During this lesson, students further expand their vocabulary with a Word Study focused on barriers. Students will then complete some action research around their school environment, identifying barriers, and considering various causes and effects of barriered and barrier-free spaces. Finally, students will engage in improvised role-play, giving voice to inanimate objects and/concepts, as they attempt to identify and dismantle barriers in their lives.

Lesson Overview

Estimated Time: 3 class periods 

Learning Goals/Big Ideas/Key Questions
  • What is a Barrier?
  • Identify different types of barriers that exist in our school community.
  • Why is something a barrier for some people, but not for others?
  • How can we overcome barriers?
  • Whose responsibility is it to remove barriers for others?
  • How is not knowing how to read a barrier?
Readiness

Students should be comfortable with independent and paired work for this lesson as it requires students to explore the school environment.

Terminology
  • Barrier
  • Barrier-free
  • Physical barrier
  • Social Barrier
  • Societal barrier
  • Improve
  • Objective
  • Motivation
  • Obstacle
Materials
  • Individual copies of PDF #5: Word Study 4
  • Individual copies of PDF #6: Field Study Notes

Minds On

Whole Class/Small Groups/Individual > Word Study: Barrier

Hand out copies of PDF #5 Word Study 4. As a class, preview the handout and read the sample sentence for barrier together. Next, have students brainstorm a student-friendly definition for the term and copy it onto their handout. Next, Think/Pair/Share some examples for physical, social, and societal barriers. Some examples are listed below. Then, have students complete the handout by finishing the sentence, sketching a single tableaux, and Writing In Role as they face the barrier of a washed out bridge.

Physical Barrier- a concrete or tangible thing which causes a physical or emotional obstacle for someone or groups of people

  • Stairs
  • Desks with chairs attached
  • Manual doors

Social Barrier - interactions with, or behaviour from other individuals which causes a physical or emotional obstacle for someone or groups of people

  • Being the new student at school
  • Social Media
  • Not seeing yourself represented in a space

Societal Barrier - an opinion, rule, or tradition held by a large group of people which causes a physical or emotional obstacle for someone or groups of people

  • Poverty
  • Racism
  • Language

Action

Whole Class/Pairs > Identifying Barriers: Field Study

Standing in an open space, ask students to take up as much space as possible (without touching their peers). Explore the space, constantly moving your body to the best of your abilities, filling any empty space that appears. Teachers should be mindful of the physical abilities of all students and adjust accordingly. For example, if a student has low muscle tone or uses a mobility device, have students stay seated but move their arms and head to fill the space. Now ask students to take up the least amount of space possible, but continue to constantly explore the space. Repeat the two activities, but change the boundaries of the playing space to make it smaller and smaller.

Teacher Prompts:

  • How were your choices impacted by the shrinking space?
  • Did you feel more or less comfortable with the actions as the space became smaller?
  • How did the playing space become a barrier to the activity? Challenge yourselves to think beyond a physical barrier.
  • What is the difference between an OPEN and CLOSED space? We can also call OPEN spaces Barrier-Free spaces.

Hand out copies of PDF #6 Field Study Notes and review as a class. This would be an excellent opportunity for the class to work outside and ground the activity in Land-based Learning. For further information, see the CODE resource: Grounded in Space and Place - If Trees Could Talk.

As a class, go on a walk around the school space, outside is recommended, but inside will work as well. Following the “I do, we do, you do” format, take students to a place you have already identified as a space with a barrier (an entrance without a ramp, a school office without a LGBTQ2S+ flag, a space in the school known for bullying at recess). Lead the students through the first column on the Field Study Notes handout, instructing them to make notes on what you say. Alternatively, you can fill in the first column ahead of time as an example.

As a class, move around the school and ask students to identify another barrier. Ask students to offer suggestions to complete the second column collectively. Have students record their findings on their handout. Once students are confident in the process, put them into pairs and have them complete the handout by identifying two more spaces in the school which have barriers and filling in the chart. 

Whole Class > Identifying Barriers: Sharing the results

When students have completed their Field Study notes, come together as a class and share their findings.

Teacher Prompts:

  • Consider the barriers that have been identified.
  • Were there any that were identified by several students?
  • Were there any that surprised you? Any that you disagree with? 
Assessment for Learning

Teachers should collect the completed PDF #6 Field Study Notes and review to see if students are correctly grasping the concepts of barrier and barrier-free, as well as making connections to equity and power.

Consolidation

Whole Class and Pairs > Identifying Barriers: Giving Words Power

Using students’ completed PDF #6 Field Study Notes, have students review their findings for the final two questions for each barrier they identified. Students will use these findings in improvised role-plays.

Imagine this barrier had a voice: what would it say to people as they approached?

Imagine you are the person approaching this barrier; what words or phrases come to mind? What are you thinking? What would you say to the barrier?

Ask for two volunteers to go first. Choose one of the barriers from their list. The actors will be playing (A) the barrier and (B) the person seeking to move through the barrier. A will say the first line (the student should use something they recorded on their field study notes) and B will respond (also from the notes). From here, the students should improvise a scene in which A tries to keep B out. Encourage students to explore beyond the surface; aim to understand A’s motivation, but be sure to center B’s need for a barrier-free space. 

  • Objective - what the character wants to achieve
  • Motivations - why the character wants to achieve their objective
  • Obstacle - what is in the way of the character achieving their objective

A - Barrier 

  • Objective: Keep B out
  • Motivation: actor or class decides
  • Obstacle: actor or class decides

B - Seeking a barrier-free space

  • Objective: Move past A, the barrier
  • Motivation: actor or class decides
  • Obstacle: A

Alternatively, rather than asking for volunteers at the beginning, have all students work in pairs to improvise scenes based on their Field Study Notes. Once students have played through various scenarios, ask for volunteers to repeat their work for the class.

Extensions

Using the in-role writing from PDF #5: Word Study 4, have students review and revise their pieces. Then have students perform their stories as a monologue. Alternatively, one person could narrate the story while other students mime the actions.