Self-Advocacy What Would You Do? Cards — Think, Choose, Act
Left-handed at craft hour, with scissors that pinch. Marked absent while hanging up your coat.
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About this resource
Left-handed at craft hour, with scissors that pinch. Marked absent while hanging up your coat. These self-advocacy what would you do scenarios give Grades 2–5 moments where something is missing, unclear or mixed up, and the fix starts with asking. Students choose among three action cards and explain why, practicing a Relationship Skills move they need daily: asking the right person, at a good time.
What students practice
- Speaking up when they need something to take part
- Asking for help clearly and saying exactly what they need
- Asking politely for more time or another try
- Correcting a mix-up about themselves calmly
- Asking for a change that helps them learn
What’s inside
- 40 scenarios across Speaking Up for What I Need, Asking for Help Clearly, Asking for More Time or Another Try, Correcting a Mix-Up About Me and Asking for a Change That Helps Me Learn
- 120 action cards: a polite request, a workaround and an impulsive response
- 40 reflection sheets
- Teacher pages on discussion, role play and stations; 77 pages
A look inside
- The Lefty Scissors: at Mr. Nakamura’s craft hour, the scissors pinch with every cut. Check With Mr. Nakamura, Switch Hands or Rip the Paper?
- Marked Absent by Mistake: there’s an “A” by your name, and the list is about to go to the office.
- Directions on Paper: Mr. Abara reads six steps aloud just once. The best card is Words on the Board.
How to use these self-advocacy what would you do cards
- Discuss The Tricky Thermometer, then compare Point to the Lines with Say It’s All Hard
- Role-play The Switched Name Tags with a classmate as the substitute
- Sort the choices for Halfway Through the Book, then vote
- Put the Asking for a Change cards in an SEL station for small groups
Grade fit
Sixteen scenes are at school (a computer lab password, a music room where a tall classmate blocks the screen), 13 are in the community and 11 at home. Every request is small and specific, the kind Grades 2–5 can actually make, which keeps these self-advocacy activities practical rather than abstract.
Digital version
The interactive digital version shares as one link: students answer the think questions (or just read them in the quick format), choose an action card and say why, on any device with no student logins. At the end they download an answer sheet to hand in.
Good to know
The impulsive card here is often silence, not acting out: Wait Quietly, Float and Wait, Stay in Your Seat. Talking about why staying quiet doesn’t solve the problem is a useful part of the lesson.
Pairs well with
Turn more self-advocacy scenarios into everyday language with Self-Advocacy Affirmation Cards or act it out with Self-Advocacy Role Play Scenarios.
Questions teachers ask
Is this about saying no to friends?
No. These scenes are about asking for what you need to learn and take part: help, more time, another try, a mix-up fixed or a change such as a softer ball in gym.
Which card counts as the best choice?
In the printed cards, a is the most helpful, b is partly helpful and c is impulsive. The digital version mixes up the order.
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