Alexa+Surdell

34 percent of teens reported having unprotected sex in 2005. 25 percent of teens receive an STD in the United States each year. 1 million teen girls get pregnant each year. Nearly 10 million teen boys and girls get STDs from unprotected sex each year. Less than half of teen mothers graduate from high school and fewer than 2% earn a college degree by age 30. The daughters of teen mothers are three times more likely to become teen mothers themselves. The sons of teen mothers are twice as likely to end up in prison.
 * Let’s take a look at the numbers: statistics on unprotected sex and teenage pregnancy**

Statistics found on []

Unprotected sex and teenage pregnancy has become a growing concern in our society today. It is only fair to assume that teenagers will think about sex frequently. When teenagers think about sex, they may not think about the negative effects of this behavior. Teenagers may engage in unprotected sex which may lead to STD’s as well as pregnancy. It is important that we educate our students at the eighth grade level about the effects associated with these behaviors and get them to think about the consequences associated with this behavior. Teenage pregnancies are typically discouraged because of the health risks related to the mother as well as the child. So many times, teenagers engage in this behavior because they have not been educated properly. It is also important to discuss with the students how to deal with pregnancy and STDs as a teenage student.
 * Overview[[image:teachsecondarywriting/Teenage-Pregnancy.jpg width="232" height="240" align="right"]]:**

This unit will be centered on the book //Jumping off Swings// by Jo Knowles. It tells a story of a teenager who gets pregnant. The story is told in 4 different perspectives, the pregnant girl, the boy who gets her pregnant, and their two friends. This text will get students to analyze and think critically about the effects of teen pregnancy and the stress a person deals with. This unit plan is designed to get students thinking beyond the common core standards and engage students in truly meaningful work that has a real audience with a real-world purpose. The activities and writing that the students will be engaging in are all linked to the common core standards. Students will be creating multiple writing assignments and engaging in thoughtful discussions based on this book. There will even be a guest speaker who has volunteered to speak with the students about being a teenage parent. The final project will be creating a digital story informing other eighth grade students about this issue. Two case studies about teenage pregnancy will be analyzed by students. There will also be multiple websites that the students will review regarding this topic.

Students will be able to write a two page paper based on how their lives would change if they had a child. Students will be able to produce thoughtful letters based on the literature. Students will be able to understand the effects of unprotected sex and teen pregnancy. Students will be able to engage in effective discussions relating to the literature and case studies. Students will be able to write reflections based on the literature. Students will be able to create a digital story using a script on unprotected sex, STD's and teen pregnancy. Students will be able to analye and critique a number of websites related to pregnancy and sex. Students will be able to use wordpress as a means to respond to questions relating to the literature and other pieces.
 * Objectives:**

The first writing assignment that the students will be doing is a reflective essay. Since we will be focussing on unprotected sex and pregnancy, the students will be writing a two-page paper on how their life would change if they became a teen parent. There are questions that the students can answer such as the worries they have now and how they would change, how society would look at them, and how others would look at them. They will be reading a book that involves a teenage pregnancy. It is important to get students thinking and writing about how teen pregnancy is an issue and life will change significantly. Students will be completing a rough draft as well as a final draft which will be completed on a word processor. Students will also be given the chance to edit and respond to another students essay.
 * Writing Assignments:**

By the second week of the unit, students will be introduced to wordpress, an online blog. On multiple occasions, students will be asked to respond to posed questions on their wordpress blog. These websites are open to the public so when responding to questions, students can also look to see what other individuals in the class are saying as well. Students will need to respond using a certain amount of words which will be discussed by the instructor. Students will need to respond to questions in regards to //Jumping off Swings,// case studies they will be reading and thoughts and opinions from the guest speaker. Exact questions can be found by examining the unit plan below.

Students will also be writing two letters for this unit. The first letter will be written to Ellie, the girl who gets pregnant in //Jumping off Swings.// In //Jumping off Swings,//Ellie decides to put her baby up for adoption, By doing this, Ellie goes through feeling regretfulness. Students will be asked to write a thoughtful letter to Ellie expressing your sympathy and how to get through the situation. The book also discusses how Ellie is not able to effectively communicate with her parents because they are upset with her for getting pregnant. The second letter is for the students to think about a time they wanted to talk to somebody about something but couldn't. They will write a letter to that person about what they wanted to say but just couldn't at the time. Eventually the students will give those letters to that person.

The final writing piece will be a digital story. Using moviemaker or imovie, students will be creating an informational digital story educating other 8th grade students in local schools about unprotected sex, pregnancy, and STDs/STIs. Students can choose to incorporate all three of these concepts, two, or one. Students will be working with a partner and given a sufficient amount of class time to complete it. Students should be creating a script as to what they will say which will also be turned in at the end. This digital story has to be a minimum of two minutes and include at least six pictures and three effects.


 * Common Core State Standards: 8th grade English Language Arts and Literacy**
 * 1) Analyze how differences in the points of view of the characters and the audience or reader (e.g., created through the use of dramatic irony) create such effects as suspense or humor.
 * 2) By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, at the high end of grades 6–8 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
 * 3) Analyze how a text makes connections among and distinctions between individuals, ideas, or events (e.g., through comparisons, analogies, or categories).
 * 4) Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.
 * 5) Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
 * 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.
 * 7) 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 discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.
 * 8) Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
 * 9) Integrate multimedia and visual displays into presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims and evidence, and add interest.
 * 10) Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.

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 * Useful Resources and Websites: **

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//Jumping off Swings// book by Jo Knowles

Note:All case studies, handouts, worksheets, and rubrics can be found embedded and linked in the unit plan below. Videos are also embedded below during they day they will be viewed. This unit is designed for 8th grade students and will last approximately 4 weeks. It will take place Monday through Friday lasting 55 minutes per class period.
 * Unit Plan:**

Introduce students to the topic on unprotected sex and teenage pregnancy. Write a KWL chart on the board and call on students to answer what they know and want to know on this subject. Tell students we will finish the L portion at the end of the unit.
 * **Monday Day 1**

Respond to the questions and write a 2 page paper on the following:

How would your life change if you were to become a teen parent? What worries do you have now and how would they change? How would society look at you? Students will complete their draft as homework if not finished in class. || A mini-lesson will be conducted as to how to effectively respond to student papers.
 * **Tuesday Day 2**

Students will look at one other person's two page draft from yesterday and properly respond.

Students will use the classroom computers to type up their papers. Final drafts will be completed as homework if not finished in class. || Students will watch a 25 minute youtube video on teenage pregnancy in California.
 * **Wednesday Day 3**

media type="youtube" key="Mx_2xSfA70M" height="315" width="420"

Students will be instructed to take notes on what they have learned as well as reactions to the video they have. Students will write a one-page paper on these reactions as well as what they learned.

Students will read chapters 1-3 of Jumping off Swings for homework. || Discussion of reactions to the text. Discussion of characters in the stories.
 * **Thursday Day 4**

Read chapter 4 and 5 in class silently.

For homework write down your opinion of whose point of view in the story you find most appealing thus far. || Discuss with one other classmate what you wrote down for homework from yesterday. Turn in what you wrote.
 * **Friday Day 5**

Students will be asked to get on the internet and research a number of sites on teenage pregnancy. Students should take notes on what the sites are about and things they have learned about teenage pregnancy. [] [] []

Read chapters 5-8 of //Jumping off Swings// for homework. || 10 minute discussion on their findings from the pregnancy sites from yesterday. Students will be introduced to a website called wordpress. Students will create their own account.
 * **Monday Day 6**

Students will respond to the question on wordpress: In the story, Ellie is debating whether or not to give her unborn child up for adoption. What do you see as the pros and cons of doing so? Respond in at least 300 words.

Read chapters 9-10 of //Jumping off Swings// as homework. || Read the attached case study individually.
 * **Tuesday Day 7**



1. Does this story sound realistic to you? Why or why not? 2. Did anything in the story seem sad? 3. Did anything in the story make you angry? 4. What would you do in these circumstances? 5. What would be the best solution for a good life for the baby?

Respond to the questions on wordpress account.

Readh chapters 11 and 12 of //Jumping off Swings// as homework. || The first 15 minutes of class will be spent allowing students to finish up their responses on wordpress.
 * **Wednesday Day 8**

Whole class discussion on what students wrote on wordpress pages.

Read the attached case study for homework.

|| 15 minute discussion on the Moritza case study.
 * **Thursday Day 9**

Read chapters 13-16 of Jumping off Swings in class individually and silently.

If students did not get through all 16 chapters, finish for homework. || In //Jumping off Swings,// Ellie decides to put her baby up for adoption, By doing this, Ellie goes through feeling regretfulness. Write a thoughtful letter to Ellie expressing your sympathy and how to get through the situation.
 * **Friday Day 10**

Note: Students should have a rough draft and a final draft. Final draft is to be completed on a word processor. Finish final draft for homework if not completed in class. || Guest Speaker- Mark Gibson- will discuss unprotected sex and having a child as a teenager. Students should take notes. || Write a minimum of 200 words on wordpress on your thoughts of the guest speaker from yesterday.
 * **Monday Day 11**
 * **Tuesday Day 12**

Read chapters 17-18 of //Jumping off Swings// in class silently and individually. Students should note specific scenes that have stuck out to them thus far.

Finish chapters for homework if not finished in class. Also write a 150 word or more reflection on wordpress reflecting on //Jumping off Swings.// Include thoughts, opinions, and predictions as to what you think will happen next. || 20 minute discussion on the scenes that stick out in //Jumping off Swings.// Watch 5 minute youtube video on STD's/STI's
 * **Wednesday Day 13**

media type="youtube" key="mTN1tJ1KQ5Y" height="315" width="560" Students will be asked to research information on STD's. They will be asked to fill out the following sheet.



Complete the sheet for homework if not finished in class. || Whole class discussion on the chapters read in //Jumping off Swings// thus far.
 * **Thursday Day 14**

In the story, Ellie feels as though she can't talk to her parents about her decision to give her baby up for adoption. Think about a time you wanted to talk to somebody about something but you just couldn't. Write a letter to that person about what you wanted to say but you just couldn't say at the time. Finish letter for homework if not finished in class. || Finish the rest of //Jumping off Swings// in class individually and silently.
 * **Friday Day 15**

Write a 300 word reflection on wordpress as to some important life lessons you learned from the book. Discuss the emotional effects of being pregnant at such a young age. || Whole class period discussion on life lessons learned from the book. Wrap up book. || Students wil be given a tutorial introducing moviemaker, specifically how to create a digital story. Students will be asked to create an informational story. Students will review the attached sheet as well as the rubric.
 * **Monday Day 16**
 * **Tuesday Day 17**





Begin planning digital story with partner. ||
 * **Wednesday Day 18**

Work on digital story in class with partner. || Work on Digital Story in class with partner.
 * **Thursday Day 19**

Make sure video is uploaded to youtube by the end of the class. || Watch each group's video that has been posted to youtube.
 * **Friday Day 20**

Finish the "L" portion of the KWL chart that was started on the first day of the unit.

Feel free to contact me at alexa.a.surdell@wmich.edu for any questions. ||