ADA Mini-Unit for High School Educators: Rights, Responsibilities, and the Reasons They Matter

The “ADA Mini-Unit for High School Educators: Rights, Responsibilities, and the Reasons They Matter” is a collection of resources to give educators tools, including a PowerPoint presentation, to teach youth about the basics of the ADA. People of all ages have disabilities, and the ADA covers people with disabilities regardless of age. Learning about rights may be helpful for students academically and in their personal lives. The presentation is not intended to be a complete summary of the ADA. Instead, the presentation puts the law into historical and social context as well as helps students understand some of their rights. The goal is to help students be informed as they transition out of high school and into the next phase of their lives.

In addition to the PowerPoint presentation, this ADA mini-unit includes a small collection of other resources. An instructor guide covers some basics of the ADA and a brief history of the disability rights movement. Extension activities for homework or in-class activities support several common core standards.

This mini-unit could be incorporated into a high school curriculum in multiple ways. Educators working with high school youth could include this mini-unit in a social studies, history, or health class. It could also be woven into a class that teaches skills that will be needed in adulthood, or into a class on civil rights. Although this was created for general education students, high school students receiving transition services through their IEPs could benefit from the presentation as it prepares them to enter postsecondary education or employment settings. Educators in other settings may also find this useful for their students.

After completing this mini-unit, students will be able to:

Briefly describe key moments of the disability rights movement in the U.S.
Name who has responsibilities under the ADA and what some of the responsibilities are.
Understand the rights people with disabilities have under the ADA.

The mini-unit does not cover all aspects of the ADA. Every situation is unique, and the ADA applies on a case-by-case basis. Because this mini-unit was designed as a broad overview, it does not contain full details about the law.

Editable PowerPoint presentation

The ADA mini-unit includes an editable PowerPoint slide deck. The slides’ note sections contain additional information that may be useful to instructors as they prepare for class or to address questions that may arise during the presentation. Several slides’ notes have a discussion prompt to break up the presentation and keep students engaged.

Editable Slide Deck [PowerPoint]

Instructor guide and extension activities

Instructor guide

This instructor guide was written as a companion to the PowerPoint presentation. The primary audience for this guide is upper high school educators with no previous knowledge of the ADA or disability rights. The instructor guide gives context about disability, the ADA, and related laws. Although the guide includes more information about the ADA than is included in the PowerPoint presentation, it also is not intended to be a complete summary of the ADA. Reviewing the instructor guide prior to presenting the PowerPoint slide deck is strongly recommended.

The instructor guide also identifies additional resources, including YouTube videos, academic journal articles, and federal department websites, that may be helpful or informative. Several optional extension activities are also described, and there are four printable worksheets or quizzes to go along with these extension activities.

Extension activities

The included activities create an opportunity to interact with material in engaging ways in many different learning styles and at many different levels of difficulty. Extension activities range from small-group discussion prompts and collaborative worksheets, to printable quizzes and a compare and contrast essay writing prompt.

The extension activities support the following Common Core Standards:

CCSS.W.11–12.1: Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
CCSS.W.11–12.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
CCSS.W.11–12.4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
CCSS.W.11–12.10: Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.
CCSS.SL.11–12.1: Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
CCSS.L.11–12.1: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
CCSS.L.11–12.2: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
CCSS.RH.11–12.2: Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary that makes clear the relationships among the key details and ideas.
CCSS.RH.11–12.7: Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, as well as in words) in order to address a question or solve a problem.

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