Anti-Bullying+Week

=Anti-bullying Week: 7th Grade Assemblies & Discussion=

Monday: Introduction to bullying
__Assembly portion (20 minutes):__ __Discussion portion (40 minutes):__
 * Introduction: play music videos while students come in (10 min)
 * "Online"--Brad Paisley [|Link to video] [|Link to lyrics]
 * "iGeneration"--MC Lars [|Link to video]
 * Welcome message from the principal (10 min)
 * Emphasize the importance of the topic and explain how it fits into the school’s mission of providing a safe and respectful environment for students.
 * Discuss behavior expectations during the course of the unit (not free time--take it seriously!).
 * Ask students to get engaged in their discussions and enjoy working on the PSAs so that we can show them to parents.
 * Suggest that our school will serve as a model to other schools for advocating for this important issue.
 * Teacher will outline the schedule for the week and discuss the interdisciplinary nature of the unit (exploratory, LA, study hall).
 * Students will create a K-W-L about bullying (example: [] )
 * Teacher will facilitate a brainstorm discussion about the who-what-where-when-why of bullying on the white board
 * Who are the bullies?
 * Who are the victims?
 * What do we know about bullying?
 * What types of bullying can occur?
 * Where does bullying happen?
 * When does it happen (time, age, etc)?
 * Why does it happen?
 * Ask students to complete an online survey about bullying (for homework)
 * Example Survey: []

**Tuesday: Video __Assembly portion (60 minutes):__ **
__Discussion portion:__ Skip for today
 * Watch the PBS //Growing Up Online// Video: [].

Wednesday: Bullies
__Assembly portion (30 minutes):__ __Discussion portion (30 minutes):__
 * Introduction music video:
 * "As Cruel As School Children" -- Gym Class Heroes [|Link to lyrics] (5 min)
 * Principal will discuss the schools’ official policy against bullying and the possible consequences of cyberbullying, flaming, sexual harassment, or harassing texts. (10 min)
 * sample school Cyberbullying policies: []
 * article on school Cyberbullying policies: [] )
 * Local law enforcement guest will discuss the legal ramifications for bullies in Illinois (15 min)
 * New law enacted in 2009: ([] )
 * =====More information on IL laws: []=====
 * Teacher facilitated white board discussion:
 * Describe a bully
 * What does he/she look like? What does he act like? What kind of person is he/she? How do you feel about them? Do you know any bullies?
 * What kinds of things have you seen that you think might count as bullying (online or in person)?
 * In small groups, students will reflect on the consequences of bullying.
 * Questions to have them think about:
 * Did you know that there are consequences with bullying, even it it happens online or on the way home from school?
 * Have you ever been a bully (to a sibling, to someone younger, to a peer), even if you didn't mean to? Why did you do it? How did it make you feel?
 * Are there any benefits to being a bully?
 * End the conversation by reading some letters from repentant bullies from Part 1 of Olivia Gardner's //Letters To a Bullied Girl.//

Thursday: Victims
__Assembly portion (25 minutes):__ __Discussion portion (35 minutes):__ Strategies for dealing with Cyberbullying __Study Hall (regular meeting time):__
 * Introduction: music video of bully victims that committed suicide. (5 min)
 * "Wanda's Song"--The Readings [|Link to lyrics] [|Link to video]
 * School social worker will discuss the short term and long term affects of bullying on the victim. (15 min)
 * Explain the long term damage of bullying (Dewey- experiences continue to affect you later!)
 * Excerpt from Olivia Gardner's //Letters To a Bullied Girl//
 * Teach the "I Don't Play" acronym (Sutton)
 * [[file:What to do if cyberbullied - sutton.doc]]
 * Emphasize that students should talk to someone if they are victims or suspect someone else to be a victim of bullying.
 * Discuss confidentiality issues when talking to teachers (what teachers have to report and what can stay confidential).
 * School librarian will speak about resources available. (5 min)
 * Show where they can find online resources (hotlines, websites, books, etc) that are linked to the library website.
 * Explain that there are handouts of more information in the library, including user guides and tutorials on many aspects of Internet Safety and the virtual world.
 * Suggest they visit the library to fill out the survey (if they haven't already) and get an anti-bullying bookmark.
 * Teacher will divide students into small groups and give them a scenario
 * Teachers can create their own scenarios or one of these scenarios:
 * [[file:Sample Scenarios.doc]]
 * Students will brainstorm how best to deal with the situation and then turn the situation/solution into a short skit. (15 min)
 * Each group will present their skit to the class--skits should be a maximum of three minutes long (15)
 * Students will vote on their favorite skit to be presented at the school assembly the next day. (5 min)
 * Study Hall teachers and class members should help develop the winning skit so that it is ready to be presented at the assembly.

Friday: Heroes
__Assembly portion (30 minutes):__ __Discussion portion (30 minutes):__
 * Each study hall will present their chosen skit.
 * Students should fill out the L section of their KWL's.
 * Ask students if they have any questions that weren't answered? Discuss.
 * How can you help prevent bullying and cyberbullying? How can you help victims?
 * What are students working on for their PSAs in their exploratory classes?
 * Encourage to fill out the online survey if they haven't yet. Results will be posted during PSA showcase.

**Bell Schedule:**
7th grade students will have a special schedule all week, where they will be missing half of their first period classes. Instead of the normal block scheduling, students will report to the gymnasium in the morning. Following the assembly, they will go to their study hall for discussion. When a special bell rings, they will head to the normal first period course and continue the rest of the day as scheduled. Study Hall teachers can decide whether they want to continue the morning discussion during the normal study hall period, and supplementary resources are included in case they choose to do so. Because the school uses block scheduling, students won't be missing the same class each day, so they shouldn't get too far behind in classes. All 7th grade teachers (including exploratory teachers, language art teachers and the librarian) will attend each day of the assemblies.