Activities

** Activities--component #4 ** 3 activities planned that are clearly defined and related to theme. Requires high level critical thinking. Students are given choices. Student’s discoveries are summarized and lead to new ideas, etc. Covers a wide range of the curriculum.
 * 1) 3 or more activities
 * 2) Cover a range of curricular areas
 * 3) Reflect elements of literature
 * 4) Engage students in meaningful summarization of their discoveries
 * 5) Lead to new ideas, understandings, and connections


 * ACTIVITY #1:** __Opening Activity__: Pre-test: Students answer questions about Drug and Alcohol Abuse, and Self Injury. These preliminary answers will be compared to answers on the final exam. Students view four video clips about: self injury, anorexia, prescription drug abuse, and binge drinking. They respond in a journal for approximately 2 minutes between each video. This will be followed by a discussion of emotional responses, previously unknown facts, and personal connections. The hope is that students will note the common theme through all of the videos: People who are in emotional pain may cause themselves even more pain by turning to drugs, alcohol, or self-injury as coping-mechanisms.




 * ACTIVITY #2:** __Literature Circle Discussion__: Students will be presented with "book talks" based on the selected novels for this unit. Students will then be able to select the novel they would like to read and discuss, and will be placed in literature circle groups. Each group member will take on roles throughout the discussion period (such as "Discussion Director" or "Artistic Accomplice") to help guide their discussions and to maintain accountability.

Unit Description for Literature Circles

Literature Circle Guidelines

Roles for Literature Circles


 * ACTIVITY #3:** __Character-Driven Creative Project__: Upon the completion of their novel, each student will be required to choose 1 of 4 preferred activities to complete in order to illustrate his or her understanding of character motivation, addiction characteristics, and the growth that can be found in recovery. Each project will relate directly to the literature circle novel, and has it's own rubric attached.

Students will choose one of the following four activities:

Persona Performance

"Older and Wiser" Recovery Poem

Scrapbook Project

A Change in Perspective Performance


 * ACTIVITY #4:** __Literature Circle Tableaux__: A tableaux is a dramatic activity where a group of students is asked to physically construct a significant scene from literature through body placement, facial expressions, and the use of a few props. For this activity, each literature circle will be asked to create a series of 8 "tableaux" scenes to reflect their understanding of the significant events from their shared novel.




 * ACTIVITY #5:** __Counselor__: In addition to class activities, the school counselor would come in with materials and handouts on where teens can seek help. While education to the dangers of these additions is key, equally as important is the knowledge of resources teens can seek out when they do get into trouble or find themselves with a friend confiding in them their secrets to harmful self abuse.