Finding My Way Books honors children with disabilities by sharing their stories and celebration their inclusion. This year, Finding My Way Books is sharing the story of Onika. Onika Wants to Help shares the story of four friends and how their lives changed after the Rainbow School was built in their village in Tanzania. For the first time, they can attend school. Onika’s story celebrates a powerful message of inclusion. Onika has intellectual disabilities. Her friends are autistic and have intellectual disabilities.
Finding My Way Books is sharing the following free resources to share Onika’s story with your students during Inclusive Schools Week 2022!
- Onika Wants to Help Nonfiction Readers Theater Script
This social emotional learning activity promotes inclusion, cooperation, acceptance and participation through a play based on the book, Onika Wants to Help. Onika has intellectual disabilities. - Onika Wants to Help Wordsearch
This activity teaches students about the vocabulary used in the book. - An Inclusive Teacher Guide for Onika Wants to Help
This teacher guide offers discussion starters, vocabulary, and classroom activities to help students expand their capacity to promote inclusion and become an inclusive friend. Inclusive stories provide students the opportunity to meet and then talk about children who may be different, yet also be someone with whom they have things in common.