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Don't Laugh At Me
A WebQuest to
explore why people bully, how it affects a person who is bullied or bullies, and to persuade others against bullying.
Designed for a Fifth Grade Class
By Laura Abbott
labbott2@franklincollege.edu
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Introduction
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You're stupid. Why would you dress like that? I can't believe that you didn't know that!
Have you ever said anything like this? Has anything like this ever been said to you? Listen to this song. This song deals with words like the ones above. It is called
"Don't Laugh at Me" and it is sung by Peter, Paul, and Mary. Pay
close attention to the words. How did the words make you
feel? Have you ever felt like this before? Have you ever
made
anyone feel like this? If you want to listen to the song to
hear the words again, you can also look at the lyrics.
Now, turn to your group and discuss this song. Discuss if you have felt this way, have made others feel this way, or seen others being bullied, and other related ideas. You are
going to have to be open and honest with your other group members. This
may be hard, but if you can do this, you can help others who have been in your situation.
Finally, and most importantly, how can you prevent others from feeling this?
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Task
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Now, you are going to become a bullying expert and you are going to
put your skills to good  use. In your expert groups, you are going
to create a method to teach others about bullying prevention and bully
stopping skills. To do this you will write persuasive letters to
teachers, principals, and young students. Along with your letters, you
will use your research on bullying to create a convocation to teach the younger
students ways to stop bullying in their classrooms. You can be as creative as you want with your convocation.
Maybe after you are finished, we will not hear your peers
or the younger students say things like:
You're stupid. Why would you dress like that? I can't believe that you didn't know that!
Instead we will hear:
Good job! Thank you for helping me. I know that you can do this! We can do this together.
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Process
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 You
are in school all the
time, so you spend many hours with your classmates. I bet
somewhere in that time you have heard people say things like
the words in the song "Don't
Laugh at Me". Use your personal experiences and what you will
discover
through this WebQuest to create your convocation presentation.
Your convocation will be presented a younger grade. It will
explain to them the affects of bullying on everyone and give them
information about preventing bullying.
Remember that bullying is serious stuff. Bullying is very dangerous. If you ever see bullying going on, you should always let a trusted adult know!
- Your
teacher has put you into groups.
Your group may not have your best friend in it, but that’s
okay. Working with this kind of
group will help you with this WebQuest.
Maybe you can learn something new from your group members while working with them.
- In
your group, the teacher will assigned jobs or you will be picking jobs.
There will be the Note Taker, the Prop Master, the Encourager, and the Presenter. All of you will work
together, but the job holders will be the heads of different parts of the WebQuest.
- The
Note Taker will be the main writer of the group. Notes
should be taken during research. This person will head the
writing that goes into the convocation, which is your end product.
- The
Prop Master will be the head person in getting of any pictures needed for
the convocation, along with props, such poster boards, visuals, etc.
- The
Encourager will help keep the group members on task, as well as make sure
that your group follows your research. Remember, this
is a bully free zone!
- The
Presenter will be the head of the speaking parts of the convocation. This
person will make sure that all the parts fit together and people do not
repeat what another member says.
- The Researcher
will be EVERYONE! Every group member must help research bullying.
Work is divided among committees, but all members must research.
Whenever
you see the job names in the directions, you can click on them and it
will bring you back to the job descriptions. Use this to make
sure that each member is doing the right thing. But, don't forget
that all members help with each area!
- To begin your Webquest, the first thing that you are going to do is
learn about yourself and bullying.
Click here to take a bullying quiz.
The
results might surprise you! Each member should do this. It can be done on the
computer or it can also be done on a piece of paper. Do not exit
out of this site, you will need it later.
- Did
you learn anything about yourself, were you surprised? THINK about this, you do not have to
share if you don’t want to.
However, sharing might help other people.
- Go back to the webpage,there
are a couple of ovals on the left side of it.
You should explore the ones that say “What is Bullying” and “What Can I Do”. There is a lot of information here. This is when the Note Taker
should begin taking notes on the information about bullying. You
will use this information in your convocation at the end, as well as in
persuasive letters.
- To take notes, the
Note Taker can use note cards, make outlines, jot down ideas, etc.
Here are graphic organizers that might help. Use some of the techniques that you have learned in class that
have worked for you. Make sure to write neatly so that you and
your group members can read the notes later on.
- There are several
websites for your group to research. Sometimes they might have
difficult words to read or understand. You can work together to
solve this problem with dictionaries, context clues, teacher
assistance, and by using the information that you have learned from
other websites. The Encourager needs to make sure that all members are staying on task during research.
- Go to these websites below to
learn what bullying is and some common myths about bullying.
While looking at the websites, the Prop Master and the Presenter
should take idea notes and collect resources for convocation. These
links take you to one part of the website, you should also explore
other pages on the same site.
- You can look at these additional sites for
suggestions on bullying programs and bullying prevention. They are also
going to give you more general information about bullying. Right
now you
are still in the brainstorming mode for your letters and convocation.
You should continue to take notes, collect resources, and think of ideas for your convocation.
- While you are brainstorming, use different
graphic organizers, like webs, or outlines to begin putting together
your convocation. Here are graphic organizers that might help.
- Now your group is closer to becoming an expert on
bullying. Before you present your convocation to younger
students, you are
going to write persuasive letters to three groups: principals,
teachers, and students. You have discussed persuasive letters in
your class before this WebQuest. Read the descriptions of each letter below, then to know what you are going to be
graded on, go to the Rubric.
- To the principals,
you need to persuade them that bullying is a problem in our schools and
also persuade them that you have a solution (This will be the
convocation and its content). You might also consider inviting the principals to the convocation.
- Your group is going to do a similar letter to teachers.
You need to persuade
them that your program is something that would benefit their students
and that they should allow you to present to their classes. This
teacher should teach the grade that you want to present your
convocation to.
- For the student
letter, you are going to pick a younger grade and write to a class.
You should present information so that the younger students can
understand it. You should persuade them not to bully and to help stop
bullying in their classroom.
- The Note Taker's should divide up the letter writing. Each member should help write the letters, but it is the Note Taker's job to divide up the work. The Encourager should help here too and make sure that everyone is working together. Make sure that
you use the correct format for a letter! If you forget the correct
format, click here.
- After
you have written your letters, have your teacher make several copies of each
letter for you to deliver. Deliver the letters to the teachers,
principals, and students. .
- YA convocation is a way that experts in an area present their
information. They are usually entertaining, fun and informative. You
have been to many convocations at school,
so you have an idea of what they are. Now it is your turn to
create one. This is where the Encourager plays a major role. It
is going to be your job to bring all the work together.
- As a group you need to make a convocation that talks about several of these ideas and more of your own:
- Learning about what bullying really is: how
do people bully others, what might a bully look like, how do you know
how is a bully?
- Discovering ways to prevent bullying.
- What does a person who is bullied look like? How does being bullied affect them?
- Remember that your convocation is for the
younger students, so you need to use words that they will understand.
Your group may pick a grade that you wish to present your convocation. Let your teacher know what grade you choose.
- The
Prop Master is going to putting together the ideas for visual aids for
your convocation. You have already collected resources, now it is time to put them together. The Presenter
should also begin thinking about
how the convocation is going to be presented and write a script.
All members should present part of the convocation and help in
all of the areas of work.
- Here is what your convocation should include, along with ideas of your own. You may also look at the Rubric to know what will be graded.
- Use a way to catch the students attention, like the song caught yours.
- Share information about what bullying really is, who a bully is, what a bully looks like and does.
- Discuss how bullying might affect a person.
- Share ways to prevent bullying.
- Your presentation should be interesting, colorful, eye catching, full of information, and most importantly it should help solve the problem of bullying in our school.
- You do not have many instructions on the
convocation because I want to see how each group thinks we should
prevent bullying. However, somewhere in your convocation you MUST
site the sources that you have used. Put the name of the resource, the author,
and the date that you used them.
- Your convocation can include singing, art,
discussion, videos, etc. I have given you several websites about
bullying, however you can use other resources. You can get books
from the library, interview your peers, look at other websites (with
teacher approval), etc. I want you to be creative.
- Now, that you have written persuasive letters, chosen a grade, and created a
convocation to teach about bullying, its time to present! Make
sure to speak loudly and clearly, look at your audience, and have fun!
- Wow! We have made a difference in our
school. I want each group to reflect on what they have learned
throughout this process. Complete a journal entry
individually. Talk about what ever you want. Have you
changed anything about yourself, can you change how your friends feel
in school, etc? These are just a few ideas to talk about.
Resources
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You
will use the websites listed above. You could also interview
others, read books, magazines or newspapers to help you research! |
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Evaluation
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This
is how your WebQuest will be graded. Each student will get an
individual grade, but your work in your groups determines what that
grade is, so make sure that you are working together towards a common
goal. Your letters will be graded, as will your convocation.
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Beginning
1
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Developing
2
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Accomplished
3
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Exemplary
4
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Score
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Content of letters and content convocation
Graded as a group
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Content does 2 or less of the following :
explains what
bullying is, gives several ways to prevent it, persuades audience
against bullying, and gives information about the affects of it.
Information is not appropriate for the various audiences.
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Content does 3 of the following :
explains what
bullying is, gives several ways to prevent it, persuades audience
against bullying, and gives information about the affects of it.
Information is somewhat appropriate for the various audiences.
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Content does 4 of the following :
explains what
bullying is, gives several ways to prevent it, persuades audience
against bullying, and gives information about the affects of it.
Information is mostly appropriate for the audiences.
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Content does all of the following and more:
explains what
bullying is, gives several ways to prevent it, persuades audience
against bullying, and gives information about the affects of it.
Information is appropriate for the audiences.
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Group work
Graded individually
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Member does not do his/her job or contributes to other
jobs, is not usually respectful. Member causes many conflicts
and does not
cooperate. Member is off task most of the time.
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The member mostly does his/her job and helps out slightly, but does not resolve conflicts quickly and respectfully.
Member is sometimes friendly, but gets off task often
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Member does his/her specific job, as well as
helps others. Members resolves conflicts and is friendly towards
other members most of the time. Member is on task and respectful most of the time.
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Member does his/her specific job, as well as
helps others, and stays on task. Member resolves conflicts and is friendly towards
other members. Member is respectful.
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Presentation of convocation
Graded as a group and individually (voice)
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Students
can not be understood. There is no visual. Not all member
participate. The presentation is not age appropriate. The convocation is not interesting or informative. |
Students
are somewhat hard to hear or not interested in what they are say.
Not everyone participates. A visual is used, but it does not add
to the presentation. The presentation is not quite age
appropriate. The convocation is not very interesting or
informative. |
Students use a good
speaking voice so that all can hear or the voice is interesting. Visuals are used and add to the presentation. All
group members participate. Age appropriate. The convocation is somewhat interesting and informative.
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A good voice is used, as
well as a voice that is interesting to listen to. Speakers are
passionate about what they are saying. Visual aids are easy to
see and add to the presentation. The presentation is age
appropriate and all member participate. The convocation is interesting and informative.
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Grammar, spelling, and mechanics of letter and convocation
Graded as a group
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There
are 12+ spelling, grammar, or structure errors in the writing portions
in each of the letters and the convocation materials. The structure
of the letter is not like learned previously. The structure of the
writing for the convocation is not easy to follow. |
There
are 9-12 spelling, grammar, or structure errors in the writing portions
in each of the letters and the convocation materials. The structure
of the letter is somewhat like learned previously. The structure of the
writing for the convocation is not very easy to follow. |
There
are 5-8 spelling, grammar, or structure errors in the writing portions
in each of the letters and the convocation materials. The structure
of the letter is mostly like learned previously. The structure of the
writing for the convocation is mostly easy to follow.
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There
are 0-4 spelling, grammar, or structure errors in the writing portions
in each of the letters and the convocation materials. The structure
of the letter is like learned previously. The structure of the
writing for the convocation is easy to follow.
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Research
Graded as a group
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1 source as used and it was not cited correctly. Group members used little of their research time wisely. |
2 sources were used and they were cited, but not correctly. Group members used some of their research time wisely. |
3 sources were used and they were cited mostly correctly. Group members used most of their research time wisely.
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5+ sources were used and they were cited correctly. Group members used all of their research time wisely.
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Conclusion
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You're stupid. Why would you dress like that? I can't believe that you didn't know that!
Hopefully all of these words are a thing of
the past in our school. Because of your research, persuasive
letters, and your convocation, we are now here:
Good job! Thank you for helping me. I know that you can do this! We can do this together.
Think about how you changed your school, your friends, and even yourself!
Not only have you become an expert on bullying, but you have also
become a better person through your research and group work. You
have new skills that allow you to work better in groups, you have
public speaking skills, and you have create new and deeper ways of
thinking. You can think through tough problems and come up with
creative solutions. (Bullying is such a tough problem that even
teachers and principals struggle with it! And you have created a
solution to it. You should be proud of all the work that your
group has done.)
If you finish early and you want extra credit, you can create flyers to
put up on the walls at school. They should go along with the theme of bullying prevention and your convocation.
You can also create your own song like the song at the beginning
of the WebQuest.
If you want more information on bullying, please go to this site dontlaugh.org. It has informational videos that you can view to learn more about bullying.
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Credits & References
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These are the Internet resources that we have used in our WebQuest. All of these links work as of October 30, 2007.
These are the research links.
These links are for other resources.
- The song lyrics
- The letter writing help
- The pictures
- This site was used to find WebQuest templates.
I would also like to thanks Mrs. Judy Lamb for her starting
ideas, Mrs. Vicki Mast for help with the technical side of WebQuests,
and Ms. Linda Airey for her help with the content.
"We all benefit by being generous with our work. Permission
is hereby granted for other educators to copy this WebQuest, update
or otherwise modify it, and post it elsewhere provided that the original
author's name is retained along with a link back to the original URL of
this WebQuest. On the line after the original author's name, you may add
Modified by (your name) on (date). If you do modify it, please let me know
and provide the new URL."
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