White Cane Day STORY Lesson Plan

Part 1: Qudsiya's Story

As a class, read "The best 34.32 I ever spent: My white cane" by Qudsiya Naqui and pause to answer the comprehension and discussion questions. These are inserted as comments throughout the article, and can also be found below.

Comprehension Questions

1. Qudsiya feels powerful and present with her cane. Why do you think a white cane can make her feel this way?

2. When Qudsiya started cane instruction for the first time, she felt very uncertain about herself. What would you tell Qudsiya or somebody who is just starting to use their cane to make them feel excited about the White Cane?

3. If you met Qudsiya in school and saw that she felt ashamed of her white cane, what would you tell her? What might you tell the people who she felt bullied by?

4. Qudsiya gradually lost more vision and at first, she wanted to hide it. This made her more isolated and it was unsafe. Not only did she stop going out to parties or walking around at night, she also had a huge fall down the stairs! If she used her cane, what kinds of things would be easier for her?

5. What kinds of information can a cane give you that walking with human guide or dog guide might not?

6. What kind of tip do you have on your white cane?

7. Qudsiya made friends with other people who were blind and cane users. What were some of the ways this changed her mind about being blind?

Part 2: How to Write a Story

A story is a great way to express yourself through writing. Through Qudsiya's story, we learned how Qudsiya's experiences with the white cane shaped her emotions and attitude toward using the white cane. Once apprehensive and dismissive of its use, she became a proud cane user over time.

Graphic organizer for Qudsiya's story

A story usually has a main character who is presented with a problem. They go on a journey and overcome some challenges until they finally resolve that problem. If we mapped Qudsiyas story on a graphic organizer for a story, it might look like this:

Main Character: Qudsiya
Main Problem: She was worried what other people would think of her and did not want to use the white cane.

Events

Event 1	Event 2	Event 3
Born with a degenerative eye condition she did not need to use her cane at first	She lost more vision and soon it became dangerous for her to not use the cane.	She started taking OM lessons more seriously and connecting to people in the community of blindness and visual impairments

Resolution

Realized the freedom her cane gives her to stay safe and independent, and decided to buy a cane for every occasion.

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