Lesson Plan Template

School Counselor: Claire Nawojchik Date: 4/18/13

Activity: Learning about rumors by using the game of telephone to introduce the topic. After the game, discuss how truthful rumors are, what to do when you hear a rumor, and how to stop a rumor from spreading.

Grade(s): Middle; Grades 6-8

ASCA Student Standards (Domain/Standard/Competencies):

PS:A1.6 Distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate behavior

PS:A1.9 Demonstrate cooperative behavior in groups

PS:A2.6 Use effective communications skills

PS:A2.7 Know that communication involves speaking, listening and nonverbal behavior

PS:B1.2 Understand consequences of decisions and choices

PS:B1.3 Identify alternative solutions to a problem

PS:B1.5 Demonstrate when, where and how to seek help for solving problems and making decisions

PS:C1.6 Identify resource people in the school and community, and know how to seek their help

Learning Objective(s):

1. To learn what rumors are and how rumors spread

2. To see how much information can change as it is passed from person to person

3. To discuss the truthfulness of rumors

4. To learn who to tell when you hear a rumor being spread

5. To understand how to stop rumors from spreading

6. To discuss how rumors are hurtful to other people

Materials: A pre-test quiz worksheet for every student in the class. Questions on the worksheet include: What are rumors?; What do you do if you hear a rumor?; Do you think rumors are mostly true?; Who should you tell if you hear a rumor being spread? Also have a post-test quiz worksheet for every student with the same questions as the pre-test. Have a piece of paper with a message typed on it, so the person to start the telephone game can read it. The message should be something that could actually be spread as a rumor. The message used for this lesson was: Amy has been so annoying. She won a soccer award and will not stop talking about it. I just want her to stop.

Procedure: Introduce the lesson to the students by explaining that they are going to play a game of telephone to learn more about rumors. Explain what the game of telephone is for any students that do not know. Then hand out the pre-test and allow students 10 minutes or less to answer the questions. After they have finished the questions, have students look up, and then collect their papers. Tell students to raise their hands to volunteer to be the one to start passing the message for the game of telephone. Have that student stand up first, and have the rest of the students form a circle starting where the student is standing. Allow the first student to read the message to the second student only once. Then have the second student whisper what they can remember from the message to the third student, and so on. The counselor should stand behind each student as the message is passed, to ensure no inappropriate message is being passed instead, and to make sure other students are being quiet as they wait their turn. After the message has been passed all the way around the circle, have the last student repeat what they think the message is out loud. The first student then reads off the piece of paper what the message actually was. After noting how different the message is from when it started, tell all students to return to their seats, and lead a discussion about how this activity relates to rumors. Ask students if, after seeing how much the message changed in this activity, they think rumors are mostly true. Also discuss with students why they think rumors spread, why information changes so much as it is passed from person to person, and if they should spread rumors they hear in the hallways. Ask students to raise their hands if they have ever had a rumor spread about them, or know someone who has. Then discuss how hurtful rumors can be, and how it feels to hear information about you being spread around school. Also get students to list a number of different adults at the school that they could go to for help about a hurtful rumor. After the discussion, have students complete the post-test worksheet.

Plan for Evaluation: How will each of the following be collected?

Process Data: Record which classes have received the guidance lesson, including information about the ages/grades and number of students in each class. Provide the guidance lesson to as many classes as possible, so all can benefit from the information. This lesson was delivered to one 6th grade class for 25 minutes during the last period of the day. There are 14 students in the class. Two students were absent and one student had to attend a student council meeting, so 11 students were present for the lesson, completed the pre- and post-test, and participated in the activity.

Perception Data: Students all actively participated in the telephone game and discussion. Students appeared engaged, and seemed to learn more about how rumors spread, and that rumors most likely are not true since information changes so much as it passes from person to person. Students were able to see firsthand how much information can change, after hearing the final message in the telephone game. All students were able to participate in the discussion, and understood the purpose of the activity.

Outcome Data: Students in the class took a 4-question pre- and post- test with questions about rumors, how to stop rumors from spreading, and who to tell if you hear a rumor being spread. For the pre-test, 10 out of 11 students got at least one of the questions wrong. Only one person answered all of the questions with a correct answer. On the post-test, 11 out of the 11 students got all of the questions right.

Follow Up: Tell students to pay attention to their role in rumors, and to not participate in spreading information about their peers. Make sure students know that they can come to the counseling office at any time if they hear inappropriate or hurtful rumors spreading around the school. Also, follow up with administrators and teachers to see if reports of rumors have increased or decreased after delivering the lesson to all classrooms in the 6th grade.