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Title: Students Examine Suicide Prevention and Create a Newsletter
Grades7-12
Subject-Health/ Language Arts
Because this documentary addresses suicide, it is important
that you have a discussion about this before viewing the film. I suggest that
the Health lesson be done before watching the documentary so they will be prepared.
The Health lesson deals with better understanding suicide and being able to
detect warning signs. In Maine, there is a grant that supports The
Lifeline Curriculum and if you are a school participating in this
curriculum, this unit will be very relevant. The Maine
Suicide Prevention site, hosted by the State of Maine has additional resources
for you and a quiz that every student should take online.
Summary:
In this activity, students examine facts, myths, warning signs, and prevention
strategies regarding teen suicide. They will access a PBS current event story
online and analyze for specific factors. The lesson culminates in the creation
of newsletter.
Objectives:
- Students become empowered through education and practice with decision-making
skills as they examine their lives and make appropriate, mature, and responsible
decisions
- Students will gain confidence as they write and use media to clarify
thinking, synthesize information, and enhance lifelong communication.
- Students will use writing and video production as the vehicle for educating
others about teen suicide
Procedure:
1.Have a total of five shoe boxes , one located at each Cooperative
Learning group.
Each will have its own label: Myths
About Teen Suicide, Facts About Teen Suicide, Possible Reasons For Teen Suicide,
Warning Signs For Teen Suicide, and Ways to Help. There will be statement
cards in each of the boxes except the one labeled Ways to Help. Students in each
group will take turns reaching in the box and reading aloud the cards. As they
read aloud the cards, the teacher will have a Noteshare Notebook or an LCD projector
connected to the laptop to record and project each statement. Chart paper can
also be used. As each card is read, encourage discussion.
When all cards have been read, the group having the box labeled- Ways to
Help - take out the blank cards. As the class brainstorms statements to
write on cards, refer to the suicide prevention list and include any points that
may not be generated by the class.
2. Next, students will locate the online article about Chris Drell, a young
man who is has a bi-polar disorder and is being interviewed about his problems
with depression and attempted suicides. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/health/jan-june04/drell_ex.html
Use the Jigsaw strategy for reading the article. Refer to the Jigsaw Strategy
handout. Each group will read a section of the interview article. As they are
reading, have them fill out the Current Event
form provided. Give them time to
process the article together. This article will bring to light many of the concepts
and ideas that have already been addressed by the statement cards.
Process the article as a whole class.
Day 2: (cont.)
Grades7-12
Title: Students Examine Suicide Prevention and Create a Newsletter
Procedure:
Divide students into teams of four students. Each
newspaper team will name a member of their team as the editor, illustrator,
proofreader, and reporter. These members will assign duties as they work through
the tasks needed to author the paper..
Review newspaper terms, index, and writing
with the students. Make sure
students are aware of the different parts of a newspaper (refer back to the article
on Drell) include the "how", "when," "where", "why",
and "how" of newspaper articles. Discuss the importance of headlines.
The goal of the students is to author
a Suicide Prevention newspaper. Students
will use a word processor for writing articles and paste them into the newsletter
template in iWeb. They will create a newspaper designed to inform others of teen
suicide prevention. Have students research and include statistics, facts,
to expose the myths of suicide. The
State of Maine Teen Suicide Prevention site offers good resources for them.
Each student will personally write a letter to the editor about teen suicide. The
group will vote on which article is the best of the four and include this article
in the Editorial Section of their newspaper.
Another option is for students to create PSA's by creating short videos or
podcasts. If you offer this option, have specific guidelines. In the Rubric
section, review the PSA example rubric. It is always best to create rubrics
WITH the students. The rubrics here offer suggestions as a guideline.
Here is a link for creating PSA with students. What Do You Say PSA Part 1
http://www.mpbn.net/educators/lessonplans.html
* Demonstrates competence in the general skills and strategies
of the writing process
* Gathers and uses information for research purposes
* Will write expository compositions (e.g., synthesizes and
organizes information from first- and second-hand sources, including books, magazines,
computer data banks, and the community; uses a variety of techniques to develop
the main idea {names, describes, or differentiates parts; compares or contrasts;
examines the history of a subject; cites an anecdote to provide an example; illustrates
through a scenario; provides interesting facts about the subject}; distinguishes
relative important facts, data, and ideas; uses appropriate technical terms and
notations.
* The student will use strategies to adapt writing for different
purposes (e.g., to explain, inform, analyze, entertain, reflect, and persuade.
Rubric
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