Mrs.
Przybylski
NSJHS
jprzybyl@nscsd.org
Introduction:
Have you ever been a victim of bullying or witnessed
bullying? Maybe you are a bully who
doesn’t realize the possible consequences of your actions or the causes of your
behavior. People magazine
featured a cover story last year on Megan Meier a victim of cyber bullying that
may have resulted in her committing suicide.
Megan’s story is one of many to plague the media over the last several
years indicating that bullying has become more prevalent among teens. Bullying takes on all shapes and forms and
with the access to multi-media it has offered one more form of bullying. Bullying is an issue here at the Junior High
and across the nation that often goes unnoticed or is ignored.
As you read the novel The Bully by Paul Langan the main character Darryl has to figure out ways to
deal with being bullied at his new school. Other students often witnessed
Darryl being picked on and sat by silently.
Acts of violence towards others or to one self often are result of being
bullied.
Task:
President Obama has called on students to research
the issue of bullying at their perspective schools and create a new national
policy to prevent bullying schools across the country. Using the PPA policy analysis model students
will research the current problem of bullying at NSJHS as well as in schools
across the nation. Students will
evaluate the current polices at NSJHS in regards to bullying. Students will then create a newsletter or
brochure using Pages
Students will create two products.
1. First
students will make an outline using the PPA steps as the guideline. They will
record their findings in the outline.
This needs to be typed.
2. Second
students will use Pages to create either a brochure or newsletter on the topic
of bullying.
Criteria for newsletter and brochure:
·
Contains anti-bullying message
·
Highlights current policies at NSJHS
·
Gives tips to combat bullying- solutions to
the problem
·
Includes a real life story about a victim of
bullying
·
Is visually appealing
·
No blank spaces. Pages are evenly filled with
content related pictures, quotes, text.
The Process:
Students will be placed in
groups of 2 and complete the following:
You will evaluate the problem of bullying
at NSJHS. Your outline will contain the six steps of the PPA.
Step
One:
Identify the problem (what is it and
why is it a problem)
Identify the
Problem - Worksheet
Step
Two:
Gather the Evidence. Locate at least
three different sources of evidence to support the existence and extent of your
problem.
Gather the
Evidence - Worksheet
Step
Three:
Determine Causes (identify
the causes or factors that contribute to a social problem, then they can try to
develop public policies to eliminate or lessen those causes or factors.)
Identify the causes - Worksheet
Step
Four:
Evaluate the Policy. When evaluating
the policy, you want to consider if the problem has been resolved.
Examine Existing Policy - Worksheet
Step Five:
Develop new solutions for
the problem.
Develop New
Policy Solutions - Worksheet
Step Six:
Select the Best Solution (Feasibility vs. Effectiveness)
Select the Best
Policy - Worksheet
Resources:
Use
the following websites to complete your research.
·
Article
on Recent attacks against Gay Teens
·
9th
graders at Baldwinsville combat Bullying
·
President
Obama speaks out against bullying and to the victims of bullying
·
New
Jersey to adopt anti-bullying bill
·
Real life stories on
cyber bullying
·
Dangers of 21st Century
Communication- What to look for
·
http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_mind/problems/bullies.html
·
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/bullying.html
·
http://pbskids.org/itsmylife/friends/bullies/
·
http://facs.pppst.com/bullying.html
·
http://nscsd.org (Use resources such as EBSCO,
OPAC Destiny, Syracuse Newspaper, Links to USA Today) You should also see if there is a policy on
bullying anywhere on NSCSD web page
·
Article: "Did You Birth A Bully?
·
Article on main causes of bullying
·
http://www.franklinregional.k12.pa.us/
·
http://www.impactpublications.com/index.asp?P...
Evaluation:
Both group members
earn the same grade.
See attached
rubrics.
Ø Students
will be given a grade on the content and creativity of the brochure or
newsletter. Content and
Creativity Rubric
Ø Students
will be given a grade for their outline (one turned in per team). Outline Rubric
Ø Students
will be given a grade based on Habit #6 Synergy. How well do you work together?
Synergy
Rubric
Conclusion
Many of you may not have realized the impact
bullying can have on the individuals who are victims. Hopefully you have learned that bullying is a
problem here at the Junior High as well as in schools across the country. The
consequences of such negative behavior often have both immediate and long term
effects on the victims. As a community
of learners we are responsible for the environment created in this building.
Now
that you have this information, what will you do with it? I encourage you to post your newsletters
online and share them with other students.
Do not stand by and be bystanders to bullying. Standing idle while others are victimized makes
you a part of the problem. Stop
bullying, be a part of the solution not a part of the problem.
Standards
English Language Arts
Standard 1: Information and Understanding: Students will listen, speak, read, and write for information and understanding. Students will:
· collect data, facts, and ideas
· discover relationships, concepts, and generalizations
· use knowledge generated from written, and electronically produced texts
Standard 2: Literary Response and Expression: Students will listen, speak, read, and write for literary response and expression. Students will:
· relate texts to their own lives
· develop an understanding of the diverse social, historical, and cultural dimensions of the texts
Standard 3: Critical Analysis and Evaluation: Students will listen, speak, read, and write for critical analysis and evaluation. Students will:
· analyze experiences, ideas, information, and issues presented by others using a variety of established criteria.
· use written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language to present, from a variety of perspectives, their opinions and judgments on experiences, ideas, information and issues.
Standard 4: Social Interaction: Students will listen, speak, read, and write for social interaction. Students will:
·
use oral and written language that follows the
accepted conventions of the English language for effective social communication
·
use the social
communications of others to enrich their understanding of people and their
views.
Social Studies
Standard 5. Civics, Citizenship and Government: Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the necessity for establishing governments; the governmental system of the United States and other nations; the United States Constitution; the basic civic values of American constitutional democracy; and the roles, rights, and responsibilities of citizenship, including avenues of participation.
Mathematics, Science, Technology
Standard 2 Information Systems:. Students will access, generate, process, and transfer information using appropriate technologies.
Standard
5. Technology: Students will apply technological knowledge
and skills to design, construct, use, and evaluate products and systems to
satisfy human and environmental needs.