Lexile: 770L

Genre General Fiction

Interest level: Grades 6-8

"Mia Winchell appears to be a typical kid, but she's keeping a big secret—sounds, numbers, and words have color for her. No one knows, and Mia wants to keep it that way. But when trouble at school finally forces Mia to reveal her secret, she must learn to accept herself and embrace her ability, called synesthesia, a mingling of the senses."

Teaching idea:

Mia (the main character) is diagnosed with synesthesia, which causes her to experience sounds, numbers, and letters in color. Begin by having the students research this condition. Write a reflection on what it would be like to have this condition and have an open class discussion about how Mia must feel, and how they would feel if they had it.

More teaching ideas from author Wendy Mass.. http://wendymass.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Wendymass_edguide.pdf

Genre: Science Fiction

Interest Level: Grades 4-12

Lexile: 690

"When fifteen-year-old Bobby wakes up and finds himself invisible, he and his parents and his new blind friend Alicia try to find out what caused his condition and how to reverse it."

Teaching Ideas:

Have students brainstorm as a class times where they or other people have been treated as if they were invisible. How does this change how a person acts?

-How would you act if you were invisible or felt as if people treated you as if you were?

More ideas from Scholastic...

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/things-not-seen-lesson-plan

Interest Level: Grades Pre-K- 3

Lexile: N/A

Genre: Fiction Picture Book

"Lee, a jazz pianist, has to leave his band when he begins losing his hearing, but he meets a deaf saxophone player in a sign language class and together they form a snazzy new band."

Teaching Ideas:

If I were to have a child in my classroom with a hearing impairment I would certainly read this story aloud. It would go along with a lesson that teaches that no matter what your disability you are able to follow your passion. If I did not have any students with a hearing impairment, I would read this story to teach them, like the others, that as long as you are passionate you will succeed.

Interest Level: Grades Pre-k -5

Lexile: 610

Genre: Fiction Picture Book

"In Brooklyn, New York, in 1947, a boy learns about discrimination and tolerance as he and his deaf father share their enthusiasm over baseball and the Dodgers' first baseman, Jackie Robinson."

Teaching Ideas:

When covering the Civil Rights Movement in Social Studies, this story will be read aloud. Discuss the feeling of discrimination during this time. Share how Jackie Robinson was the first black baseball player, and have students research other black AND deaf "firsts" such as Miss America, Basketball player, painter, etc..

Teaching idea:

-Have students list things that they feel make them "different" from their peers.

-Have them draw a self portrait.

-Show this Special Olympics adverstisement and teach them that our differences are not a bad thing. They are what makes us, us. For those who have a disability that simply means that they have a different ability, not that they are any less than those around them.

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Interest Level: Grades 6-12

Lexile: 640

"Wounded in Iraq while his Army unit is on convoy and treated for many months for traumatic brain injury, the first person Ben remembers from his earlier life is his autistic brother."

Teaching Idea:

When learning about war time in a social studies unit I would tie this book into the same unit but with Language Arts. Students would read the story and learn about what it means to be a young solider and a veteran. Students would engage in mini projects on PTSD, young soliders, and war time.

Interest Level: Grades 4-12

Lexile: 570

Genre: Realistic Fiction

"Twelve-year-old Addie tries to cope with her mother's erratic behavior and being separated from her beloved stepfather and half-sisters when she and her mother go to live in a small trailer by the railroad tracks on the outskirts of Schenectady, New York."

Teaching Ideas:

Activities:

1. Have the student research bipolar disorder – what treatments are available, how does the illness effect the sufferer, how does it affect loved ones of the sufferer?

2. Have the student plan how they would take care of themselves if they were Addie. List what foods they could prepare for themselves. Do they have pets that would require care? What kind of care does the pet need? Do they have school activities they would need or want to try and continue?

3. Divide the students into groups and have them debate the pros and cons of Addie's decision to avoid social services instead of letting them help her. How does their personal experience contribute to their point of view? How does their point of view differ from Addie's and how does that effect how they respond?

Activity and other discussion questions from.. https://www.emporia.edu/libsv/wawbookaward/curriculumguides/waitingfornormal.html

Interest Level: Grades 6-12

Lexile: 760

Genre: Realistic Fiction

"When Cornelia's mother runs off with a boyfriend, leaving her with an eccentric aunt, Cornelia must finally confront the truth about herself and her mother."

Teaching Ideas:

Have students think deep into the content of the story. Have class discussion asking:

The American Library Association awarded Tending to Gracethe Schneider Family Book Award because it "artistically portrayed the disability experience." What is the major disability portrayed in the novel, and how is it dealt with? You might want to think about courage and perseverance, and transformation.

This will be a great way for you as a teacher to be able to share the award winning process and dig deeper into the story's content.

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Interest Level: Grades 3-7

Lexile: 780

"Twelve-year-old Catherine just wants a normal life. Which is near impossible when you have a brother with autism and a family that revolves around his disability."

Teaching Idea:

Catherine makes a "rule book" for her brother David about living a "normal" life.

- Begin by refreshing this passage in the book to the students.

- Begin to brainstorm some unwritten rules are in our classroom that they have all learned from society to follow.

-Have students make their own rule book about a part of their life.

-Have students share their work and explain why those rules are important. What would happen if they didn't follow them?

Interest Level: Grades 3-12

Lexile: N/A

Genre: Coming-of-age stories Fiction

"Josie, who lives with her mother and grandmother and has cerebral palsy, befriends a boy who moves into one of the rich houses behind her old farmhouse.

Teaching Idea:

Below in next padlet

Interest Level: Grades 4-12

Lexile: 540

Genre: Realistic Fiction

"Twelve-year-old Foster McFee and her mother escape from her mother's abusive boyfriend and end up in the small town of Culpepper, West Virginia, where they use their strengths and challenge themselves to build a new life, with the help of the friends they make there."

Teaching Idea:

1. Recipe Report (Adapted from ehow.com) http://www.ehow.com/how_5858721_write-book-report-form-recipe.htmlLook through cookbook recipes. Think about how your story has "ingredients" and when put together "become" something new and unique. Create a recipe for this book. Use real recipe cards or stationery.

1. The plot of the book is the recipe. At the top of the card write "Recipe for Close to Famous”. The plot would be a one-line summary of the book. Write this under the title.

2. Write "Recipe by:___(Fill in your name)" below the recipe title on the left side of the card.

3. On the same line, on the right side of the card, write the age group the book would be appropriate for as "Serves ages___".

4. List the "ingredients." The ingredients list would include names of the characters in the book.

5. Write "Directions" below the ingredients list. In paragraph form describe how each character/ingredient is put together and mixed with each other to make the story summary. Look at real recipes to help you find cooking terms such as stir, mix, simmer, bake, remove or cool – among others.

6. If doing this as a class, collect all of the cards into one cookbook or display the all of the cards.

More teaching ideas..

http://www.penguin.com/static/images/yr/pdf/ClosetofamousDG2012.pdf

Interest Level: Pre-K-2

Lexile: 580

Genre: Realistic Fiction

"Ginny's eyes play tricks on her, making her see everything double, but when she goes to vision screening at school and discovers that not everyone sees this way, she learns that her double vision can be cured."

Teaching Ideas:

I would read this book as the time of the year for vision tests are coming around and students are not sure what is going to happen. We would talk about what it would be like if we were Ginny and how we would feel if we had to wear an eye patch. After reading the story, the students would make their own eye patches and wear them for part of the day to see how it would be.

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Interest Level: Grades 2-7

"Fifth-grader Cally Louise Fisher stops talking, partly because her father and brother never speak of her mother who died a year earlier, but visions of her mother, friendships with a homeless man and a disabled boy, and a huge dog ensure that she still communicates."

Teaching Ideas:

This book touches on a big subject of greif. It is important for children to understand that it is okay to be sad and that it is the way that you remember someone that counts. Cally remembers her mom through a memory box that her mom made throughout her life. Have students come up with ideas of what they would want to keep in their memory box for themselves and others.

More teaching ideas from author Sarah Lean...

http://www.sarahlean.co.uk/resources/

Interest Level: Grades 4-8

Lexile: 640

Genre: Realistic Fiction

"Jason Blake is an autistic 12-year-old living in a neurotypical world. Most days it’s just a matter of time before something goes wrong. But Jason finds a glimmer of understanding when he comes across PhoenixBird, who posts stories to the same online site as he does.

Teaching idea:

Ask students to write a reflection on how they would feel in the classroom and the hallways if they had Autism. Have them imagine everyday scenarios that they would be faced with and ask them how they would respond. Create KWL charts to help guide them through the process and brainstorm as a class what Autism Spectrum Disorder is like for students their age.

Interest Level: Grades 7-12

Lexile: 700

Genre: Realistic Fiction

"Marcelo Sandoval, a seventeen-year-old boy on the high-functioning end of the autistic spectrum, faces new challenges, including romance and injustice, when he goes to work for his father in the mailroom of a corporate law firm."

Teaching Idea:

During the unit of Autism (after reading "Anything but Typical" and service project on Autism Speaks have children read Marcelo in the Real World. Discuss the affects that Autism has on his life, although he is high-functioning. Where does this disorder show the most in his life?

All parents want their child with a disability to be accepted and they hope for them to be treated the same. This poem is a great example of the feeling that many parents get when people meet their child for the first time.

Come Touch His Cheek

This child of mine you stare at so,
Please come closer so you will know
Just who my child is and what I see
when those sweet eyes stare back at me
I see no limits to my child's life
Although I know
It will be filled with strife,
I'm hoping that doors will open each day
I'm praying that kindness
will come his way
You look frightened?
You tremble with fear?
Come, come closer
touch him my dear
Touch his cheek so soft
so sweet
Be one of those people
he needs to meet
Someone who will look
and hopefully see
The skill, the talent
The ability
Please come closer
You don't have to speak
Come a little closer
Just touch his cheek
And when you do
you will see
this sweet, sweet child
is no different
than you or me

Teaching Idea:

When teaching this poem I would start by having children of any age talk about openly what they think makes people "different". I would then ask if a disability makes a person different and have them explain why, or why not. I would the read this poem to them, explaining that this is a poem from a parent of a child with a disability. After reading the poem I would open up for a discussion about how and why a disability does not make a person different from them. This would be a lesson about treating all people with respect and courtesy everywhere they go.
Source: http://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/about-children-with-disabilities-come-touch-his-cheek#ixzz3t6xlujvs

Teaching Idea:

Have students explore the Autism Speaks website after reading "Anything but Typical". Have them connect what they already knew about Autism to what they are learning from the website. Have students come up with a mini in school service project to do within their school to raise Autism Awareness.

When talking about Neurological Disorders (as talked about in Jerk, California the song Little Talks by Of Monsters and Men would be introduced. I would have the students follow along on a lyrics sheet when listening to the song and I would ask them what they think the song is about. We would then talk about how the song is about Alzheimer's Disorder. The wife in the song has the disorder and the husband is talking her down. The students would then research Alzheimer's. We would talk about the affects that it has on a family and how to cope if a family member is to have it.