes about his daily life at school and at home while having

this disability. At a young age, his parents left him with his grandmother. Joeys grandmother was

not the nicest to him. She kept him by the window telling him that his mother would be walking

by and if she saw him behaved she would return. But she kept being mean to him and would lie

to him by saying that his mother had just walked by and decided that Joey was not as behaved as

she wanted him to be so she did not want to return. Eventually, his mother does return but she is
not exactly sure how to handle him. He misbehaves in school, generally in the afternoons after

his medicine wear off and accidentally harms another student along with himself a few times.

His mother does not know what to do and takes him to a special education school after he gets

suspended until he can control his behavior. He eventually is able to return to his original school

with new medication.

A literary device that help contribute this books purpose would be imagery. There was a

lot of imagery used to help portray a picture in the readers minds about some of the behaviors

that Joey Pigza exhibited. The author also used many similes and metaphors to compare the

behaviors of Joey to something readers can relate to. An example of a simile used was when Joey

decided it would be a good idea to try to sharpen his nails in a pencil sharpener and he told the

reader that the nail had been yanked over to one side and was just hanging there like when you

peel the shell of a shrimp (Gantos 23). The setting of the book being in a school and being at an

elementary grade age makes the story more realistic and connectable to readers.

Say What You Will by Cammie McGovern is a girl names Amy who is in a wheel chair

because of cerebral palsy. She cannot walk or talk. She ends up meeting a boy with OCD named

Matthew. They seem like they dont have anything in common but realize that they actually have

more in common than they thought. They grow a unbelievably strong friendship.

This book has a lot of imagery to help the reader visualize the connection between the

two characters. The book also uses a sort of a strong tone. This book talks about a deep

connection between the two and the difficulties they both went through. Especially when they

first met each other.

Wonder by R.J. Palacio is about a boy named August. He has a facial deformity that is

later mentioned in the book as a craniofacial anomaly. The book is divided into different parts,
each part told in different characters point of view. Each character gives their thoughts and

feelings and all seem to have a central point Auggie. Augusts facial deformity not only affects

him but also others around him and who are close to him as well. The story follows Augusts first

year of mainstream schooling and the reader sees many difficulties he has throughout the year.

In terms of literary analysis, the book uses different characters that the intended readers

can relate too. The characters would be about the same age as the readers when giving this

lesson. The fact that the book is not told in just one persons point of view helps readers feel

emotions from different perspectives. These characters help make the story believable. The

author uses a sort of emotional mood throughout the book. The words pull at the readers that will

take them from being angry to sad to happy as they read everyones experiences in the book. An

example of an emotional line would be when August and Jack went into the woods to go to the

bathroom and a boy shouted at August about his face. When August tries to stand up for himself,

one boy responded Are you talking to me, Freddie Krueger? I dont think you want to mess

with me, you ugly freak which pulls anger out of the reader towards the character who said that

to August (Palacio 266).

I would follow this book with an activity. For the activity, I would give students different

physical disabilities that will make them different from the rest of the students. Set up activities

that will make it difficult for students to participate in while acting as if they actually had these

disabilities. For example: trying to play catch without being able to use hands. I would come up

with various of activities for students to participate in. Before the activity, I will express to

students while it may seem funny to participate in and watch, that this is a very serious matter

and that there are people who actually have these disabilities. I would follow activity with a

discussion on what they thought and learned from the experience. Bring up again that they were
only acting out those disabilities for a short period of time and there are people out there who

live with these disabilities for their whole lives. Although they may look different, they still want

to be seem just as you would look at anyone else and they know how to adapt to different

situations although it may be difficult for them.

The book I am Helen Keller by Brad Meltzer is a short childrens biography book about

Helen Keller. In the book, it discusses some of the hardships Helen faced while growing up. She

was born just as any normal child, but when she was 19 months old, a disease left her blind and

deaf. When she was six years old, she got a teacher names Anne Sullivan who taught her how to

read braille and taught her sign language. The teacher never gave up on Helen. Another teacher

teaches Helen how to speak three different languages. She became the first blind and deaf person

to graduate from college and spent the rest of her life advocating for various things.

This book uses a lot of pictures to help readers visualize what Helen Keller was

experiencing including a page that showed what braille was and actually consisted of raised

bumps. The story is not only told through the words on each page but also with the use of

pictures and the dialogues that take place within each of the picture. This makes the book more

visually appealing and can help the class pay attention as I am reading the book to them. This

book gives another perspective of a different disability and how that person was able to

overcome all the hardships that came with the disability. This will hopefully further prove that

even though she had a disability, she was still able to do great things and make a difference in the

world.

Works Cited
(1)"Ableism." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2017.

Ismail, Sarah. N.p.: Amazon, n.d. Print.

(2)"Lesson 1: What Is Ableism?" Lesson 1: What Is Ableism? | Teaching Tolerance -

Diversity, Equity and Justice. Teaching Tolerance, n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2017.

Gantos, Jack. Joey Pigza swallowed the key. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2000.

Print.

Ismail, Sarah. Listen to the Silence. N.p.: n.p., 2012. Amazon Digital Services LLC, 30

Dec. 2012. Web.

McGovern, Cammie. Say what you will. New York, NY: Harper Teen, an imprint of

Harper Collins Publishers, 2015. Print.

Meltzer, Brad, and Chris Eliopoulos. I am Helen Keller. New York, NY: Scholastic Inc.,

2016. Print.

Palacio, R. J. Wonder. Place of publication not identified: Alfred A Knopf, 2017. Print.