BULLYING AT COBBLESTONE SCHOOL
INTRODUCTION
Imagine walking into your classroom on a typical day. Who
do you see when you enter the room? Imagine your peers. Do they accept you for
who you are, treat you fairly and with respect? How do they make you feel?
Think of a time when someone said or did something that made you
uncomfortable, embarrassed, or caused physical or emotional harm. How did that
experience make you feel? How did you react? How did you want to react? Where
did you want to go in that moment? Did you retaliate verbally or physically?
Statistics indicate that 77% of
students are bullied mentally, verbally, and physically. This abuse begins in
elementary grades, peaks in grades 6-8, and then carries into high school. More
and more, bullying is pointed to as a significant factor behind youth violence,
including homicide and suicide. In addition, case studies of violence in
schools, including school shootings, suggest that bullying was a factor in many
of the incidents.
Bullying, especially disrespectful verbal behavior,
is a serious problem in the UMG at Cobblestone School. Teachers and students at
all grade levels (including the UMG) have come to me voicing concerns of how
students in the 7th and 8th grades talk to each other,
treat younger students, and interact with adults. This is totally unacceptable!
This school year you will spend more than 700 hours within the walls of
Cobblestone School. We cannot spend that time in a learning environment where
students feel unsafe, frustrated, unappreciated, or so intimidated that they
are unwilling to contribute their thoughts, concerns, and opinions to our
learning and social communities.
When this problem has been brought to your attention, many of you
are unaware (or unwilling to acknowledge) that your behavior is unacceptable,
hurtful towards others, and interfering with your peers’ opportunities to learn
and grow. As you are the oldest group, intelligent students, and role models
for the rest of the school, we hereby charge you with the task of informing
yourselves and the rest of the community about the causes and implications of
bullying at in our school.
TASK
Your task is to work in a group with
3-4 of your peers to create a publicity campaign that raises awareness about
bullying at Cobblestone. In your campaign, you will use a variety of media to
inform teachers, students, and parents of the effects of bullying as well as
provide strategies and solutions to overcome bullying in our school and any
school-related social environments. In completing this task, you will use the
Public Policy Analysis (PPA) to explore bullying, build your awareness about
this problem, and identify potential solutions to the problem. The PPA will
help you define the problem, gather evidence, identify causes, evaluate
an existing policy, create new solutions, and choose the best
policy. After going through the process of the PPA, your group will
generate a minimum of two media-texts, including but not limited to posters,
PowerPoint presentations, skits, flyers, brochures, children’s books,
pamphlets, television commercials, websites…etc., that communicate the problem
of bullying and offer potential solutions. You will present one of your
media-texts at a 3rd floor meeting and then at an all-school
meeting. The final addition to your campaign will be the generation of a text
from the one of the writing genres we studied in class: expository, narrative,
journal, letter, poetry, or biographical, that describes bullying or a bullying
experience (for example, a series of journal entries from a victim describing a
bullying experience; an expository essay describing bullying at Cobblestone and
stating what should be done).
Step
1:
Using
the hyperlinks in the Table 1, read about the steps of the PPA.
Step
2: Use the hyperlinks to Worksheets in Table 1 to work through each step of the
PPA.
|
Links to Steps of the PPA: |
Links to Worksheets: |
|
|
|
Table 1. Steps of
the PPA and worksheets for each step.
Step
3: After working through the PPA, decide the two type
of media your group will create to raise awareness about bullying at
Cobblestone. Check the Rubric for Media to make sure your products meet
expectations.
Step
4: As a group, present one of your media at a 3rd Floor Meeting and
then at an All School Meeting. Check the Rubric for Presentations to understand
the expectations for your group’s presentations.
Step
5: Choose a writing genre and create a text that describes bullying or a
bullying experience. Check the Rubric for Written Text to make sure you convey
a clear message about bullying.
RESOURCES
University of New
Hampshire's Crimes Against Children Research Center: http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/1230/p11s01-legn.html
Bullying.org Inc., a
nonprofit group in Canada. Lists statistics about bullying in general and
internet bullying:
http://www.bullying.org/public/frameset.cfm
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ interactive
website about bullying. Offers statistics and information about why kids bully and what
they can do to prevent bullying.
http://stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov/index.asp?area=main
A website with loads of information about bullying. Also provides several links
to news stories and articles about bullying. Has links to related bullying
websites. Take a bullying quiz, keep a bullying journal,
and much more.
http://www.42explore2.com/bully.htm
The National Education Association’s National Bullying
Awareness Campaign.
http://www.nea.org/schoolsafety/bullying.html
A
comprehensive site on bullying in the UK
Search
Engines
EVALUATION
The
two MEDIA PUBLICATIONS you create will be assessed using the following rubric:
|
CATEGORY |
Exceptional |
Acceptable |
Needs Work |
Unacceptable |
|
Content - Accuracy |
All facts in the media publication
are accurate. |
99-90% of the facts in the media
publication are accurate. |
89-80% of the facts in the media
publication are accurate. |
Fewer than 80% of the facts in the
media publication are accurate. |
|
Writing - Organization |
Each section in the media
publication has a clear beginning, middle, and end. |
Almost all sections of the
publication have a clear beginning, middle and end. |
Most sections of the publication
have a clear beginning, middle and end. |
Less than half of the sections of
the publication have a clear beginning, middle and end. |
|
Writing - Grammar |
There are no grammatical mistakes in
the publication. |
All grammatical mistakes in the
publication are corrected after feedback from an adult. |
There are 1-2 grammatical mistakes
in the publication even after feedback from an adult. |
There are 3 or more grammatical
mistakes in the publication even after feedback from an adult. |
|
Writing - Vocabulary |
The authors correctly use several
new words and define words unfamiliar to the reader. |
The authors correctly use a few new
words and define words unfamiliar to the reader. |
The authors try to use some new
vocabulary, but may use 1-2 words incorrectly. |
The authors do not incorporate new
vocabulary. |
|
Attractiveness & Organization |
The publication has exceptionally
attractive formatting and well-organized information. |
The publication has attractive
formatting and well-organized information. |
The publication has well-organized
information. |
The publication's formatting and
organization of material are confusing to the reader. |
|
Sources |
Careful and accurate records are
kept to document the source of 95-100% of the facts and graphics in the
publication. |
Careful and accurate records are
kept to document the source of 94-85% of the facts and graphics in the
publication. |
Careful and accurate records are
kept to document the source of 84-75% of the facts and graphics in the
publication. |
Sources are not documented accurately
or are not kept on many facts and graphics. |
|
Knowledge Gained |
All students in the group can
accurately answer all questions related to facts in the publication and to
technical processes used to create the publication. |
All students in the group can
accurately answer most questions related to facts in the publication and to
technical processes used to create the publication. |
Most students in the group can
accurately answer most questions related to facts in the publication and to
technical processes used to create the publication. |
Several students in the group appear
to have little knowledge about the facts or technical processes used in the
publication. |
|
Graphics/Pictures |
Graphics go well with the text and
there is a good mix of text and graphics. |
Graphics go well with the text, but
there are so many that they distract from the text. |
Graphics go well with the text, but
there are too few and the brochure seems "text-heavy". |
Graphics do not go with the
accompanying text or appear to be randomly chosen. |
Your
MEDIA PRESENTATION at the 3rd Floor Meeting and All School Meeting
will be assessed using the following rubric:
|
CATEGORY |
Exceptional |
Acceptable |
Needs Work |
Unacceptable |
|
Speaks Clearly |
Speaks clearly and distinctly all
(100-95%) the time, and mispronounces no words. |
Speaks clearly and distinctly all
(100-95%) the time, but mispronounces one word. |
Speaks clearly and distinctly most ( 94-85%) of the time. Mispronounces no more than one
word. |
Often mumbles or can not be
understood OR mispronounces more than one word. |
|
Content |
Shows a full understanding of the
topic. |
Shows a good understanding of the
topic. |
Shows a good understanding of parts
of the topic. |
Does not seem to understand the
topic very well. |
|
Collaboration with Peers |
Almost always listens to, shares
with, and supports the efforts of others in the group. Tries to keep people
working well together. |
Usually listens to, shares with, and
supports the efforts of others in the group. Does not cause "waves"
in the group. |
Often listens to, shares with, and
supports the efforts of others in the group but sometimes is not a good team
member. |
Rarely listens to, shares with, and
supports the efforts of others in the group. Often is not a good team member.
|
|
Posture and Eye Contact |
Stands up straight, looks relaxed
and confident. Establishes eye contact with everyone in the room during the
presentation. |
Stands up straight and establishes
eye contact with everyone in the room during the presentation. |
Sometimes stands up straight and
establishes eye contact. |
Slouches and/or does not look at
people during the presentation. |
|
Comprehension |
Student is able to accurately answer
almost all questions posed by classmates about the topic. |
Student is able to accurately answer
most questions posed by classmates about the topic. |
Student is able to accurately answer
a few questions posed by classmates about the topic. |
Student is unable to accurately
answer questions posed by classmates about the topic. |
|
Pauses |
Pauses were effectively used 2 or
more times to improve meaning and/or dramatic impact. |
Pauses were effectively used once to
improve meaning and/or dramatic impact. |
Pauses were intentionally used but
were not effective in improving meaning or dramatic impact. |
Pauses were not intentionally used. |
|
Enthusiasm |
Facial expressions and body language
generate a strong interest and enthusiasm about the topic in others. |
Facial expressions and body language
sometimes generate a strong interest and enthusiasm about the topic in
others. |
Facial expressions and body language
are used to try to generate enthusiasm, but seem somewhat faked. |
Very little use of facial
expressions or body language. Did not generate much interest in topic being
presented. |
Your
WRITING PIECE will be assessed using the following rubric:
|
CATEGORY |
Exceptional |
Acceptable |
Needs Work |
Unacceptable |
|
Content: FOCUS |
Maintains focus on topic/subject
throughout response. |
May exhibit minor lapses in focus on
topic/subject. |
May lose or may exhibit major lapses
in focus on topic/subject. |
May fail to establish focus on
topic/subject. |
|
ORGANIZATION |
Organizational structure establishes
relationship between/among ideas/events. |
Organizational structure establishes
relationships between ideas/events, although minor lapses may be present. |
Organizational structure
establish some relationship between/among some of the ideas/events.
The structure is minimally complete. |
Organizational structure does not
establish connection between/among ideas/events. The overall structure is incomplete
or confusing. |
|
SUPPORT |
Support information is related to
and supportive of the topic/subject. |
Support information has minor
weaknesses in relatedness to and/or support of the topic/subject. |
Support information has major
weaknesses in relatedness to and/or support of the topic/subject. |
An attempt has been made to add
support information, but it was unrelated or confusing. |
|
Vocabulary |
Exhibits skillful use of vocabulary
that is precise and purposeful. |
Exhibits reasonable use of
vocabulary that is precise and purposeful. |
Exhibits minimal use of vocabulary
that is precise and purposeful. |
Lacks use of vocabulary that is
precise and purposeful. |
|
ELABORATION |
Elaboration consists of specific,
developed details. |
Elaboration consists of some specific
details. |
Elaboration consists of general
and/or undeveloped details, which may be presented in a list-like fashion. |
Elaboration is sparse; almost no
details. |
|
STYLE - Sentence Fluency |
Demonstrates skillful sentence
fluency (varies length, good flow rhythm, and varied structure). |
Demonstrates reasonable sentence
fluency. |
Demonstrates minimal sentence
fluency. |
Sentence fluency is lacking. |
CONCLUSION
Through
this webquest, you will use the PPA to develop an understanding of public
policy regarding bullying at Cobblestone School. You will inform and empower
students who are both perpetrators and the victims of bullying. In addition,
you will determine effective measures that can be taken to reduce bullying
incidents at Cobblestone, making it a safer and more respectful learning
environment for all students. Finally, this learning opportunity will allow you
to:
ü Use the Internet to gather
information and do research
ü Make decisions based on your
critical thinking skills
ü Organize information by identifying
what is useful
ü Create two forms of media that
will inform fellow students at Cobblestone
ü Give two oral presentations
ü Choose a writing genre of your
preference to personalize and express your knowledge of bullying.