team+12

Team 12

__Using Literature to Facilitate Discussion of Bullying in Middle School__ Diane Norby Maryellen Grady Andrea Levy Jennifer Zeuli

Bullying is pervasive in the middle school culture. Children are ill-equipped to handle bullying situations. Coupled with the fact that we are mandated by the state to have an educational plan in place, we have designed a unit that will help us educate students about bullying. Our school has a 55 minute period of sustained silent reading every 6 days, and we will have students at each grade level (6, 7, and 8) read a book in common over the course of a trimester. They will read the books and use them to bring about discussions and learning about bullying. The books are //Bystander// by Preller for 6th grade, //The Revealers// by Wilhelm for 7th grade, and //Freak// by Pixley for 8th grade.

We will create a wiki for all students to access the information they need. It will have online resources, book lists, etc. Pre-reading activities will include having students look up the definitions of bullies, targets, and bystanders online (other than dictionary.com), evaluating those websites used, and posting their responses onto a Wallwisher site. We will have study guides for each book posted on the wiki to help direct homeroom teachers to lead book discussions. As students read, they will create a Glogster that will have different requirements to address the questions we want students to learn: Students will add to their classroom’s Glogster after they do the activities as directed by their teachers. Activities will include role playing scenarios that students will film, student comments/reflections recorded via Voicethread, skits created with Animoto, and the triangle activity. The final product will be the finished Glogster projects as well as a reflective blog post from each student. Community members will be invited to judge the content of the Glogsters and one per grade will be selected to be showcased. We will have a rubric for the Glogster.
 * 1) Why do bullies, targets, and bystanders act the way they do?
 * 2) What makes someone become a bully, a target, or a bystander? What do their actions look like?
 * 3) How can I help those in need?
 * 4) How do we stop it?

Resources needed are books for each student, access to technology: computers, flip cameras, access to school accounts for Voicethread and Glogster, professional development for the teachers who are not proficient with the applications used. **MA DESE College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards:** //Production and Distribution of Writing// **6.** Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others. //Research to Build and Present Knowledge// **7.** Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation. **8.** Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism. **9.** Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. //Range of Writing// **10.** Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences. //Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas// **5.** Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understanding of presentations. //Comprehension and Collaboration// **2.** Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally. **3.** Evaluate a speaker's point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric. //Knowledge of Language// **3.** Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening. <span style="background-color: #d9d9d9; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">//Vocabulary Acquisition and Use// <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**4.** Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases by using context clues, analyzing meaningful word parts, and consulting general and specialized reference materials, as appropriate. <span style="background-color: #d9d9d9; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">//Key Ideas and Details// <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**1.** Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**2.** Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**3.** Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text. <span style="background-color: #d9d9d9; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">//Craft and Structure// <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**6.** Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text. <span style="background-color: #d9d9d9; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">//Integration of Knowledge and Ideas// <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**7.** Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse formats and media, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Writing**
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Speaking and Listening**
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Language**
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Reading**