Health Education I (7-8)
Strand 3: SAFETY AND DISEASE PREVENTION (SDP) Standard HI.SDP.3:
1 class periods of 45 minutes each
Small Groups
In small groups, students will define violence and discuss different examples of violence in the media. Each group will then share its definition and examples with the class, the teacher will then conduct the activity: "Taking a Stand on Media Violence". After the activity, the small groups will then discuss different ways of dealing with violence in the media and share ideas with the class.
Students will identify different forms of violence in the media. They should assess their own attitudes toward violence and consider what is acceptable and what is not. Students will consider the possible effects of violence in the media and discuss ways of dealing with the problem.
I. Class Discussion:
What words are associated with the word VIOLENCE?
What actions are associated with the word VIOLENCE?
II. Small Group Discussion:
Organize students in small groups and have them write their own definition of VIOLENCE.Have each group share its definition with the class.
III. Class Activity
Valuing Different Views: Taking a Stand on Media Violence (pdf)
IV. Group Work
Students in each group can choose to keep the definition they wrote before the activity or change their definition.
Each student will explore the web site below on their own and write a one page essay on what form of media they consider to be the most violent and identify what effect they feel it has on society.
Gifted Students can research the extension website and prepare a short presentation on information found there. Rather than write definitions of violence, struggling students might tell what they consider to be violent behavior.
Students should explore the information on the Common Sense web site and the information and then write a one page essay on what form of media they consider to be the most violent and explain what impact they feel it has on society.