This is a lesson plan focused around the PBS documentary Best Kept Secret. The lesson is part of a series of teaching resources based on their POV documentaries which include video clips, lesson objectives, and activity suggestions. This particular lesson plan is intended for high schoolers, but I think it can easily be adapted for middle school by adding more structure and supplemental materials. In it, students are part of a service learning project where they develop and produce educational materials for elementary school children about autism. The lesson plan can be integrated into a number of subject areas, including English/language arts, health and psychology, and social studies, and can be used for content about autism in addition to lessons intended to build media literacy and service skills. In the lesson, students will begin by watching a series of clips from the documentary, which is about a school in Newark, NJ which serves special-needs students. The film profiles 4 autistic students who are approaching graduation, and the teacher who is working to find places for her students post-graduation. The film highlights the struggles of autistic students as they reach adulthood, and the ways that educators can advocate for their special needs students even as they leave the school system. For the purposes of this porject, students will watch clips from the film that profile the specifc needs, skills, and personalities of the students in the film in order to better understand the effects of autism on daily life. After watching the clips, the instructor will facilitate discussion and possibly provide more supplemental learning materials before introducing the assignment. For the assignment, students will be broken into groups and instructed to create an activity or presentation that will educate elementary school students about autism. Their projects will then actually be presented to their intended audiences.
This lesson plan would enable instructors to address issues of ability in the classroom. As the lesson plan points out, 1 in 50 children in the U.S. is autistic, and therefore it is necessary for schools to address this reality. By engaging students in the education process, the benefits of this project are twofold: the middle or high schoolers become experts and agents of change in their school communities, and the elementary school students being taught gain an early understanding of autism and differently abled students in general. As a teacher, it would be important to be a sensitive and knowledgable facilitator in this activity. While the documentary is a useful resource, it does should not stand alone; the teacher should provide a variety of other resources for students, including readings, guest speakers, and other materials. The teacher should also be aware of the language that is appropriate for talking and educating about different abilities, and be explicit with the students about this language.
I chose this resource because, beyond just educating students about an issue, it also makes them active in using their new understanding to create change. This is valuable because the lessons taught through this activity go beyond autism; students can use what they learn to understand and engage with different types of neurodiversity, and to learn valuable activism skills like being community leaders and engaging in meaningful research. The lesson plan gives lots of room for modification, and therefore can be changed to accommodate the skill levels and needs of a variety of classrooms in a variety of subjects. One possible criticism of this lesson is that the film does not focus on the perspectives of the autistic students, and often dwells on their deficiencies and not their skills. To remedy this, teachers can make sure to provide other materials that are from the perspective of people with autism, and to engage older students in discussions about the way that disability is socially constructed. 
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