The Misfits

Introduction

The Misfits, By James Howe, introduce us to Bobby, Addie, Joe and Skeezie. These four have been picked on almost their whole lives. Now is the time to stop it! Let's talk about how they do this based on James Howe's book.

What: A Bullying Webquest

Why: Bullying is wrong and comes in many forms. This webquest is designed to get students involved in recognizing bullying and stereotyping. Recognition is first, doing something comes next.

Who: 6th grade English Language Arts Students

Task

Your task today is to talk about the book and what the Gang of Five did to put an end to bullying. You will find the ways they chose and then make your own. Just to recap, the following are the main characters and the most common names they were called. Do you remember the number of names they came up with together?

Addie: She is very smart but tall for her age and skinny. Don't let her size fool you though! She's a tough kid and stands up for what she believes in.

Top 5 names she's been called: Beanpole, Skyscraper, Big mouth, Show-off, Know-it-all

Bobby: Bobby is an overweight kid and starts out as a "get along kind of guy" who prefers to stay in the background. However, if it weren't for his idea, No-Name week never would have happened.

Top 5 names for Bobby: Fat Boy, Fatso, Blubber, Pork Chop, Dough Boy

Joe: Joe is feminine. He liked to dress in dresses and played with dolls as a child. He has a crush on a boy at school and has great fashion sense (just a stereotype but he does admit it)

Top 5 names for Joe: Faggot, Fag, Gay, Fairy, Queer

Skeezie: He's quiet but not afraid to speak his mind if needed, a little on the dirty side and likes leather jackets and slick hair. He's pretty smart so don't let his looks fool you either.

Top 5 names for Skeezie: Wop, Greaser, Greaseball, Slimeball, Dummy (extra credit for someone who can tell the teacher what the definition of "wop" is).

According to Miriam Webster, Stereotyping is to believe unfairly that all people or things with a particular characteristic are the same.

A bully is one habitually cruel to others who are weaker.

In this book, the four main characters are bullied based on the stereotypes they are given.

Your job today is to

identify what a bully is
write a journal entry about bullying
make your own poster with a slogan for your No-Name party as the student council candidate and how you would stop bullying at FMS

Process

1. Follow the links provided below to talk about ways that bullying has effected you or someone you know.

http://pbskids.org/itsmylife/journal/bully_journal.html

http://pbskids.org/itsmylife/games/bullies_flash.html

2. Students can choose one of the activities on the website below to complete.

http://pbskids.org/itsmylife/games/index.html

3. Take the anti-bully pledge:

http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/stop-bullying?atclk_gn=un_community_stop_bullying

4. Find out if you are a bully or if you are being bullied.

Are you the target: http://www.pacerkidsagainstbullying.org/kab/are-you-a-target/

Are you the bully: http://www.pacerkidsagainstbullying.org/kab/do-you-bully/

5. As one of the Gang of Five, come up with a slogan for your anti-bullying campaign. Be prepared to make a poster in class in the days to come.

Evaluation

Students must show their understanding of the book by being a good "student council" candidate. Their slogan should highlight how they would stop bullying in Fountain Middle School. Students are hypothetically running for the student body for the 2016-2017 school year. Also, please be prepared to give a short speech in the next few days on why bullying is hurtful.

Conclusion

The Misfits, Bobby, Addie, Joe, and Skeezie, are all great kids who are stereotyped and then bullied because of it. In this Webquest, we have explored bullying and taken the time to make our own anti-bullying posters with a short speech to accompany the poster to explain why bullying hurts.