Great Ideas!: Television and Violence

Lesson Objective:

Students will record, analyze, and interpret data on television violence

Grade Level and Subject Area:

7-12/ Math, Language Arts, or Social Studies

Activities and Strategies:

  1. Present the students with a definition of violence such as: "any act that involves physical force, with or without a weapon, resulting in, or significantly increasing the likelihood of death or injury to another person."

  2. Have students monitor a selection of different types of programs (e.g., sports, cartoons, news programs, dramas) for a specified period (e.g., one night, several nights, a week, or longer). Students may do this individually or in small groups. According to their definition of violence, have them track and record the instances of violence they see.

  3. Based on the collected data, have students graphically represent the instances of violence. Students may choose to do so with a line graph, a pie chart, or total numbers.

  4. Have students present their findings to the class. In pairs of groups, compare findings with those of other students. Is there consensus about the most violent type of programming on TV? What does this tell you about society? What are your greatest concerns? What would you like to see changed and why?

  5. If there is interest, the class could write a letter to a local government official or a local television station presenting their findings. The class could also discuss the definition of violence and predict what would happen to their findings if they used a different definition.

George Ventura teacher grades 9, 10, and 12 (Media Literacy and Special Education) at West Toronto Collegiate, Toronto, Canada.

This document was last updated 6/30/97 by Chandra Hawley.
Copyright1996 Indiana University - Center for Adolescent Studies, all rights reserved.
Kris Bosworth - Director p. A teacher could send one student down to the office and then a few minuets later send the other one down.

To calm students down in your classroom, separate them and have each write down his/her own version of what happened. Giving students an opportunity to tell their story may calm them down enough to participate in class. After class, you can address how they handled the conflict or have them talk to a counselor or administrator.

"He Said - She Said"

Teresa is worried. She has heard that Tanya is going to beat her up after school, because Teresa is now dating Tanya's boyfriend.

"He said - she said" gossip or rumors account for much of the conflict among adolescents. Interpersonal skills instruction may be a good long-term strategy, but how can a teacher intervene in the short-term?

Teacher Kim Freund advises, "The best thing you can do is let the chain of command know what is going on and what the situation is so that you prevent that from happening. Sometimes, we think it's just hearsay and blow it off a little bit." The rumor mill can be very quick and hurtful.

Perhaps it would help to bring Teresa and Tanya together to determine the nature of the problem. In many schools, this responsibility lies with a counselor or assistant principal. George Jennings says, "The best way I have found is to call both students in, set the ground rules and say 'we are going to let you talk and see if you can get it resolved right here and now.' Their friends may be stirring up more than the two girls are." Perhaps the boyfriend needs to be a participant in the discussion as well.

Responses differed on whether to get parents involved. On one hand, the conflict between Teresa and Tanya may carry over to the home and the parents may need notification of the problem. On the other hand, Rob Lugo says "If they are high school students, I would not call the parents - I would treat them as adults."

Whether the parents are involved or not, educators need to be aware of the resources for addressing conflict that exist within the school. Chuck Hibbert says "It is important for new classroom teachers to be very familiar with what the school policy is. How am I going to handle the situation? What services and options are available for me? Don't wait till the situation occurs to go and ask." Be prepared.

This document was last updated 6/30/97 by Chandra Hawley.
Copyright1996 Indiana University - Center for Adolescent Studies, all rights reserved.
Kris Bosworth - Director 2Ns?vK=80͊ d}xb}*R&6ɂ~$@"܃{E$h.nJj4Q"]*ԑdֽFx o¥ȋޡ