A Friendly Letter to Jonathan Martin (Miami Dolphins)

Friendly Letter to Jonathan Martin…

Earlier in the week, my class participated in a view and respond about Jonathan Martin and his bad experience with bullying while playing for the Miami Dolphins. We decided to write a friendly letter to Jonathan Martin in hopes that it would reach him. The class is working on a unit called Express Yourself  where students will learn how to properly format as well as write poetry, letters, and essays. This particular activity fit perfectly because students are currently working on their letter writing skills with an emphasis on Production & Distribution of Writing – 7.W.4 Common Core Standard…

It was also my hope that students would relate to his particular situation. We had a good discussion about this situation as well as other bullying type of situations that the students have experienced themselves. I had several goals for this letter. One was to get students to work on their writing as well as grammar skills (we are a work in progress), and the other goal was to get students to understand that we all go through tough situations like this no matter how big or strong we are.

Jonathan Martin of the Miami Dolphins – Bullying in the NFL (View & Respond)

Bullying in the NFL – Jonathan Martin of the Miami Dolphins (View & Respond)

On November 6th, the class will work on (7.SL.1) & (7.SL.5) common core speaking/listening standards with this view & respond about Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin of the Miami Dolphins. Students will began class with a bell work prompt about any bullying, and how does it make them feel. I will be passing out a news story via ESPN. Along with that news story, students will have questions to answer before we begin classroom discussion. That handout can be viewed [here]. The class will then move to the viewing portion by watching this video [here]. Students will be prompted to actively watch by using the 5W’s (who, what, where, when, and why)… Students will be given about 5 to 7 minutes to answer the questions from the previously mentioned handout. Once students have completed the handout, I will open up the floor for discussion.

As added bonus, I will give the students a chance to write a letter to Jonathan Martin. Our writing class is currently working on letter writing (Production & Distribution of Writing – 7.W.4 Common Core Standard), so this will be a perfect opportunity to display those skills in a real world setting. Luckily, the Dolphins mailing address is very accessible (here). Students will complete letter for homework and submit the following day.

Letter Writing Workshop – Persuasive Letter

Persuasion – the art of getting what you want…

Over the couple of weeks, the class has participated in several Letter Writing Workshops [here]. The first workshop was to review format and rules. Second workshop was a Persuasive Letter Writing Activity w/ format review & ticket out of class using COPS Error Monitoring Strategy to correct mistakes. The final workshop will be similar to the previously mentioned workshop.

[more details] Today the class will be prompted by the bell work to brainstorm about a school problem that they wish to address. The issue may include the following: bullying, school uniforms, school lunch options, school field trips, etc-etc. Students will then proceed to write the letter using the correct format for semi-formal letter writing. Students will focus on 5 key elements in the body of a persuasive letter after they have made sure to properly format their letter. Those 5 key elements are as follows:

View & Respond – Jasmine McClain

Jasmine McClain

On March 4th, the class will work on (7.SL.1) & (7.SL.5) common core speaking/listening standards with this view & respond about Jasmine McClain. Students will began class with a bell work prompt about any bullying, and how does it make them feel. I will be passing out a news story on Jasmine McClain to give background to the story. If you are unaware, Jasmine McClain is from Chadbourn, NC where “authorities are investigating the death of a 10-year-old girl who hanged herself Monday night after repeatedly being bullied at school.” Along with that news story, students will have questions to answer before we begin classroom discussion. That handout can be viewed [here]. The class will then move to the viewing portion by watching this video [here]. Students will be prompted to actively watch by using the 5W’s (who, what, where, when, and why)… Students will be given about 5 to 7 minutes to answer the questions from the previously mentioned handout. Once students have completed the handout, I will open up the floor for discussion.