A. Literacy Connections and Applications / C. Comprehension: Understanding and Responding to Texts · Understanding and Responding to TextsMaking Connections: Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility in Texts
C2.5 C3.6 A3.2About 40 minutes
Learning goals- I can explain how ideas in a text connect to my own knowledge and lived experiences, to other texts and to the world.
- I can explain how texts address topics like diversity, inclusion and accessibility.
- I can describe the insights or messages a text gives about these topics.
- I can explore identity and belonging through texts.
Words to know
lived experience
Knowledge you gain from living through something yourself.
diversity
The many differences among people, such as culture, language, ability, age, family and beliefs.
inclusion
Making sure everyone is welcomed, included and able to take part.
accessibility
Designing places, activities and information so that people of all abilities can use and enjoy them.
barrier
Something that stops a person from taking part.
insight
A deeper understanding, or a message, that you take away from a text.
Remember from Grade 4
In Grade 4 you made text-to-self, text-to-text and text-to-world connections, made your connections stronger by explaining them, and read about diversity, inclusion and accessibility, including barriers and how removing them helps everyone.
In Grade 5 you will explain how a text addresses these topics (through characters, events and word choice) and describe the insights a text gives you.
Hook: What would it take?
Think about your school's sports day. Could everyone take part: a student who is blind, a student who uses a wheelchair, a student who is new to Canada and is still learning English? What would it take? Keep your ideas in mind as you read.
Running Together
This realistic fiction story was written for this website.
When Ms. Leblanc announced the Grade 5 relay team, Jonah's stomach dropped. He had been running with a guide runner since Grade 2, when his eyesight changed. But no one at his new school had seen it before.
"How will Jonah know where to go?" whispered someone.
Jonah held up a short loop of cord. "This is a tether," he said. "My guide runner holds one end, and I hold the other. She tells me about turns and other runners. We run in step."
At practice, the team discovered a problem. The baton handoff zone was crowded, and Jonah and his guide needed more space. Priya, the team captain, had an idea. "What if our team practises calling out Hand! every time, for everyone? Then nobody has to guess." It worked. The whole team's handoffs got smoother.
On sports day, they didn't win. They came third. But when Jonah crossed the finish line, side by side with his guide, his team was shouting his name louder than anyone.
Three kinds of connections
- Text-to-self: How does this connect to my own life and lived experiences?
- Text-to-text: How does this connect to another book, movie, article or song?
- Text-to-world: How does this connect to events and issues in my community, Canada or the world?
A strong connection explains how it helps you understand the text. Not just I play sports too, but I know how it feels to be new on a team, so I understand why Jonah's stomach dropped.
Worked exampleLet's see how the text addresses inclusion and accessibility
How does Running Together address accessibility and inclusion? What insight does it give?
- Characters: Jonah is a skilled runner who is blind or has low vision. He is shown as capable, not as someone to feel sorry for.
- Accessibility: the tether and guide runner remove a barrier so Jonah can race. The crowded handoff zone is a new barrier.
- Inclusion: Priya's idea (Hand! for everyone) changes how the whole team works, so Jonah is part of the team, not a special case.
- Events: the team improves together. They don't win, but they cheer for Jonah: belonging matters more than first place.
- Insight: When we remove barriers, everyone benefits. The call-out helped every runner.
The text addresses accessibility (tether, guide runner, a new barrier solved) and inclusion (a team change that works for everyone). Insight: removing barriers helps everyone, and belonging is about being valued, not winning.
Text 2: A Man in Motion (informational, written for this website)
In 1985, Rick Hansen, a Canadian athlete who uses a wheelchair, set out on a world tour called the Man in Motion World Tour. Over about two years, he wheeled more than 40,000 kilometres through 34 countries. He wanted to raise money for spinal cord injury research and to show the world what people who use wheelchairs can do. He also wanted people to think about accessibility: curbs without ramps, steps without elevators and doors that are too narrow. Today, the Rick Hansen Foundation works to make buildings and public spaces more accessible across Canada.
Worked exampleLet's connect the two texts and the world
Make a text-to-text and a text-to-world connection between Running Together and A Man in Motion.
- Text-to-text: Both texts show athletes with disabilities who are strong and determined. Both show that barriers are in the environment (a crowded handoff zone; curbs without ramps), not in the person.
- Difference: Running Together is about one team; A Man in Motion is about changing the whole world.
- Text-to-world: Many places in my community now have ramps, automatic doors and curb cuts (curbs that slope down at crosswalks). People worked to make that happen.
- Insight: Both texts say that inclusion takes action: someone has to notice a barrier and change it.
Both texts show barriers are in the environment and can be removed. The world connection (ramps, curb cuts) shows these ideas are real in my community.
In both texts the barrier is in the environment, not in the person. Remove it, and many more people benefit than you might expect.Identity and belonging
Texts about diversity help us understand people whose lives are different from ours, and help us see ourselves too. When you read, ask:
- Whose stories are told? Whose are missing?
- Is a character shown as a whole person, with skills, feelings and interests, not just one difference?
- How does the character feel they belong, or don't belong? What changes that?
Everyone has many parts to their identity: family, culture, language, abilities, interests, and more.
Just for funRiddle: What has a spine but no bones, and can still help you see the world in a whole new way?
A book!
Talking respectfully
Use person-first or the words people prefer for themselves, such as a person who uses a wheelchair or a runner who is blind. Some people prefer other words, so listen to how people describe themselves. Avoid words like suffers from or confined to a wheelchair; a wheelchair gives freedom to move.
Hands-on activityBarrier hunt and connection chart
You need: paper, a pencil, and a walk with a grown-up around your home, school or a nearby store or library.
- Look for accessibility features: ramps, curb cuts, automatic doors, elevators, braille on signs, captions on videos, large-print books.
- Look for barriers: steps with no ramp, heavy doors, signs that are hard to read.
- Make a 3-column chart: Text-to-self, Text-to-text, Text-to-world. Fill in one connection in each column from Running Together or A Man in Motion, and explain how each one helps you understand.
- Write one insight sentence: These texts taught me that...
- Bonus: suggest one change that would remove a barrier you found.
Your turn
1What is a tether, and how does it help Jonah?
A short loop of cord that Jonah and his guide runner both hold. It lets them run in step, and the guide can tell him about turns and other runners.
2What new barrier did the team discover?
The crowded baton handoff zone: Jonah and his guide needed more space.
3How did Priya's idea show inclusion?
Everyone on the team called Hand!, so the change worked for everyone, and Jonah wasn't treated as a special case. All the handoffs got smoother.
4Why do you think the author had the team come third instead of first?
To show that belonging and teamwork matter more than winning. The cheering shows Jonah is valued.
5What did Rick Hansen want people to think about, besides research?
Accessibility: barriers like curbs without ramps, steps without elevators and narrow doors.
6Make a text-to-self connection to Running Together and explain how it helps you understand.
Example: I was new at school last year and worried no one would understand me, so I understand why Jonah's stomach dropped when the team was announced.
More practice: warm-up
1What does accessibility mean?
Designing things so people of all abilities can use them.
2What does inclusion mean?
Making sure everyone is welcomed and able to take part.
3Name one accessibility feature you might see in a library.
Any one: ramp, elevator, automatic door, large-print books, audiobooks, braille signs, captions.
4What are the three kinds of connections?
Text-to-self, text-to-text, text-to-world.
5How far did Rick Hansen wheel on his world tour?
More than 40,000 kilometres.
More practice: on your own
1How does Running Together show Jonah as a whole person?
He's a skilled runner, he explains the tether confidently, he feels nervous like anyone would, and he's part of the team. He isn't defined only by his eyesight.
2Make your connection stronger: This reminds me of the ramp at my school.
Example: The ramp at my school was added so students who use wheelchairs can come in the front door like everyone else. It helps me understand Rick Hansen's point that barriers are in buildings, and they can be fixed.
3What insight do both texts share?
Barriers are in the environment and can be removed, and when they are, everyone benefits. Inclusion takes action.
4Why is the word confined to a wheelchair not a respectful choice?
A wheelchair gives freedom to move; confined suggests it's a trap. Say a person who uses a wheelchair.
5A book has a class of 25 students, but every character has the same culture and abilities. What question should a critical reader ask?
Whose stories are missing? Real classrooms have diversity, so the book leaves out many perspectives.
Challenge
1Write a short scene (3 to 4 sentences) where a character notices a barrier and the group solves it in a way that helps everyone.
Example: At the class picnic, Amir noticed the menu was only on a tiny sign. His friend Lila, who has low vision, couldn't read it. Amir suggested they read the menu aloud for everyone. Soon kids were taking turns being the announcer. (Look for a barrier, a solution and everyone benefiting.)
2Curb cuts were made for people who use wheelchairs. Who else do they help? What insight does this give?
They also help people with strollers, wagons, bikes, suitcases, walkers and delivery carts. Insight: designing for accessibility helps everyone.
3Compare how the two texts address accessibility: one is fiction and one is informational. What does each form do best?
The fiction story helps you feel what it's like through a character (Jonah's nerves, the team's cheers). The informational text gives facts about real events and real change (40,000 km, the foundation's work). Together, they give feeling and facts.
Quiz
1. A text-to-world connection links a text to...
2. In Running Together, the team called out Hand! for every runner. This shows...
4. Which is the most respectful phrase?
5. What insight do Running Together and A Man in Motion share?
6. Which is the strongest connection?
What this lesson teaches: Grade 5 students explain how ideas in texts connect to their knowledge and lived experiences, other texts and the world (C2.5), and how texts address diversity, inclusion and accessibility, describing the insights they provide (C3.6). Reading about others' experiences supports identity and belonging (A3.2).
How to help at home:
- On walks, look for accessibility features and barriers together.
- When reading, ask: "Whose story is this? Whose is missing? What did the book teach you?"
- Share family experiences of being new or different, and of being welcomed.
Common difficulties:
- Weak connections (That reminds me of my dog). Ask: "How does that help you understand the story?"
- Pity instead of respect. Point out what characters can do and how environments create barriers.
About the facts: Guide runners and tethers are used in para athletics. Rick Hansen's Man in Motion World Tour began in 1985 and covered more than 40,000 km through 34 countries over about two years; the Rick Hansen Foundation works on accessibility in Canada. Running Together was written for this site.