Unit 16
I practised using my wheelchair every day. Soon I was able to wheel myself everywhere. I was very nervous the first day I went to school. But when Brianna pushed me into the classroom, everyone stood up and cheered. “Welcome to our class, Grace,” said my teacher, Mrs. Davis.
I loved going to school. There was just one problem. When the other students did sports, I had to sit and watch. I longed to run around with them. Then Kirk had an idea. “Grace can referee our basketball game,” he said. “That’s a great idea,” said the other students. Now when there are matches, I referee them from my chair. “We couldn’t do without Grace,” Mrs. Davis says.
1 Why can Grace only walk a few steps at a time? 2 How did Kirk and Brianna help their sister? 3 Who bought a wheelchair for Grace? 4 A disabled person is someone who: a) has to stay at home. b) cannot use part of his or her body. c) is sick all the time. 5 What problem did Grace have at school? 6 How was this problem solved?
7 Why do you think Grace felt nervous on her first day at school? 8 Do you think that Grace will do well at school? Explain your answer.
• To reinforce what students learned about contractions in Unit 15, read out sentences in the story which include contractions. Then read with full verb forms for students to compare. • Discuss the ‘lesson’ of this story with students. Ask: What did you learn from this story? • You may wish to explore attitudes to disability. Give examples of disabled people who have succeeded in life, e.g. blind singer Stevie Wonder or Paralympian Jamol Pilgrim.
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