School toolkit: for children (7 to 8 year olds)

Lesson Plan: Making your community stronger

Our lesson plan is adapted from a resource created by the Austrian teacher Manuel Preishuber, as part of a joint project between the Pädagogische Hochschule Salzburg and the Austrian national alliance of rare disease patient organisations, Pro-Rare Austria.  Pädagogische Hochschule Salzburg provides a course for teachers and student teachers preparing them to teach about rare diseases.

Together with the group activities, this lesson plan should help 7 and 8 years olds to better understand the isolation that some children with a rare disease may face. They will be able to engage with the story, discuss with the class and partake in fun activities. It will be a great starting point for them to reflect on their own.

Download the lesson plan PDF in the following languages:
English, French, German, Spanish,

Merlin, the little feline

To use alongside our lesson plan and for additional use, please find below the link to a children’s book: Merlin, the Little Feline.

Using the analogy of a lion cub who doesn’t resemble his pack, the book explores the difficulties families can have to both obtain a diagnosis for a rare disease and discover a community who can provide information and support.

We appreciate that Fondation Ipsen has made available, free for all to use, this book, originally published in French, by Sonia Goerger and Elodie Garcia.

Download the projection PDF in one of the following languages:

English, French, German, Latvian, Mandarin, Spanish, Ukrainian

Download the print PDF in one of the following languages:

English, French, Latvian, Mandarin, Spanish, Ukrainian

We would love your comments about the book and lesson plan. Please share any feedback with us at [email protected] and let us know if you want to help us with a translation in your language! We are committed to raising awareness for people living with a rare disease and providing all of the necessary tools you might need to spread the word!