Title – Do Something about… School Violence Unit

Day 6: Stand Up!

By – Do Something, Inc. / www.dosomething.org

Primary Subject – Social Studies

Secondary Subjects – Other

Grade Level – 9-12

Do Something about…

School Violence

10-Day Unit

The following lesson is the sixth lesson of a 10-day

School Violence Unit from Do Something, Inc.

Other lessons in this unit are as follows:

Day 1: Bullying Students will be introduced to the unit and learn the definition of bullying

Day 2: What’s life like in my shoes? Students will learn about bullying in the news and take on the perspective of someone being bullied.

Day 3: Mean Girls Students will explore the differences and similarities of female and male violence.

Day 4: School Zones Students will talk about safety in their own school.

Day 5: Groupthink Students will learn about gangs and the theory of groupthink.

Day 6: Stand Up! (See the lesson below) Students will learn about diffusion of responsibility and discuss how they should play a role in protecting others.

Day 7: Responsibility Students will learn about the principal of diffusion of responsibility and techniques that can help them if they are ever a victim of violence.

Day 8: Zero Tolerance Students will investigate zero tolerance laws and learn about the difficulties schools face when deciding how to handle school violence.

Day 9: Still I Rise Students will learn about how to find inner strength and cope with bullying.

Day 10: Bully Pulpit Students will launch an anti-bullying campaign in their school.

More student resources for this cause are at:


www.dosomething.org/causes/school_violence

For more Service-Learning Curricula check out:


www.dosomething.org/oldpeople

Day 6: Stand Up!

Goal:

Students will learn about diffusion of responsibility and discuss how they should play a role in protecting others.

Process:

1. Stage a “bullying scene” with two students in your classroom. Prearrange that one student will bully another in the beginning of class while you pretend to be distracted with another matter. Did anyone try and stop it? Why or why not?

2. Note and discuss students’ reactions with the class.

3. Read and discuss the poem,
   
   First They Came for the Jews
   
   , with students.

4. Discuss any of the following topics:
   • Have you ever witnessed someone standing up for another person? What was the situation? What was the result of one person taking on another’s cause?
   • Have students think privately about a time they wished someone had stood up for someone else.
   • Why do people stand up for others? When are we most likely to take responsibility for the behavior of those around us? When are we least likely?
   • What famous people in history have “stood up” for those around them? How did they do this? What challenges did they face?

5. Discuss ways students would feel comfortable standing up against school violence and bullies. How is there power in numbers?

6. Have students write their own version of the
   
   First They Came for the Jews
   
   poem substituting their own lines. At the end, create a class poem by having each student read a line from their poem out loud to the class.
   
   
   First They Came for the Jews
   

   First they came for the Jews
   
   and I did not speak out
   
   because I was not a Jew.
   
   Then they came for the Communists
   
   and I did not speak out
   
   because I was not a Communist.
   
   Then they came for the trade unionists
   
   and I did not speak out
   
   because I was not a trade unionist.
   
   Then they came for me
   
   and there was no one left
   
   to speak out for me.
   
   
   Pastor Martin Niemöller
   

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