Grade 5
Name:________________________
School:___________________
Stopping Bullying with Orange T-Shirts and a Music Video
By Chicago Tribune, adapted by Newsela staff on September 19, 2013
Students work with teacher Melissa De La Paz on their music video during an after-school meeting, Aug. 29, 2013 at
Stratford Middle School in Bloomingdale, Ill. Photo: Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/MCT
1. Last year, bullies pushed and called 11-year-old Ronan Schuelke names in the school
lunchroom. Now Ronan is starring in a music video that teaches respect. The video is a takeoff
on a popular Katy Perry song. His classmates at Stratford Middle School in Bloomingdale, Ill.,
will watch the video. Then Ronan and other student leaders will reward students who try to stop
bullying or encourage kindness. Students will get prizes for telling a classmate to stop picking
on someone or for sitting with a new student at lunch. The awards are called “Stallion
Medallions” after the school’s mascot. They can be traded for things like school supplies or play
tickets.
“I think this is something the kids will pick up...and maybe try it,” Ronan said of the idea.
Learning How to Stop Bullying
2. Stratford’s plan shows how seriously many schools now take bullying. In the past,
schools didn’t deal effectively with bullying. Now, dozens of school districts across Illinois have
anti-bullying programs. Equally important, though, is teaching students to respect each other.
The change came about because state laws and a new understanding of bullying.
3. Encouraging students to respect each other works better than saying “Don’t be a bully,” said
Brian Meyer. He works for the state’s Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports network.
The center gives Illinois schools information about how to prevent bullying. Under the program,
schools know that any student may bully others and be bullied themselves. Students help point
out problems at their schools. All teachers and students are trained in a program called “Stop,
Walk and Talk.” They learn exactly what they should say and do to stop bullying.
4. Many educators and researchers like the program. They say it reduces bullying. Others worry
that rewarding good behavior with prizes sends the wrong message. Kindness to others should
be its own reward, they say. Also, it doesn’t work in the long run. As soon as the reward ends,
the good behavior may stop, they say.
Schoolwide Programs Work Best, Studies Show
5. About 20 to 30 of every 100 school children are either bullies or bullied. Twenty years ago,
bullying was considered rare. Few parents asked schools to protect their children against mean
students. After violence was linked to bullying, parents got involved, said Dorothy Espelage.
She studies bullying at the University of Illinois. Now, 49 states require schools to have antibullying programs, Espelage said.
6. Schoolwide programs work best, studies show. Many principals have turned to the PBIS for
help. The network is funded by the U.S.Department of Education. When PBIS began 15 years
ago, it focused on students with special needs or severe behavior problems. Educators then
realized that all students must be involved in anti-bullying programs. By 2011, more than 250
school leaders in Illinois attended a meeting to prevent bullying.
Drop in Bullying Thanks to Program
7. All eight schools in the Bloomingdale district have an anti-bullying plan. It includes Expect
Respect clubs, reward for kindness and Ronan’s video, said Julie Augustyn. She works for the
district. There is no easy way to stop bullying, said Catherine Bradshaw. She works at the John
Hopkins Center for the Prevention of Youth Violence. But some programs look promising, she
said. At schools in Maryland using PBIS, behavior problems dropped by a third, Bradshaw
found. The study also showed a big drop in bullying within two years.
“There aren’t any quick, easy solutions that are going to happen after one hour or an afternoon,”
she said.
Drop in Bullying Thanks to Program
8. Chintan Dave, an eighth-grader at Stratford, had an immediate goal when he joined the
school’s Expect Respect Club. Two years ago he switched to a different bus after he was
mocked for his Indian accent. When school started this year, he wore his neon-orange “expect
Respect” T-shirt with high hopes.
“I don’t want anyone to go through what I went through,” he said.
Multiple Choice-Please read and answer all of the questions
1. Which of the statements below BEST characterizes the main idea of this article?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Twenty years ago, bullying was considered rare.
Bullying is a serious problem in schools.
Anti-bullying programs mentioned in the article help reduce bullying.
It is important to teach students to respect one another.
2. Which paragraph in the article contains arguments against the effectiveness of the new antibullying program?
a. Paragraph 4
b. Paragraph 3
c. Paragraph 6
d. Paragraph 7
3. In which sentence does the word ‘mean’ have the SAME meaning as in the following
sentence?
‘Few parents asked schools to protect their children against mean students.’
a. Sorry! I did not mean to offend you.
b. He is rather rude and mean to me.
c. This car is a mean machine.
d. Parents mean well when they scold us.
4. Which of the following sentences from the article contains a phrase that means ‘to learn’?
a. A student may get a small prize for telling a classmate to stop picking on someone.
b. “I think this is something the kids will pick up… and maybe try it,” Ronan said of the idea.
c. Others worry that rewarding good behavior with prizes sends the wrong message.
d. All teachers and students are trained in a program called “Stop, Walk and Talk.”
5. Which sentence from the article BEST indicates why handling the problem of bullying is a
complex issue?
a. Then Ronan and other student leaders will reward students who try to stop bullying or
encourage kindness.
b. Encouraging students to respect each other works better than saying ‘Don’t be a bully,” said
Brian Meyer.
c. “There aren’t any quick, easy solutions that are going to happen after one hour or an
afternoon,” she said.
d. About 20 to 30 of 100 of every school children are either bullies or bullied.
6. According to Catherine Bradshaw at John Hopkins Center for the Prevention of Youth
Violence, some programs look promising because ____________
a. behavior problems dropped by half
b. bullying stopped
c. the study showed no change in bullying behaviors
d. there were much fewer behavior and bullying problems
7. Which word is a synonym of ‘funded’ in the following sentence? “The network is funded by
the US Department of Education.
a. paid for
b. found
c. established
d. started
8. According to the article, what percentage of school children are bullied at school?
a. 10-20%
b. 20-30%
c. 30-40%
d. 40-50%
9. In the sentence “ In the past, schools didn’t deal effectively with bullying”, what is a synonym
of the word ‘effectively’?
a. partially
b. completely
c. really
d. successfully
10. You can get a Medallion ticket for all of these, except for___________________
a. standing up to a bully
b. picking on someone
c. sitting with a new friend at lunch
d. helping a classmate
11. In complete sentences, summarize what this article is about. Basically, what is the main
idea?_____________________________________________________________________
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Opinion Writing Task
In your best writing, please respond to the following prompt. Remember to include:
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an introduction
your opinion/claim clearly stated
specific evidence from the article to support your opinion
your own opinion and ideas
precise language to connect ideas
correct spelling, capitalization, and punctuation
a conclusion
You just read an article about anti-bullying programs at some schools in the U.S. Do you think
our schools are doing enough to stop bullying? Why or why not? Write a paper clearly
stating your opinion on this issue. You may use ideas and examples from your own life
experience but you must also include evidence from the article. You can plan out your ideas on
scratch paper if you would like. Write your final draft below.
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