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What are some ways all people want to be treated?

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How might differences be a good thing?

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How can a simple act of kindness ripple out into the world?

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What are some ways people are different?

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Helping students learn to accept the differences that are represented in the classroom is an important part of a teacher’s responsibility. Therefore, we have decided to create a text set on exceptionalities targeted at students in upper-elementary and middle grades.  Students with special needs can often struggle socially, and it is essential for a teacher to make the classroom a safe and accepting environment for all.  Teachers must also provide books that culturally represent and give voice to all students. Using a text set is a perfect way for students to learn about exceptionalities, as well to represent different perspectives.
There are many different types of exceptionalities represented which cannot all be covered in one text set.  Therefore, it is important to have a theme or idea highlighted in the text set.  The books chosen in this text set discuss the challenges that the individuals with the exceptionalities face and how they were able to overcome these hardships. The books also gently instruct students how to accept and respect the differences in the classroom.  Students need to understand that there are many different perspectives when analyzing exceptionalities.  There is the perspective of those around the individual, the perspective of the individual’s family, and the perspective of the individual with the exceptionality.
Aside from the perspectives, it is important for students to understand that all people, no matter how different, have a right to respect and kindness.  Often, students with exceptionalities are treated as outcasts at worst, or patronized at best.  This text set on exceptionalities will teach students how negative comments and ignorance affected the characters in the stories. However, although these students may have been treated differently, they found ways to overcome it and fit in with those around them in the end. The books included in this text set are Lend a Hand (Frank, 2014); Do Nice, Be Kind, Spread Happy (Russel, 2014) ; Each Kindness (Woodson, 2012); Wonder, (Palacio, 2012); El Deafo (Bell, 2014); Rain, Reign (Martin, 2014); and Temple Grandin: How the Girl Who Loved Cows Embraced Autism and Changed the World (Montgomery, 2012).  The multimedia selections represented in this text set are Tim’s Place and Count Me In.  A great way to start this text set lesson would be to show the video title Tim’s Place.  Tim is a young man with Down’s syndrome who has conquered obstacles to open and manage his own restaurant.  Tim is positive, upbeat, and has great customer service skills.  This illustrates to students that the sky is the limit and that even though there may be differences, everyone is capable of accomplishments and achievements.

Lend a Hand is a book of poetry about how to extend kindness to others.  This book promotes the importance of showing kindness to all individuals – even those who may seem different.  This book could be used to teach a poetry lesson, and could also be used in conjunction with Do Nice Be Kind Spread Happy, a book that assigns different tasks for kids to complete to show kindness to others.  Students could then be challenged to pick a certain number of tasks to complete and then report back to the whole class or small groups about what happened when they performed the acts of kindness.  Each Kindness is another book that could be paired directly with Lend a Hand and Do Nice Be Kind Spread Happy to show what can happen if kindness is not extended.  In this book, a new girl moves to the school and no one bothers to get to know her.  After the new girl leaves, another student feels badly about the way she treated the new girl.

Wonder is a book about a young boy, August Pullman, who appears different than his classmates due to a genetic disorder that has given him a face that has not formed properly.  August did not go to school until he was in upper elementary school due to a fear that his peers would treat him differently due to his appearance.  There were some peers in this story who did not accept August but those who did learned he was an intelligent, engaging boy with a great sense of humor.  He was also a loyal friend.  The reader also develops an understanding of the painful effect of unkind words.  Wonder could be paired with El Deafo which is a graphic novel about a deaf girl who feels isolated by her inability to hear.  Throughout the novel, she is able to develop acceptance of herself and realize that there are others around her who accept her for the way she is as well. These works of literature could be used to encourage students to reflect on how the characters overcame barriers and altered their perspective about themselves. Rain, Reign is a story about a young autistic girl, Rose, who functions well when her life follows a rigid routine.  Her world changes drastically when she loses her dog during a hurricane causing her daily routine to change.  Rose decides search for her lost beloved dog and discovers she is truly capable of more than she realized.  This book could be paired with the biography Temple Grandin: How the Girl Who Loved Cows Embraced Autism and Changed the World, a story about an autistic woman who achieved great things. Students could compare the true story of a woman with autism to the fictional story.
The last book in the set is I am Jazz.  This is a book about a little boy who always thought he should have been born a girl.  She was later diagnosed as transgender and she and her family began a journey of self-discovery and acceptance.  This is a great book to add to the text set because it promotes acceptance of a difference that may be present in the classroom, especially during middle school years. The final piece of our text set, the video Count Me In, is an upbeat Sesame Street segment which underscores everyone’s need to feel accepted and understood.
The stories chosen illustrate many different exceptionalities and perspectives. Upon completing this text set, students develop an educated understanding of the many differences they might encounter among their fellow classmates, as well as a road map for treating others with fairness and kindness. Negative social behaviors in the classroom can often occur due to ignorance and fear, and these selected texts go a long way toward combating both. We believe this text set is diverse, interesting, and highly instructional for upper-elementary students about to enter into the critical developmental period of the middle grades. We hope you enjoy!

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Sesame Street video offers perfect advice for living in a world of differences and exceptional people!

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Everybody is important! Sing along to this remake of the Classic 1998 song, and tune in to Season 43 of Sesame Street this fall!

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by Bernadette Russell (2014). United Kingdom; Ivy Press United.

A book that encourages individuals to spread kindness to others around them. Some ideas are a challenge with another about who can do the most or get the most positive reactions. Other tasks involve performing one single task simply to spread kindness to others. This is a great way to encourage students to show acceptance of others by showing random acts of kindness.

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Temple Grandin: How the Girl Who Loved Cows Embraced Autism and Changed the World

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Temple Grandin: How the Girl Who Loved Cows Embraced Autism and Changed the World

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by Sy Montgomery, (2012). New York, NY; Houghton Mifflin Books for Young Readers.

This is a fascinating biography of a girl who overcame the odds to not only make a success of her own life, but to improve the lives of animals as well.

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At noon, I noticed

the new kid

sitting alone

with only the words of a book

to feed her.

"Do you know," I was about to ask,

"if you tell the teacher

you forgot your lunch,

the cafeteria will give you one free?"

But instead I handed her

half of my sandwich

and though I had

only half for myself,

I somehow felt full.

Excerpt from Lend a Hand: Poems about Giving, by John Frank, (2014). New York, NY; Lee & Low Books, Inc.

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by Jacqueline Woodson, (2012). New York, NY; Nancy Paulsen Books.

Maya arrives in the middle of the school year. Chloe and her friends do not make the girl feel welcome and reject her attempts at friendship. One day, Maya's seat is empty and the girls' teacher leads a lesson on kindness. Chloe realizes that she lost an opportunity, not just for friendship, but for sending out a ripple of kindness into the world.

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by Jessica Herthel & Jazz Jennings,(2014). New York, NY; Penguin Group.

From the time she was little, Jazz knew she was a little girl in a boy's body. Diagnosed as transgender, Jazz shares her inspiring story of self discovery and her family's acceptance.

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by CeCe Bell, (2014). New York, NY; Amulet Books.

Cece Bell shares her journey through a hearing-impaired childhood in this adorable graphic novel. Diagnosed as profoundly deaf at age four, Cece learns the meaning of friendship and self-acceptance with help of where her fantasy alter-ego, the great “El Deafo.”

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by Ann Martin, (2014). New York, NY; Feiwel & Friends.

Rose Howard, a fifth grade girl with high-functioning autism loses her dog in a devastating hurricane and her world of routines gets turned upside down. She sets out to find the dog, but discovers a great deal more about her own courage.

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A video about a young man with down syndrome who conquers obstacles to become a successful entrepreneur.  He has created an atmosphere of kindness in his restaurant and all customers feel welcomed at Tim's Place.  This demonstrates that success comes in all different ways.

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Tim's Place Albuquerque's Service With A Smile | You've Got

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by R. J. Palacio, (2012). New York, NY; Alfred A. Knopf.

Auggie Pullman is about to enter the fifth grade in a new school. He has serious facial abnormalities and while Auggie’s journey is sometimes painful, he prevails in the end with the help of some unlikely heroes.