Find Your Voice Lesson Script

Introduction (2 minutes)

Teacher: “Hello, [Student Name]! It’s great to see you today. How are you feeling?”
(Pause briefly for response.)

Teacher: “Today, we’re going to work on finding your voice. That means noticing when you need help and practicing how to ask for it clearly. In the next 15 minutes, you’ll learn to:

1. Recognize when you need support
2. Use clear, assertive language
3. Request help effectively
   Sound good?”

(Wait for student confirmation.)

Display slide 1: Find Your Voice

Teacher: “Our title slide says it all: a quick lesson to build your self-advocacy skills. Let’s look at our objectives.”

Display slide 2: Lesson Objective

Teacher: “Our goals are:

• Recognize when you need support
• Practice using clear, assertive language
• Learn to request help effectively

These skills will help you feel more independent and confident. Let’s get started!”

Reading (3 minutes)

Teacher: “I have a short passage about self-advocacy. Please take a copy.”
(Hand out Self-Advocacy Reading Passage).

Teacher: “Read this aloud or to yourself. As you read, look for ‘I’ statements—sentences where someone clearly asks for help. Underline any words you don’t know, and I’ll help.”

(Allow reading time.)

Teacher: “Great! I noticed this sentence: ‘I need help understanding this problem.' That’s an assertive ‘I’ statement. Can you point to another example?”

(Pause for student to point out.)

Teacher: “Excellent. What does it mean to be assertive?”

(Listen and clarify.)

Discussion (3 minutes)

Display slide 4: Discussion Questions

Teacher: “Let’s talk about your experiences.”

1. “When have you needed help but hesitated to ask?”
   (Pause. If needed: “What were you thinking?”)
2. “What makes it hard or easy to speak up?”
   (If student is silent: “Do you worry about bothering someone?”)

Teacher: “Thank you for sharing. It’s common to feel nervous. These strategies can help you feel more comfortable speaking up.”

Role-Play Activity (3 minutes)

Display slide 5: Role-Play Activity

Teacher: “Time for a quick role-play. Please pick one of the Assertive Statement Role-Play Cards.”

(Student selects card.)

Teacher: “Your scenario says: ‘You need more time to finish a quiz.' I’ll be the teacher, and you’ll ask for what you need. Use an ‘I’ statement and speak clearly.”

Teacher (as teacher): “Alright, time is up. Please hand in your paper.”

Teacher (to student): “Go ahead.”

Student: “I need more time to finish the quiz, please.”

Teacher: “That was perfect—clear and polite. Your tone was calm, and you used an ‘I’ statement. Well done!”

(If time allows, swap roles or pick a second card.)

Advocacy Bingo Game (1 minute)

Display slide 6: Advocacy Bingo

Teacher: “Let’s play a quick round of Advocacy Bingo. Here’s your Bingo card.”

(Show Advocacy Bingo Game).

Teacher: “I’ll call out situations. If you have it on your card, mark it. When you complete a row or column, say ‘Bingo!’ Ready?”

1. “You need a quieter space to concentrate.”
2. “You forgot your homework.”
3. “You need clarification about instructions.”
4. “You need to use the restroom.”

Teacher: “Bingo?”

Student: “Bingo!”

Teacher: “Great spotting those scenarios!”

Quiz & Wrap-Up (3 minutes)

Display slide 7: Quiz & Wrap-Up

Teacher: “Finally, here’s a short quiz on self-advocacy.”
(Hand out Self-Advocacy Quiz).

Teacher: “Answer these 4 questions. You have one minute.”

(Allow quiz time.)

Teacher: “Let’s review your answers together.”

• Question 1: Which of these is an ‘I’ statement? (Confirm correct response.)
• Question 2: When should you ask for help? (Clarify key point.)
• Question 3: Give an example of a clear request.
• Question 4: Why is self-advocacy important?

Teacher: “Excellent work today! To wrap up, remember:

• Notice when you need help.
• Use ‘I’ statements like ‘I need…’ or ‘I would like…’
• Ask clearly and respectfully.

Keep practicing these strategies with teachers, friends, and family. I’ll check in next week and hear about your progress. Thanks for your hard work!”

When you stand up for yourself, you show confidence and help others understand what you need. For example, you might say, “I need more time to finish this assignment,” if a task feels rushed, or “I would like a quieter space so I can focus,” when the classroom is noisy. If you do not understand an instruction, you can ask, “I have a question about the directions; could you explain that part again?” Using “I” statements like these helps the other person know exactly what you want and why it matters. Clear requests lead to better support and make it easier to work together.

• When have you needed help but hesitated to ask? What feelings or thoughts held you back?
• What makes it easier or harder for you to speak up when you need support?
• Can you share a time when you asked for help and it went well? What helped that go smoothly?

Self-Advocacy Worksheet

A. Recognizing Assertive Language

Underline the statements below that use clear, assertive “I” statements.

1. “Would it be possible to review these instructions again?”
2. “I need more time to complete this task.”
3. “You always make things difficult for me.”
4. “I would like a quieter space to focus.”

Explain why the statements you underlined are assertive:

B. Writing Your Own “I” Statements

Write an assertive “I” statement for each situation below.

1. You feel overwhelmed by your homework load.

I-statement: ________________________________________________________________

2. You do not understand the assignment instructions.

I-statement: ________________________________________________________________

3. You need a short break during a long class.

I-statement: ________________________________________________________________

C. Passive, Assertive, or Aggressive?

For each statement below, write “Passive,” “Assertive,” or “Aggressive.”

1. “Fine, whatever you want to do is okay with me.” ________________
   
   
2. “You never listen; you’re so unfair!” ________________
   
   
3. “I would like to share my idea when you have a moment.” ________________
   
   
4. “Can I pause for a second? I’m confused about this step.” ________________
   
   
5. “You always ignore me!” ________________
   
   

Use your responses to practice clear, respectful communication when asking for support.

Assertive Statement Role-Play Cards

Use these scenario cards to practice making clear, polite “I” statements. Pick one card, read the scenario, then ask for what you need using an “I” statement.

1. Extra Time
   Scenario: You need more time to finish a quiz because you found some questions challenging.

2. Quiet Space
   Scenario: The classroom is too noisy and you need a quieter place to focus.

3. Clarification
   Scenario: You do not understand the homework instructions and need someone to explain them again.

4. Short Break
   Scenario: You’re feeling overwhelmed and would like a short break to calm down before continuing.

Advocacy Bingo Game

How to Play

1. Give the student the Bingo card below (3×3 grid).
2. Read aloud scenarios one at a time, quickly calling out 3–4 items.
3. The student marks each matching square when they hear it.
4. When the student completes three in a row (horizontal, vertical, or diagonal), they shout “Bingo!”
5. Celebrate and review which scenarios were marked.