Danielle+Reese

TEEN SUICIDE Suicide **:** the act or an instance of taking one's own life voluntarily and intentionally especially by a person of years of discretion and of sound mind

This unit will focus on teen suicide. In the past few years teen suicide has risen; this unit will focus on some of the issues that contribute to teen suicide, and possible action that can be taken to put an end to these horrific events. Suicide is one of the leading causes of death for people ages 15-24; it is also the fourth leading cause of death for children 10-14. Those statistic are very disturbing because suicide is preventable. During adolescence teenagers are beginning to experience feelings they have never experienced before. With the onset of all of these new experiences comes confusion, and misunderstanding in different life situations. Often times these feeling can be overwhelming and not having support from peers or family can result in the adolescents taking extreme actions.

Grade: 8 th and 9th The students will be in their 5th month of school. Many of them have already very close relationship because they attended the same middle school. The class is in a suburban area of Michigan.

Objectives: Students will become aware of risk factors that are connected to suicide. Students will be able to understand the warning signs before the suicide occurs Students will be able to detect the myths of suicide. Students will identify the things they can do to prevent suicide within their peer groups, and outside of their peer groups. Students will use multiple means of technology to gain a full understanding on suicide. Students will display their knowledge of suicide through multiple in class and out of class assignments(journal entry, skit, posters,letter,cup of positivity,free write,poems, multiple papers)

WEEK 1:

We will begin this unit with a class discussion on what the students know about suicide, and how they think it affects the community when a suicide occurs. This will allow the students to tap into their background information, and dig deep. This is a time when they could possibly share if they know someone who has attempted suicide and has succeeded in doing so or failed. Then the students will see the first video which is about Suicide Awareness. The video is used because it shows the high rates of suicide along with the many things that can cause suicide. Once the video is over our class will write in their journals about why it is important for them to know about suicide. Then they will display what they viewed as the most important part of the video. The journal entries should include: No less than four pieces of evidence they believed was important and how suicide affects them.

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On Tuesday the video about warning signs will help students to evaluate themselves, and their peers. This way it will begin their thinking on how they can help if they see these problems. Students will then be asked to get into groups of 3 and come up with a prompt to do in front of the class displaying warning signs, and what are the best ways to handle the signs.

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On Wednesday our class will take a deeper look into the risk factors that go along with suicide. The the students will be assigned to write a letter. The letter can be addressed to whomever they see fit, and the letter should explain times when they feel upset. The purpose of this activity is to better understand themselves and the issues that seem to affect them the most negatively. Once their letters are completed as a class each person will be asked to share one positive way to counter act negative feelings they have in various situations. Hopefully this assignment will show there is always a positive solution to any problem.

media type="youtube" key="toODpHy5Jds" width="560" height="315" On Thursday the last video they will be shown is about the myths of suicide. The myths portion is very important because it will help them to decipher whether a person is in need of help in dealing with possible suicidal thoughts. Following the viewing of the movie students will be asked to create a poem. The poem will be assigned because it will help bring out the students feelings on this touchy topic.

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On Friday students will learn about some of the situations that push people into the ideas of suicide. The most common reasons teenagers attempt suicide is because of: The students will write a free write on any of the above topics.
 * Bullying.
 * Parents get a divorce.
 * Violence in the home.
 * Inability to find success at school.
 * Feelings of worthlessness.
 * Sexual orientation
 * Rejection by friends or peers.
 * Substance abuse.
 * Death of someone close to the teenager.
 * The suicide of a friend or someone he or she "knows" online.

WEEK 2:

The second week will consist of a mini multigenre assignment that will span from Monday - Friday all of the students will have the ability to go just about anywhere with this assignment. Students can use poetry, make newscast clips with peers, develop a story on suicide, and reflection on videos or do whatever else that comes to mind. The mini multigenre project should consist of no less than four different genres. An Example: Interviewing peers in another class about what they think about suicide. Asking questions such as have they ever personally contemplated suicide? If they know someone who has? And what are positive ways to overcome suicidal thoughts?

The point of this project is to allow the students to openly express their feelings about suicide through multiple means of writing.

WEEK 3:

Students will be asked to pick 2 articles about teen suicide; the first article is optional. Students will be asked to develop one major idea why they believe teen suicide is becoming more and more accepted in the teenage community and ways we can work together to change this view. An article about how mental illness affects those who plan to attempt suicide will be assigned for reading also. This will help for students to understand the importance of knowing their family history, and the things that could negatively affect their lives. (2 page paper) Possible articles: http://www.stopasuicide.org/suicide.aspx (mental illness) http://www.apa.org/research/action/suicide.aspx (Suicide preventable) http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/8841196/Warnings-on-suicidal-teenager-ignored (Suicide Ignored) http://medicalcenter.osu.edu/patientcare/healthcare_services/mental_health/mental_health_about/children/suicide/Pages/index.aspx (Complete overview of Suicide) http://www.dailystrength.org/health_blogs/cyndi/article/studies-say-teen-suicide-is-contagious (Suicide Contagion) Once they have picked an article they will be asked to do a two page paper.

FINAL WEEK: During the final week students will be engaging in activities that will help them assist in the decrease of teen suicides.

Monday-Tuesday All of the students will be asked to participate in a positive reinforcement segment for suicide awareness. The assignment will be fun an interactive. The assignment is for students to create small posters that displays reasons that suicide is not the answer and words of encouragement for students. This is important because someone who may want to attempt suicide may think again if they see reasons why they should not go through with this act. The students will be allowed to work separately or in a group of two if they chose to do so. The posters will be displayed all around the school, and in the counseling center.

Wednesday- Counselors who have dealt with students who have suicidal thoughts will be coming in as guest speakers. This will give students a chance to get a first hand understanding about suicide because these counselors have worked directly with people who suffer from suicidal thoughts. This will be an interactive discussion based class period; the students will not be getting talked at but will be able to openly ask various questions on the topics.

Thursday- How to seek help for yourself or peers or someone you know. Suicide hot line numbers will be discussed. Counseling services in school and out of school information will be given to students. Discussion on "Dont be afraid to Speak Up" Students will be asked to put together a short skit to show positive ways to approach someone about suicide or have an adults Students will also be asked to create a cup of positivity. Stating what they like about themselves along with characteristics they feel makes them special.

Friday- The students will put together a walk that all grades will participate in; the walk will be lead by the students with only my assistance when needed. The walk will advocate for suicide awareness; the walk will begin with assembly in the gym. The assembly will begin with me speaking about suicide, and what our class has spent the last four weeks learning. Prior to the assembly the other teachers will b informed about the walk so that they can give their students some background knowledge on the topic for those who know very little. Then a few students will speak about some of the alarming statistics, and warning signs so that the students can help detect if someone around them is ever in need of help. Suicide awareness bands will be passed out. Lastly students will be asked to complete a reflection on the entire unit answering the following questions. What did you learn from the unit? What can you do to help stop suicide? And the last portion is for students to be able to voice their opinion on the unit?

“But in the end one needs more courage to live than to kill himself.” ― Albert Camus

Common Core Standards:

[|CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.1a] Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that establishes clear relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence. [|CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.10] 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. [|CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.7] Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a person’s life story in both print and multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each account.