Middle School

I have used these Dateline videos the past two years with my 7th and 8th grade students. Hosted by Rosalind Wiseman teenage boys and girls are put in bullying situations and video taped as their parents watched. It is great for students to see what the kids in the videos do and there are many discussion points.

Dateline video link - My kid would never bully

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Dateline Video – My Kid Would Never Bully

Discussion Points

o   Bystanders?

o   Is ignoring the right thing to do?

o   Would your parents be proud of you?

o   How is bullying different with boys and girls?

o   Mean Girls Movie

o   What do you think after watching this video?

Video Questions

            For Boys Video

·         Review negative comments (you suck, running like a girl, sissy, anti-gay slurs)

·         Getting on the floor as a distraction

·         How do you think Brandon felt when he found out his Mom was watching?        

·         What would you do if you were Isaiah?

For Girls Video

o   Do you know a Veronica? NO NAMES

o   How would your Mom feel if you were laughing?  How would you feel knowing your Mom saw your laughing?

o   Do you know a Lilly?

RUMORS....

I don't know what it is about this time of year but it never fails. Middle school girls start going CRAZY! Maybe they are sick of being trapped inside. Maybe they are burnt out from school and need a break before spring break.  It seems like the past few weeks have been a string of she rolled her eyes at me, she won't let me be friends with so and so, she is leaving me out, and so on and so on. It is during these times I'm thankful I will never have to be a middle school girl again. It is also during these times I dread the thought of my own daughters walking the halls of middle school. 

There is a great activity called he said she said I like to play with my students to reinforce how quickly rumors can be spread and how information changes. Select 3/4 students to be volunteers (don't tell them why). One student stays in the room and you read the story below. One by one each student repeats the story to the next student. Tell students in the class they may not say anything to help the volunteers and can only observe. Most likely by the end the story will be missing a lot of detail. 

Ask students what message this activity is about. Discuss what to do when they hear a rumor and how to stop rumors. After a class discussion I follow up with a game of telephone which is always a big hit with the kids. 

He Said/She Said

This is an idea to help students learn how rumors begin and spread and how the information changes from one person to the next.  

Ask the class for 3 volunteers and ask them to go in the hall.  Ask for one more volunteer from the class and have them come to the front.  Read a detailed description of a person to the student.  Then invite one person from the hall to come in.  Ask the student who just heard the description to repeat it to the student from the hall.  Repeat this process with the next 2 students.  

Conclude by asking students to share their observations and ask them how they will handle the situation the next time they hear a rumor.  Below is an example but feel free to make up your own.  

Susan is 12 years old.  She is wearing blue jeans and an orange shirt.  She has sneakers on her feet.  Her hair is brown and her eyes are blue. She is wearing a Boston Red Sox baseball cap, turned around backwards and her hair is in a ponytail.  In her hands are a lunch bag and 2 books. She is also carrying a black book bag with white polka dots.  

Valentines Day Lesson

Here is an easy lesson with very little prep and can be used with pretty much any grade level.  All you need is a big heart. I like to use Microsoft office. Go to shapes and you can make one as big as you would like. The only materials you will need are the hearts and writing utensils. 

•      Ask students to divide the heart into 5 sections. The sections do not need to be equal. 4 lines could be drawn horizontal, vertical, or diagonal. Students can also come up with a combination of their own. 
•       Next students will be asked to write answer different questions in each box.
• Box 1- people they love. Includes family, friends, and pets
• Box 2- places they love
• Box 3 - what they love to do
• Box 4 - why they love them
• Box 5 - ideas they love. This can be hard for some students. I share examples for this one. Recycling, being active, eating healthy
• From here it is really up to you to decide what to do. I ask students to share at least one item off their heart and post around the room. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Pep Talk

Here is a great video that could be used with all grade levels, for advisory, or with staff members. Enjoy!

Apps

There are so many great apps out there. I don't even know where to start. I'm a little obsessed with my iPad and always searching for a fun and cool app to play around with.

Brain Pop  - Tons of great lessons, quizzes, and games. Subject areas include Science, Social Studies, Math, English, and Technology. The technology section offers lessons in digital citizenship, blogs, and cyberbullying to name a few. There are videos, vocabulary lessons, and on-line quizzes. Great for elementary and middle school students.  Brain Pop is great for all disciplines.

SweetTweets

I have been talking a lot about cyber bullying this week with my fifth graders. Yesterday we made Sweet Tweets which the kids will update each day when they come into class.


Materials - strips of paper, markers, dry erase markers, magnets

Day 1 - Discuss definition of cyberbullying (bullying using technology) and different ways cyberbullying can occur. This may include texts, emails, Facebook, video games, and Instagram to name a few. I also do an informal poll of how many students have a Facebook account to twitter account. Pass out strips of paper and have students write their names any way they would like. Explain to them the idea of a sweet tweet. Basically they can write down anything that does not hurt or offend another person, including themselves.

Laminate the students strips of papers.

Day 2 - talk about sweet tweets again. No put downs. Can say hi, say something nice to another person, make it positive. Pass out wet / dry erase markers for students to write their sweet tweets. Share the tweets with the class. The next day when students come to class they erase the previous days sweet tweet and make a new one.
*** stress that online tweets can never be 100% deleted ( the same with texts, Facebook posts, ect). Once the student posts a message online it is there forever.

Have fun!

My kids are having a lot of with their messages.

New Year-New Kids-New Goals

This week I got a new group of 5th graders. It was also the first week of the third grading period. I had my students complete the following activity as a kick off to the class.

Materials - colored paper & markers

• I discussed responsibility with the class and brainstorm ideas of what responsibility means (areas of discussion could include school, home, with friends, teams, or clubs)
• Divide paper into 4 sections. Students will write what they are responsible for doing in each section.

Possible discussion questions:
What would happen if you did not follow through with your responsibilities?
What would your parents think? Friends? Coaches? You?
Are there any consequences for not completing your responsibilities?

Classroom guidance

One of my go to favorites for classroom guidance. Classroom guidance from A-Z is a great resource for all sorts of lessons. From bullying to study skills to anxiety this book has a little bit of everything. In fact, I just ordered my second copy this week. It seems I lost my original copy and I just couldn't live without my Classroom guidance from A-Z.  I would recommend this book for middle school students.