Cyber-Bullying and Teen Suicide Unit

This week I began a new unit on cyber-bullying and teen suicide with my grade 9 health class at my last student teaching placement. I put together all of the resources and knowledge that I have gained over this past semester at BU to create this unit. The final assessment is going to be a Public Service Announcement raising awareness about bullying and suicide. I cannot wait to see what the students come up with!
First of all, this is an excellent class. They are great for having discussion about these issues. Most are not afraid to speak up, and those that say nothing are still engaged in our discussions. The first day of class, we discussed the differences between traditional bullying and cyber-bullying. The students did a survey on how bad they think bullying is in this school. Today I showed them the results of the survey in a bar graph. They seemed to really be shocked by the results. Bullying and cyber-bullying are issues here and everywhere. I'm glad this began our class because it makes the information relevant. I also showed a short video to begin class. Students became emotional, and it really opened them up for the rest of the class. I was lucky enough to receive some resources from a prof at BU that we used in class. First we did an agree/disagree sheet to touch on some statistics and facts related to suicide. Then, I divided students into groups and they guessed the suicide risk for each scenario. Students were visibly shaken when I told them that all of these students had committed suicide. I then shared my personal story about a friend who committed suicide. I really felt like I got to them! I'm excited that we are going to start "being the change" as a class. I want us to be leaders in this school!
Here are a list of things the students learned in today's class:
Signs to watch for when a person is considering suicide: bullying, appearance changes, being tired, excluded, grades down, quitting sports or clubs, sudden happiness, planning a suicide attempt, giving things away, loss, family or parent problems, drug and alcohol use, uncharacteristic behaviour, stop caring, acting out, break-ups, divorce
How to help yourself and others: focus on positives, get help, talk, include people, do fun things: sports, music, friends, eat well, build self-confidence in self and others, follow the school rules on bullying, don't bully!, give compliments, say hi to everyone, BE NICE TO PEOPLE
This is a great unit, and I hope that more teachers will start talking about this HUGE issue. I can't wait for the students to make their PSA's and for us to share them with the whole school on bully-prevention day!