Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Charisse's Story - Life Journey with Cerebral Palsy



 As part of the Global Read Aloud (#GRA13), my class and I are reading @sharonmdraper 's Out of My Mind.  The kids are obsessed!!!  While reading some posts on Twitter, I discovered the video clip above to help students better understand life with cerebral palsy.  My students were glued to the screen for every second of the 17 minute movie.  They felt a variety of emotions and were so inspired by Charisse's story.  They spent a LONG time reflecting in their journals.  This clip helped bring Melody's character alive and gave my class a new perspective.  I recommend showing this to your classes if you are also reading Out of My Mind!
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3 comments:

  1. rachelreadsOctober 2, 2013 at 4:05 PM

    Thanks for sharing Taylor. This is a great video to show your fourth graders. I always hated the way people stared at my brother because he walks differently due to his cerebral palsy. If children are exposed they have a better understanding. I know their stares were curiosity, but because it was " normal" for me I had a hard time with it. What a great topic to reflect on-feeling different, looking and sounding different, and moving to a new town. A purposeful reflective writing assignment that was probably good therapy for your kids.

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  2. UnknownOctober 5, 2013 at 6:47 PM

    Taylor, you chose a great book to read with your students. I love books that bring out student's empathy for others. It's a wonderful thing to see children who are normally narcissistic when young, be able to empathize with someone who is so different yet so much the same as everyone else. Our students need more books like Out of My Mind. One book that I read to 4th and 5th graders that was extremely powerful and the students still talk about is Wonder, by R.J. Palacio. It is one of those special books that students will remember forever.

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  3. MarissaOctober 8, 2013 at 5:44 PM

    I am also reading Out of My Mind, and like your students, my students love it. They all complain when I say we are going to stop reading for the day. This was such a great video for the students to see the struggles someone with Cerebral Palsy is faced with day to day. This is such a powerful video and I think my students would enjoy watching this. Thank you so much for sharing!

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