Lesson #4: Self-Advocacy

How to Excel in High School

Length: 30 mins

❏ Understand what self-advocacy means
❏ Learn and apply the five steps of self-advocacy
❏ Make connections between self-advocacy and graduating from high school

  • What do you think that the word “advocate” means?
  • What does it mean to advocate for yourself? Why is it important?
  • Watch this video: Self-Advocacy
    • After watching the video, discuss the following questions:
      • What are the five steps of self-advocacy?
      • Tell a story about a time that you advocated for yourself or someone else. How did it feel to advocate? What was the result? If you could go back in time, would you do anything differently?
  • Practice self-advocacy! Roleplay at least three of the scenarios below with your tutor. Take some time after each roleplay to discuss what worked and what didn’t work. Self-advocacy is like a muscle, you have to exercise your self-advocacy skills to become a stronger self-advocate.
  • Scenario A: Jackie knows that she has a problem if she does not sit toward the front of the room. Her teacher has given her a seat in the back of the room and it is difficult for her to see. (The student is Jackie, the tutor is the teacher).
  • Scenario B: Phil knows that he is allowed to have extra time to complete math tests, or that he can take them in the Learning Lab. He failed his latest math test because he didn’t go for the extra time. (The tutor is Phil, the student is the teacher).
  • Scenario C: Maria has a part-time job at the movie theater. Even though her boss knows that she has school, he puts her on the schedule to work before 3:00 PM on a weekday. Maria doesn’t want to lose her job. How can she advocate for herself and make her boss understand that she can’t work those hours, but she still wants to work? (The student is Maria, the tutor is the boss). 
  • Scenario D: Jared was late to soccer practice because he had to pick his little brother up from school and walk him home. The coach is angry that Jared is late. Jared doesn’t want to miss out on playing time. (The tutor is Jared, the student is the coach).
  • Scenario E: Jenna is working on a group project in biology. The other members of her group are goofing off and not doing the work.  She doesn’t want to tattle on them, but she doesn’t want to get a bad grade, either. (The student is Jenna, the tutor is the teacher).
  • If you would like more practice, use your imagination to create more scenarios with your tutor!

  1. Practice your self-advocacy skills by scheduling an appointment with your high school counselor to talk about what you need to do to graduate high school. 
  2.  On a piece of paper write down three questions that you want to ask your high school counselor.
  3. Ask your school counselor for a copy of your transcript to bring to your next tutoring session.

Why do you think a growth mindset is important when you are advocating for yourself?

What’s Next?

New concepts covered and activities completed:
TODAY: Lesson #4: Self-Advocacy

  • Self-advocacy
  • Connection between self-advocacy and graduating from high school


NEXT WEEK – Lesson #5: Graduation Requirements, Equivalency Options, and Study Hacks