How have attitudes to people with disabilities changed over time? Free lesson - do leave a review

“My purpose is to engage students in dialogue so they can see other’s points of view – in a world that needs this more than ever. I do this by sharing lessons on this site which connect students with the past and inspire critical thinking. Please read below to find details about this one.” Dan

This lesson is titled “How have attitudes to people with disabilities changed over time?”

This 73-slide PowerPoint begins with four starter activities. Students are invited to identify the famous people as well as their disability. They then come to the front and write down any other disabilities they can think of before taking part in three true or false questions. Lesson aims and objectives are then introduced before a series of slides of background information to enable teacher exposition (about Ancient Times, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and Enlightenment, the Nineteenth Century, and the Twentieth Century). Students then test their knowledge in a Whose Line is it Anyway activity. They are then introduced to the main activity, which is to create a timeline using the information they have learned. They then show off their work in a Gallery Walk and there is a slide in which the teacher cold calls students to explain the major pivots in the history of people with a disability. In the first plenary students then come to the board to write down one way the treatment of individuals with a disability has changed in a positive way and one way in which it did not progress. In the second plenary they vote with Thinking Thumbs on the lesson’s Key Question. Aims and objectives are revisited. There is a homework task also.

This lesson was created with a desirable difficulty level for students in high school settings and is written in UK English. I made it to use in Disability History Month (October in the US, November to December in the UK) but it can of course be used all year round. The hope is that by the end of the lesson students want to be part of the constructive side of the history of disability whilst developing an awareness of the many dreadful aspects of their timelines.

I’d be so grateful if you can find time to add a positive review if you enjoyed this free lesson.

And before you leave be sure to follow Dan’s History Highway for more info on hundreds of fully-resourced lessons for busy teachers!

Wishing you a terrific day.