We’re excited to introduce a fun and engaging new initiative – Unified Young Readers – designed to positively impact students and champions of inclusion of all abilities and all ages!
Before you think, “This might be too young for my students,” don’t forget that sometimes the simplest stories carry the most powerful lessons! This initiative is designed to spark meaningful conversations and foster a culture of inclusion across all age groups.
What is Unified Young Readers?
Each week, the UCS team will spotlight a thoughtfully selected book that promotes themes of acceptance, inclusion, and empowerment. To support rich classroom conversations, each book will be accompanied by:
- Discussion questions
- Activity suggestions
- Social-emotional learning prompts
These resources are designed to encourage deeper reflection and dialogue among your students.
How does it work?
Book selections will be posted weekly here on the UCS website and emailed directly to registered participants. To ensure accessibility, you may choose to:
- Borrow the book from your school or local library
- Purchase a copy
- Use the provided read-aloud video link
A teacher, parent, or other designated individual will facilitate the reading of the book using whatever method works best for the group. They will also oversee the discussion questions and/or the provided activity. Since every group of students is different, the facilitator should feel comfortable asking leading questions to encourage a rich and engaging discussion among students.
How you can use Unified Young Readers to advance your Unified initiatives at school
These books can be integrated into a variety of settings and existing models, including:
- Unified Club meetings
- Before or after Young Athletes sessions
- Morning meetings or advisory periods
- Buddy programs or peer mentoring activities
- Classroom read-alouds or literacy blocks
- School-wide assemblies or family engagement nights
- Cross-grade reading partnerships
- SEL-focused lessons or character education blocks
Through these stories, students will explore different abilities, perspectives, and lived experiences—building empathy and understanding in a way that’s both accessible and impactful.
Sneak Peek
To give you a sense of how the program works, we’re sharing a preview of one of our featured books, including the discussion questions and activity ideas: This will help you see how easy it is to incorporate Unified Young Readers into your existing routines.
How to Join
- Once you’ve decided to participate, register here.
- If you’re a UCS school, include Unified Young Readers in your monthly report numbers. We’ll be adding a new section just for this.
- Schools that actively engage with Unified Readers on a weekly basis may be invited to participate more fully, receiving a complimentary copy of featured books!