8th Grade Integrated-Learning Theme: Fear
Everyone experiences fear. Fear of whatever or whoever it may be is expressed in many ways. This theme explores the different effects fear has on the body, both physically and psychologically. On a day-to-day basis we experience anxiety due to exposure to stressors. Fear tends to lead to irrational thinking, or not being able to think or act at all as well as anxiety. How can we gain control over our fear(s)?
Students will read ominous literature as well as watch clips from horror films to recognize fear as not just an emotion, but also as a reaction to one’s surroundings. They will also define “fear, ” both personally and generally.
In addition learners will perform physical activities that help to lessen stress, which is a product of fear. They will also work together to investigate how fear is incorporated in bullying.
Students will read ominous literature as well as watch clips from horror films to recognize fear as not just an emotion, but also as a reaction to one’s surroundings. They will also define “fear, ” both personally and generally.
In addition learners will perform physical activities that help to lessen stress, which is a product of fear. They will also work together to investigate how fear is incorporated in bullying.
21st Century Skills that Middle Schoolers are Expected to be Learning:
Students must:
· Collaborate with others; use teamwork
· Be technology – literate
· Think critically
· Solve problems
· Be autonomous
· Ask questions (be inquisitive)
· Become aware and informed of current events.
· Welcome change; be willing to adapt
· Collect research and information from credible sources to use in expository writing
Students must:
· Collaborate with others; use teamwork
· Be technology – literate
· Think critically
· Solve problems
· Be autonomous
· Ask questions (be inquisitive)
· Become aware and informed of current events.
· Welcome change; be willing to adapt
· Collect research and information from credible sources to use in expository writing
The Team & Concepts to be Learned in Each Content Area:
ELA:
Alexandra Loredo 1) Students will read through text of Edgar Allen Poe 2) Students will evaluate morbid/ominous tones in Poe's poetry 3) Students will asses character relationships between courage and fear 4) Students will discover heroic figures in literature and how they overcome fearful situations 5) Students will decipher language tools and vocabulary that indicate "fearfulness" in literature 6) Students will integrate the use of technology to correlate to literature in assessing fear and courage in texts 7) Students will write their own poems and/or short stories describing an episode in a character that experiences fear and has to overcome a problem 8) Students will write journal entries about their own, personal issues or experiences with fear (not mandatory to share with class) 9) Students will analyze film-to-text relationships in the "horror" genre 10) Students will use illustration to further their understanding of knowledge on fear and courage |
Biology:
Elira Brucaj 1) Flight or fight response the body gives in a situation 2) Adrenaline – what it does, where it comes from, what it is and why it releases in the body 3) Anatomical parts of the brain that control fear, and stress 4) Biochemical changes that create the fear response 5) Hormones that disperse through the body while person is scared 6) Summarize an article from current day events (credible sources) that relate to the human body’s condition while the person is scared 7) Lab experiment where pulse is measured while a person is scared (students work in pairs while being exposed to a short horror clip or scary picture i.e. a great white shark) 8) How do animals respond to fear (do animals even experience fear? How can we tell?) 9) What are the different mechanisms that animals (and humans) use to respond to/combat fear? 10) Does fear facilitate survival? Is this a necessary emotion we need to have? Why? |
Psychology:
Jeana DeMairo 1) Reflect on how stress and anxiety may impact academic abilities 2) Identify key features of stress 3) Read about Panic Disorder and locate key terms in text 4) Ask questions about the treatment approaches to anxiety disorders 5) Research psychological disorders consistent with anxieties and fears 6) Work in groups to come up with ways to cope with stress 7) Make a list of different causes of stress during adolescence 8) Express ways to avoid unnecessary stress 9) Look up articles online about adolescent stressors and drug abuse 10) Independently define the word 'stress' & Why people have certain phobias |
Physical Education:
Zahra Jackson 1) Decision-making 2) Communication 3) Listening 4) Teamwork 5) Problem solving 6) Leadership 7) Wii Fit and other fitness or exercise video games 8) Tactical approach 9) Creating strategies 10) Sportsmanship |