-Benjamin Disraeli: 1804-1881

Mrs. Whidden

6^th-8^th Special Education Academic Support

West Middle School

whiddend@binghamtonschools.org

Introduction:

You wake up to your alarm going off. It is another day of school. You say to yourself, “When is the next break?” or “I can’t wait for the weekend to come.” When you hear these statements, you may think this student just doesn’t like to go to school. Unfortunately, that is not the case. This student has been bullied everyday of the entire school year. Has this ever happened to you?

What is bullying? Bullying can be displayed in many ways. There is physical, verbal, indirect, social alienation, intimidation, and cyber bullying.

After reading Your Power: When Bullies Crash the Party from the book Choices: Dealing with Friends and Peers Your Space by Diane Webber, we find examples of students who have lived through being bullied.

At West Middle School, we pride ourselves on being a safe school that tolerates the differences in others. Unfortunately, we still have bullies at our school. Your job will be to create ways to show everyone at West how to prevent and stop bullying behaviors. You will be creating a PowerPoint that will be presented to the class and submitted to your ELA teacher for extra credit.

Task:

1. You will be working independently.

2. You will need to find information on the internet, use pictures and write information you find on your PowerPoint.

3. Present your PowerPoint to your class.

Powerpoint:

· Must be completed on PowerPoint and typed correctly.

· Must be at least 8 slides long; a title page, all 6 types of bullying, and at least 1 solution to the problem of bullying at West Middle School

· Must include text and illustrations.

The Process:

You now have the opportunity to have a direct hand in stopping all kinds of bullying in West Middle School. Mrs. Whidden is asking you to join her in helping more students live their lives free of bullying. You will be asked to develop a PowerPoint on the 6 types of Bullying and how to stop it in your school.

You will complete the Six Steps of the Public Policy Analyst Model (PPA) to decide on the best public policy solution that will help prevent bullying at West Middle School.

Mrs. Whidden will review the PPA structure/PowerPoint as a class to explain to everyone in the class what a PPA is using the following link.

http://www2.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/ppae/ppae2.html

A worksheet for each of the steps of the PPA is listed below on the following links. Each worksheet has a step in the process of finding a solution to the problem. Click on each link and complete the attached worksheet. You will use these worksheets as a guide and resource material for completing the PowerPoint. Make sure that you use all six steps of the PPA in your presentations.

Step #1: Define the Social Problem

Step #2: Gather the Evidence

Step #3: Identify the Causes

Step #4: Evaluate an Existing Policy

Step #5: Develop Solutions

Step #6: Select the Best Solution

Resources

• http://library.thinkquest.org/07aug/00117/typesbullying.html
• https://www.google.com
• http://www.stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov/kids/
• http://pbskids.org/itsmylife/friends/bullies/
• http://facs.pppst.com/bullying.html
• Binghamton School Policies (look at Policy #8086)
• Bullying Statistics

Evaluation

PowerPoint Rubric
	Novice 10 Points			Emergent 11 Points		Skilled 13 Points	Expert 14 Points
Text	Text is difficult to read. Too much text. Inappropriate fonts. Small font size.			Overall readability is difficult. Too much text. Too many different fonts.		Fonts are generally easy to read. Font size varies appropriately. Too much text.	Easy to read. Font size varies appropriately. Text is appropriate length.
Graphics	Most of the graphics are unrelated to content. Too many graphics on one page. Most of the graphics distract from the text. Images are poor quality. Too large or too small.			Some of the graphics are unrelated to content. Too many graphics on one page. Some of the graphics distract from the text. Images are poor quality. Too large or too small.		All graphics are related to content. All graphics are appropriate size and good quality. Graphics help audience understand the flow of content. All graphics are related to content. All graphics are appropriate size and good quality.	Graphics create an overall theme and make connections that helps the audience understand the concepts.
Animation	Much of the animation is unrelated to content. Too much animation on one page. Much of the animation distract from the text.			Some of the animation is unrelated to content. Too much animation on one page. Some of the animation distract from the text.		Animation helps audience understand the flow of content.	Animation creates an overall theme and make connections that helps the audience understand the concepts.
Background		Background makes text difficult to read.	Text is readable, but background is very Distracting.		Text is readable, but background is slightly distracting.			Background makes text easy to read.
Layout		Layout is cluttered, confusing. Poor use of spacing, headings and sub headings. Hard to read.	Layout shows some structure. Cluttered, distracts from readability. Large gaps of space.		Uses horizontal and vertical space appropriately.			Pleasing to the eye. Appropriate use of headings and sub-headings. Appropriate use of white space.
Writing Mechanics		Errors in grammar, capitalization, punctuation or spelling distract from readability.	Many errors in grammar, capitalization, punctuation or spelling.		1 or 2 errors in grammar, capitalization, punctuation or spelling.			No errors in grammar, capitalization, punctuation or spelling.
Content		Investigation incompletely covered.	Covers most parts of the investigation/		Completely covers most required parts of the investigation.			Completely covers all required parts of investigation.
Total Points + 2 if you have your name on your PowerPoint

Conclusion

You should have learned from this web quest that bullying in any form can be seen as a major social problem at West Middle School in Binghamton, NY. You have seen what can happen to those people who are affected by bullying. You also have learned the role of the Public Policy Analyst. Let’s hope your investigation and suggestions will lead to a policy that will make a difference.

Standards

English Language Arts Standards

· Standard 1: Students will read, write, listen and speak for information and understanding.

· Standard 3: Students will read, write, listen and speak for critical analysis and evaluation.

· Standard 4: Students will read, write, listen and speak for social interaction.

Technology Standards

· Standard 5: Students will apply technological knowledge and skills to design, construct, use, and evaluate products and systems to satisfy human and environmental needs.

Social Studies Standards

· Standard 5: 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.