Melanie and the Wheelie Friends Save the Day

Write the word “Accessibility” where everyone can see it. Ask students what they think it means. Record all ideas before providing a simple definition: Accessibility means making places, activities, and services usable by everyone, including people with disabilities.

Show pictures of buildings with ramps, elevators, automatic doors and stairs. Invite students to identify which entrances would be easiest for different people to use.

Discuss:

• Why might someone use a wheelchair or mobility scooter?
• Can a very small step become a very big obstacle?
• How can communities make everyone feel welcome?

Explain that the story is about a girl who helps her community understand why accessibility matters.

Display the front cover and several illustrations without reading the text.

Ask students:

• Who do you think Melanie is?
• What do you notice about the different mobility devices?
• Why might the children be together?
• What problem do you predict they will solve?
• What clues helped you make your prediction?

Record predictions and revisit them after reading.

Explain that every person has different strengths and different needs, and that accessibility tools come in all shapes and sizes. Invite students to look at their school and classroom to identify accessibility tools around them.

Invite students to complete the sentence: “Something that helps me learn or do my best is …”

Examples might include:

• glasses
• hearing aids
• extra time
• quiet spaces
• wheelchair
• scooter
• pencil grip

Discuss how using helpful tools, no matter how big or small, allows everyone to participate.

Ask students to brainstorm people who help improve communities. Possible responses include:

• construction workers
• business owners
• neighbors
• volunteers
• city workers
• teachers
• children

Explain that sometimes children become community leaders by noticing problems and helping solve them.

Tell students: “Imagine that everyone in your class is invited to a bakery, but one classmate cannot get inside because of an inaccessible step outside the front door. What could the class do to help them get inside?”

Allow students to brainstorm respectful solutions before reading.

Record ideas and compare them with Melanie’s solution after the story is read.

Pause after Melanie reaches the bakery and discovers the step.

Ask students:

• What problem has Melanie discovered?
• Why is the step a problem for her?
• What do you think will happen next?
• What would you do if you were Melanie?

Continue reading and compare students’ predictions against the story.

As you read, stop at important moments and ask students to identify how characters might be feeling. Encourage them to support their answers with evidence from the illustrations or text.

Create a chart with two columns with the headers “Character” and “Feeling & Evidence.” Have students fill out the chart when they see new characters and new feelings. Examples include:

Discuss how feelings can change as people learn and work together.

As students listen, encourage them to identify each problem that appears in the story and the solution that follows.

Create a class chart based on the example below.

As students encounter unfamiliar words, pause to discuss their meanings using context clues and illustrations.

Suggested vocabulary:

• accessibility
• mobility
• advocate
• equal
• permanent
• donation
• community
• fundraiser
• respect
• inclusion

Invite students to use each word in a sentence related to the story.

Pause on several illustrated pages and ask students to look closely at the pictures before reading the text on that page.

Questions to ask students might include:

• What details do you notice first?
• What clues tell you how Melanie is feeling?
• What do you notice about the bakery entrance?
• How do the illustrations help tell the story?
• What details might someone miss if they only listened to the words?

Discuss how illustrations help readers understand characters, setting and emotions.

Work together to place the major events from the story in chronological order. Here’s an example sequence:

• Melanie visits the bakery.
• She cannot enter because of the step.
• She explains why she needs a front ramp.
• The Wheelie Friends work together.
• They raise money.
• A permanent ramp is built.
• Everyone can enter through the front door.

Invite students to retell the story using the completed sequence.

Discuss ways communities can become more welcoming and accessible for everyone.

Ask students to think about places they visit, such as parks, libraries, schools, playgrounds, restaurants, or stores.

Invite students to complete the sentence:

“One way I can help make my community more welcoming is …”

Students may draw a picture and write one or two sentences explaining their idea. Encourage volunteers to share their ideas with the class and discuss how small actions can make a big difference.

Ask students to imagine they are architects designing a new bakery, school or playground. Using drawing paper, have them include features that make the building welcoming for everyone.

Possible features include:

• A front entrance ramp
• Wide doorways
• Automatic doors
• Accessible parking spaces
• Elevators
• Clear signs
• Benches for resting

When finished, students explain why they included each feature and how it helps people participate independently.

Review how the Wheelie Friends worked together to solve a problem. Ask students:

• Why couldn’t Melanie solve the problem completely by herself?
• How did her friends help?
• How did the community help?
• Why is teamwork important?

Invite students to think of a time they worked together with others to accomplish something. Partners can share their experiences before discussing them as a class.

Look around the school or neighborhood for features that help everyone participate, such as ramps, curb cuts, elevators, or automatic doors.

Design your own cookie inspired by Melanie or one of the Wheelie Friends.

• Research different mobility devices such as manual wheelchairs, power wheelchairs, mobility scooters, walkers and canes.
• Learn how ramps, curb cuts, elevators and automatic doors help many people — not only wheelchair users.
• Explore the meaning of universal design and how it creates spaces that everyone can use.