Domestic Violence

Grade Level: 9-12

Academic Areas: Health

Duration of service: Year Long

Character Virtues: Caring, Giving, Civic Virtue and Citizenship, Responsibility

Service Areas: Human Services, Public Safety

 

Service Learning Project:

During a unit on domestic violence in a health class, students will research, make contact, and create a Community Partnership with organizations dealing with the issue of domestic violence. Students will respond to this issue in one or more ways, including

  1. being trained and man domestic violence hotlines,
  2. creating and performing short dramatic depictions of domestic violence situations for select audiences.
  3. collecting and assembling items for gift bags to be distributed to shelters for victims of domestic violence.
  4. creating and manning an informational table within the school to disseminate information on domestic violence.

Goals and Objectives

Academic

Learning Goal: To acquire the knowledge to identify and determine , what is domestic violence and to identify and utilize agencies that advocate for victims of domestic violence.

Standard: Health ,PE, FCS #2 and #3

Learning Goal: To be able to identify examples of domestic violence through American and World literature. To relate text and performances to their own lives, and to create their own dramatic scenarios depicting examples of domestic violence.

Standard: ELA, #2 & #4

Service

Community need: Teen violence and control issues within relationships.

Possible Community Partners: Police Dept., Mental Health Assoc., Child Advocacy , Social Worker, School Psychologist, School Nurse, Crisis Intervention Counselor

Objective: To identify and access community resources for victims of domestic violence.

Objective: Students will be trained and then volunteer to man domestic violence hotlines.

Character

Virtue: Caring / Giving

Objective: During and after the school day students will be trained to man hotlines. To organize informational guest speakers from Community Partners to address various classes.

Virtue: Civic Virtue and Citizenship / Responsibility

Objective: Student generated skits will be presented to select classes to raise awareness of domestic violence and resources in the community.

Key Activities

Key Planning Activities

  1. Teachers will contact and schedule various guest speakers from identified community partners to address students.
  2. Students research the needs (physical and psychological) of domestic violence victims and potential victims..
  3. Students will read aloud segments of selected works of literature used in English class to analyze signs of unhealthy relationships that exists amongst characters. Examples: (Romeo and Juliet -9th, The Crucible – 10th, Streetcar Named Desire/ Death of a Salesman – 12th)

Key Service Activities  

  1. Collecting, preparing, and distributing gift bags to be sent to shelters for victims of domestic violence.
  2. Manning the Domestic Violence Hotlines.
  3. Creating and performing short dramatic depictions of domestic violence situations for select audiences.
  4. Creating and manning an informational table within the school to disseminate information on domestic violence

Key Reflection Activities

  1. (oral) Students will contrast a caring and giving relationship with one of domestic violence, using examples from literature and real life.
  2. (performance) Students are given a stressful domestic scenario. They are asked to resolve the conflict in a giving, caring and fair way.
  3. (written) Students will write their own scenarios in dramatic form depicting various forms of domestic violence. They will examine how the character virtues were exhibited or lacking in these relationships.

Celebration Activity

Students will create a display board with pictures of community partner involvement. Charts depicting hours of service manning hotline, and setting up an informational display with pamphlets and community resources. Awards for students community service commitment to be presented at Student Appreciation Breakfast. Parents of students involved will be invited to breakfast and encouraged to participate in future trainings to be a hotline volunteer.