Last week at Coopersale Hall, we celebrated Dyslexia Awareness Week; this year’s theme was ‘Uniquely You’. Across the school, we celebrated this, in class and in assemblies, to help the children understand what dyslexia is and how everyone is individual and it is ok to learn and understand the world differently.
In Early Years and Key Stage 1, the children thought about similarities and differences between themselves and their friends. They could see that everyone was different and special in their own ways. Miss Crick read “Thunder Boots” to the children, to help them understand about dyslexia. They were also excited to discover that Spiderman and Bluey both have dyslexia. The children commented what they had learnt about dyslexia:
Edith – “Everyone is unique.”
Harry – “People are all different in many different ways.”
In Key Stage 2, the children watched “Sophie’s Story” a child explaining their experiences with being dyslexic. The children considered how it was important to support people that have dyslexia and they shared their reflections and thoughts with each other:
Sophie – “if someone is a bit different don’t be mean about it.”
Jessica – “think about dyslexia in a positive way and this can help you see the positive things that dyslexia can give you.”
Poppy – “dyslexia is like a super power.”
The children also watched a video from Richard Branson, who explained that he would not have been able to achieve the many, varied things he has accomplished in his life, if he had not had dyslexia. All the children expressed that they now have a greater awareness of dyslexia, how it affect the lives of people who are dyslexic and how we can appreciate this “SUPER POWER” in the future.
