A Curriculum that Breaks Barriers

SO Get Into It is a curriculum resource kit for students with and without disabilities.  This curriculum provides the necessary materials to involve your students in learning about those who are different but who can nonetheless inspire the world with the lesson that we all have gifts to contribute, no matter what our limitations. This is a curriculum that celebrates giftedness - the giftedness of every student no matter his or her ability.  Through the world of Special Olympics, we hope each student will come to recognize that he or she has the power to make a difference.

Through SO Get Into It, students will learn about the Special Olympics experience and all its positive messages.  They will come to understand the athletes’ ability to contribute to society through leadership roles both on and off the playing field; they will come to appreciate the critical role of service; they will come to understand the power of attitudes, both good and bad; and most importantly, they will be invited to make a difference themselves.  SO Get Into It is about the world of winners called Special Olympics, but it is much more:  it is a portal through which young people can discover the pathway to building a more welcoming society for all.

In Special Olympics we celebrate ability, dedication, accomplishment, teamwork, and

SO Get Into It consists of four lessons for regular education classrooms. The program was designed as a relatively simple way to achieve several closely related student learning goals:

• To understand, accept, and celebrate individual differences;
• To learn about and become involved in Special Olympics;
• To become involved in a service-learning project or activity related to Special Olympics, including participation in Special Olympics sports and events.

The lessons are also designed to support, and be in alignment with, academic standards, youth and character development, service-learning, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Although you may need to limit your teaching of So Get Into It  to the four lessons alone, you may also find that the program opens doors to important new learning opportunities throughout the school year.