Ellen+Bell


 * Bullying: Bringing Awareness of Bullying to our Adolescents.**

“One life lost in a senseless way is a tragic. Four lives lost is a crisis.” Ellen DeGeneres

__**Description:**__ Over recent years the seriousness of bullying outside of the classroom has become present in the lives of endless adolescent’s lives. For many bullying has been considered a taboo topic leaving adolescents scared to speak up and reach out for help. Not anymore. As adolescents, teachers, loved ones and so many others begin to speak up and bring awareness on bullying together we can end the torment and hurt altogether.

Statistics have shown that more than half of students today have witnessed bullying of some kind during their typical school day. As someone who has experienced bullying first hand this topic remains very close to my heart. I strongly believe that one’s classroom and overall academic experience should be a home away from home and most importantly a positive and uplifting environment. Therefore with that said I strongly believe that by awareness and educating our adolescents on “bullying” we can extinguish it once and for all.


 * This particular unit plan is set up for an eighth grade ELA class.
 * Unit is a basic "writing intensive" program meaning that the students will spend a great amount of time writing about their ideas, thoughts, questions, definitions, etc as well as completing different styles of writing such as poetry, narrative paper, and their very own multi-genre project.
 * Everyday a warm-up activity will be placed on the overhead that will challenge the students to "think outside the box" by using the topic of "bullying" to open up discussion and critical thinking.
 * Unit will be consisting of four weeks long which is guaranteed to give the students a good start to creating their own difference one multi-genre assignment at a time.

__**Learning Objectives:**__ //Students will...//
 * Become familiar with the terminology "bullying."
 * Learn the various types of bullying that are associated with "bullying" in and outside of the classroom.
 * Be able to recognize through different scenarios the specific type of "bullying" presented.
 * Be able to define and thoroughly understand acts of "injustice" and apply it to their very own personal lives and experiences.
 * Efficiently be able to complete the "Acting for Justice" chart.
 * Discover the benefits of creating their very own "Writing Reflection Journals" and keep track of their thoughts, ideas, experiences, etc throughout the unit.
 * Become familiar with the criteria of "Narrative" writing and successfully create their very own narrative.


 * __Common Core Standards:__**
 * W.8.3**. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.
 * Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, and reflection, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.
 * Use a variety of transition words, phrases, and clauses to convey sequence, signal shifts from one time frame or setting to another, and show the relationships among experiences and events.
 * Provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on the narrated experiences or events.

**W.8.4.** Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1–3 above.)


 * W.8.5.** With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed.


 * W.8.6.** Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between information and ideas efficiently as well as to interact and collaborate with others.

__**Writing Assignments:**__ Students will create their very own "Writing Reflection Journal" to use for the entire unit. The purpose of the "Writing Reflection Journal" is to resemble the identity of each student as it contains their own thoughts, opinions, questions, etc as they go through this particular unit. After each class period for homework the students will be assigned something to answer/write up their reflections and by doing this the students will be able to capture their learning process and understanding of the topic "bullying." This particular assignment will present the students the opportunity to reflect on their own personal experiences with bullying. As mentioned further down into the descriptions, the students will participate in an activity during class that brings to attention their acts that involved "injustice" on another individual(s). Once the activity is completed within the classroom, the students will be given the narrative assignment to use their new found knowledge and understanding on the topic itself and present that with their personal stories into a narrative piece. The sole purpose of this assignment is for the students to bring meaning to their individual experiences. It is one thing to participate or experience something and label it but it is another to understand what is going on by discovering statistics, terminology, research, etc. Students will form a group of three students and will be assigned a specific form of "bullying." The purpose of this assignment is for the students to use their resources, recognize the power of their own voice, and bring their new found knowledge into a final project such as an awareness video that could be presented on youtube. As this particular unit is brought into the classroom to bring awareness to the students in hopes of ending such a terrible act amongst individuals everywhere, the students using their own voice, resources, and direction of how to go about this project brings purpose and life to defeating "bullying" and making a change.
 * **Writing Reflection Journal**
 * **Narrative Paper**
 * **Multi-genre Assignment**

__**Awareness Videos:**__

//Inspirational People in the Media// media type="youtube" key="iSVRnsDCZNw" height="218" width="391"

//Creating Change// media type="youtube" key="NTxscQGqS2M" width="369" height="318"

//Adolescents Coming Together// media type="youtube" key="-0qU9MOJBZE" width="369" height="318"

//Taking a Closer Look at Types of Bullying// media type="youtube" key="YUu24mq74hY" height="219" width="392"


 * Week 1 || Week 2 ||
 * **Monday**

1. Give the students around 7-9 minutes to record their definition of bullying, types of bullying that they're familiar with, and if comfortable enough to share any stories/experiences.

2. After the students have completed their last sentence and I've gotten their full attention I will share with them the videos that are listed above.

3. Once the videos are done I will pair the students up with peers that they typically don't interact with and give them the assignment to use the poster board and markers that I've left out and together the two students will brainstorm what they felt was most important in the knowledge they learned through the videos and what both students have shared with one another from their writing warm-up activity.

create their very own writing reflection journal. The journal will be used throughout the entire unit and can include anything that they feel will best represent their individuality and their learning process as we go through the unit. || **Monday**
 * **Homework:** Students will be asked to go home and

1. Complete warm-up activity in student's writing reflection journals. be written out and demonstrates the voice of a student experiencing a form of bullying. The students will each have to define the specific type of bullying and list three examples of the violence used in that scenario. (Recognizing bullying)
 * Warm-up includes:** A quick story will

2. Transition the class by discussing introducing to the students Linda Christensen's "Writing for Justice." their own acts of "injustice" done within their lives. seek out change.
 * Defines "injustice" to students.
 * By understanding the terminology the students begin to recognize
 * Opens the door for the students to understand, recognize, and

3. As a class brainstorm ideas and scenarios of "injustice" will need to be defined.
 * Create a list of terminology that are significant to "injustice" and

also be asked to return to class with their own example of "injustice" that they individually participated in either in or outside of the classroom. ||
 * **Homework:** Students will be asked to reflect in their journals what they learned and thought was most important in today's class. They will
 * = **Wednesday**

1. At the beginning of class each set of students will present their poster board and expand on why it was they found that specific information most important.

2. Once each group has presented their poster boards the class will gather together in a line and I will read a list and every time a student has either experienced or witnessed/performed the specific act of bullying they will step forward.

3. At the end of the activity the students will go back to their seats and spend 7-10 minutes writing in their reflection journals about the observations of their classmate's poster boards as well as the activity completed beforehand.

writing journals define the type and list three acts of violence completed by that specific type. ||= **Wednesday**
 * **Homework:** Students will be asked to go home and research and record one of the many types of bullying that exist and in their

1. Students will be given 7-9 minutes to write within their reflection journals about our unit on "bullying" thus far and any thoughts/questions they may have for me.

2. I will present the criteria of "Narrative" writing is by using my personal piece for my students. Once I've completed reading my narrative I will introduce the assignment at hand.

3. The students will have the remaining class period to individually work on their personal narratives and ask any questions that may come to mind. To model what I am looking for of the assignment I will be writing another example of my narrative on the overhead for the students to look to.


 * **Homework:** Students will be asked to come to the following class with one of the various criteria pieces of a narrative. ||


 * Week 3 || Week 4 ||
 * ** Monday **

1. Students will complete their 7-9 minute warm-up activity placed on the overhead and recorded within their "Writing Reflection Journals."

2. Moving onto our "Narrative" piece we'll gather into a group and each student will have the opportunity to share the piece they've brought back with them from last night's homework.

3. Once each student has been given the opportunity to present their piece our class will move onwards to our next big assignment, the "Multigenre" assignment. I'll use a video put together by students just like them addressing the topic of "bullying" and how they've brought awareness to the matter.

4. Students will get into groups of three and will be handed a rubric sheet that clearly states the expectations and requirements for this particular assignment. The remaining class period will be left for the students to decide how they want to create their very own "multigenre" product.

completed and have a hard copy to bring to class Wednesday. Also for Wednesday's class each group will complete a sheet that contains an introduction paragraph that is a brief written up "statement" that explains the direction they hope to see their project go and what specific "types" of bullying they plan to focus on in their project. || ** Monday **
 * **Homework:** Students will have their "Narrative" pieces

1. Students will bring out their "Writing Reflection Journals" and spend the next 7-9 minutes free-writing about their project, what they learned that they didn't know before, what information was shocking, how their group was working together, and of course any questions or comments that they may want to share with me.

2. Each group will share with the class the video they found to share with the class and explain why they chose it and what they liked most.

3. Two speakers will come into class and share their stories of being a victim of bullying and being the bully. Both students will be recently graduated students of middle school to bring more reality to the fact that bullying does indeed happen to people of all ages.

4. The remaining class period will be given to the students to work productively on their project. ||
 * **Wednesday**

1. At the beginning of class I will share my story to my students of being bullied in hopes of expressing to my students that "bullying" indeed does happen to anyone and everyone.

2. For our warm-up activity each student will be asked to spend the next 5-7 minutes dedicated to strictly writing, no thinking, about their thoughts on bullying.

3. Once the time is up we will go around the room and for each student as they are sharing their free-write the rest of the class will write a quick note to that individual about their thoughts on what they shared, what they liked, and so forth.

4. The remaining time of the class will be dedicated to their group's multi-genre assignment.

with a video that was created to bring awareness to "bullying" and be ready to share why they chose that specific video and what they found most beneficial to them as a group to bring to their project. ||  ||
 * **Homework:** Each group must come to class the following Monday