ERWC Bullying Guide and Presentation Assignment 2017

Bullying is a serious problem in schools, and cyber bullying has extended the reach of bullies into cyberspace. You will be learning about definitions of bullying as well as considering various views of the causes and possible responses to bullying that can be made by schools, teachers, and students. You will analyze your own school’s and District’s bullying policies and talk to school personnel and students about the problem. For this project, you and the other members of your writing group will choose a grade level (elementary, middle school, or high school) and write a guide for students so that they understand what bullying is and how best to respond to it, either as a target or as an observer. Your purpose is to persuade students that bullying is unacceptable and that they need to take action to ensure that their school is a safe place.

You should base your advice on the research you conduct and include a reference list of your sources. Your guide should be accessible and engaging for your audience and should be revised and edited so that it is publishable. The body of your guide should be approximately 6 – 8 pages long (not including the cover or works cited pages). Make it visually appealing and readable by using headings, bullet points, graphs, and illustrations as appropriate.

You may choose to structure your guide in the following way:

I. Cover (title [including level] and names of group members; should be eye-catching)

II. Introduction to the problem (purpose of this guide – what are you trying to accomplish with it?)

III. Definition of bullying – based on reading, research, and student viewpoints

IV. Your school’s and District’s bullying policies – what students need to know

V. Examples that illustrate the nature of bullying in schools including your own

(include the results of your survey here, both in written form and in charts and/or graphs)

Survey – What do you want to ask people? What do you want to know? This should be geared to the

age level for which your guide is designed. 5 questions minimum, 20 people respond to the same

questions (anonymous is fine; attach all completed surveys to guide)

VI. Advice for how to respond if you are bullied or you observe someone else being bullied

VII. Conclusion (what you hope the reader got from reading your guide, call to action, etc.)

VIII. Works cited (list every place from which you included information in MLA format)

Once you have completed your guide, your writing group will make a presentation to share your findings with students in your class or others. This presentation should include either a video or a PowerPoint. If your group decides to make a video, it should be at least 1 and no more than 3 minutes long and use sound, pictures, and movement. The purpose for your video is to persuade students that bullying is unacceptable and that they need to take action to ensure that their school is a safe place for ALL students. If your group creates a PowerPoint, you should have at least 15 slides. They should convey the main points of your guide in a visually engaging way, but you should provide the details to your audience as you make your presentation.

Your written guides will be due on Wednesday, April 19, and they will be worth 50 points in the journals and writing assignments category. Your presentations will be made on Tuesday, April 18, and Wednesday, April 19. The presentations will be worth 50 points in the classwork category. The two parts of this assignment will be a significant part of the 15 week progress report. Any student missing the presentation will receive half credit; any late presentations or guides will receive half credit and will NOT be included on the 15 week progress report.