Archiv für die Kategorie „Topic of the Week“

Although the text was written as a guide for parents, it can help pupils reflect on their media habits, especially on the problem of excessive media consumption.

A GUIDE TO LIMITING CHILDREN’S MEDIA CONSUMPTION

Children and TV — the effects

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends limiting a child’s use of TV, movies, video and computer games to no more than one or two hours a day. Too much screen time has been linked to:

• Obesity. Children who watch more than two hours of TV a day are more likely to be overweight.
• Irregular sleep. The more TV children watch, the more likely they are to resist going to bed and to have trouble falling asleep.
• Behavioral problems. Children who watch excessive amounts of TV are more likely to bully, have attention problems, and show signs of depression or anxiety than children who don’t.
• Impaired academic performance. Elementary students who have TVs in their bedrooms tend to perform worse on tests than those who don’t.
• Less time for play. Excessive screen time leaves less time for active, creative play.

How to limit screen time

Your child’s total daily screen time may be greater than you realize. Start monitoring it. In the meantime, you can take simple steps to reduce the amount of time your child spends watching TV, movies and videos or playing video or computer games:

• Eliminate background TV. If the TV is turned on — even if it’s just in the background — it’s likely to draw your child’s attention. If you’re not actively watching a show, turn off the TV.
• Keep TVs and computers out of the bedroom. Children who have TVs in their bedrooms watch more TV and videos than children who don’t. Monitor your child’s screen time and the Web sites he or she is visiting by keeping computers in a common area in your house.
• Don’t eat in front of the TV. Allowing your child to eat or snack in front of the TV increases his or her screen time. The habit also encourages mindless munching, which can lead to weight gain.
• Set school day rules. Most children have limited free time during the school week. Don’t let your child spend all of it in front of a screen.
• Suggest other activities. Rather than relying on screen time for entertainment, help your child find other things to do. Consider classic activities, such as reading, playing a sport or trying a new board game.
• Set a good example. Be a good role model. Limit your own screen time.

Become an active participant

When your child has screen time, make it as engaging as possible:

• Plan what your child watches. Instead of flipping through channels, seek quality videos or use a program guide to select appropriate shows. Pay attention to TV Parental Guidelines — a system that rates programs based on suitability for children. When the program ends, turn off the TV.
• Watch with your child. Whenever possible, watch programs together — and talk about what you see.
• Choose video games that encourage physical activity. Better yet, make the games a family experience.

It may be difficult to start limiting your child’s screen time, especially if your child already has a TV in his or her bedroom or your family eats dinner in front of the TV. But by creating new household rules and steadily making small changes in your child’s routine, you can make a difference.

1-Comprehension Questions

1-What is the purpose of this article?

2-Make a list of the negative effects of excessive media consumption.

3-Make a list of things parents can do to reduce media consumption.

4-Make a list of things parents can do to improve the quality of their children’s media consumption.

2-Discussion Questions

1-In pairs or small groups, discuss the effects of excessive media consumption outlined in the article and rate them in order of importance (from 1 to 5). Add other effects you consider important which are not mentioned in the article.

2-In pairs or small groups, discuss the suggestions about how to limit media consumption listed in the article, rating them in order of importance. Add other suggestions you consider important.

3-In pairs or small groups, discuss the suggestions about what a parent can do to become an ‘active participant’, rating them in order of importance.

Zum Arbeitsblatt

Back in July, something happened in the U.S. that really rocked the racial boat. A police officer (white) arrested a Harvard professor (black). At his house! For disturbing the peace! Sound unbelievable? It really happened. It disturbed a lot of people, including President Obama. When he criticized the police officer’s conduct, he himself became the target of criticism. For a while, the racial boat was really rocking.

The President’s Comment:

It all ended with President Obama inviting the two men, the professor and the policeman, to have a beer with him on the White House lawn. They all had a good talk and, although they didn’t agree on everything, the two guests went away feeling much better. Not just because of the beer.

Funny as it is, the incident has a serious side. The incident itself and the ensuing reaction reveal a lot about the perceptions whites have of blacks and blacks of whites in present-day America. Those who thought that racial prejudice was a thing of the past got an unpleasant surprise! The worksheet ‘Harvard Professor Arrested’ is designed to enable students to explore this issue and form an opinion on it.

Excerpt:

On the morning of July 16 Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (58), the well-known Afro-American Harvard professor and author, was arrested and taken to jail. What happened? There are two versions: That of the arresting officer and that of Dr. Gates. But let’s start with the undisputed facts, the facts that both Gates and the officer agree on: Upon returning to Cambridge from a trip to China, Professor Gates was driven to his home by car service. The driver was also a black man. For some reason, Gates’s key wouldn’t work to open the front door, so he and the driver went around the house and entered through the back door and forced the front door open from the inside. Observing this, Lucia Whalen, a neighbor, called 911, thinking she was seeing an attempted burglary. Officer James Crowley got the call and drove quickly to the house. He asked Dr. Gates, who was on the phone, to step outside and identify himself.

There are two versions of what happened after that…

Zum Arbeitsblatt

Although smoking among German teens has declined in recent years, one in five of them (still) smoke according to a new study by the Robert Koch Institute.

Smoking among U.S. teens had also declined in the past decade, but – much to the disappointment of tobacco opponents – tobacco use among teens has remained constant at a level of about 22% in recent years.

Apparently, all the warnings about the dangers of smoking are being ignored by a core group of young people. What can be done to convince them to give up a habit that is ruining their health?

The Worksheet ‘Smoking among German Young People’ includes salient facts from the Robert Koch study and a number of Activities designed to find out more about the reasons young people start and continue smoking.

Excerpt:

SMOKING AMONG GERMAN YOUNG PEOPLE

According to a recent poll carried out by the Robert Koch Institute, 20% of German young people between the ages of 11 and 17 smoke.

Further findings:

They are much more likely to start smoking if their friends smoke. Whether or not their parents smoke is an unimportant factor.

Students of high schools (Gymnasien) smoke much less than do students of other kinds of schools.

The percentage of girls who smoke is almost the same as that of boys, but girls smoke fewer cigarettes.

The average starting age is between 13 and 14 for both sexes.

Binge drinking, drinking alcohol with the intention of getting drunk quickly, is a growing social problem, mainly among young people.

Much has been said about the dangers of binge drinking. It is well documented that binge drinking affects the brain adversely, that binge drinkers have the highest rate of alcohol-related injuries, that binge drinking increases aggression and the chance of becoming the victim of violence, and that binge drinking impairs decision-making skills.

Certainly, information of this kind can help reverse this tragic trend, but – as was the case with smoking – it must be accompanied by hard-hitting legislation before this growing problem can be effectively checked.

Young people tend to do things they consider ‘fun’ and not count the costs. The idea that binge drinking can have grave physical and mental effects in the long run is something young people tend to ignore.

I have designed a worksheet for the text on binge drinking (available as download in the category ‘creative writing’) with annotations, questions and activities.

Ab 8. Klasse, 1 €, unter pdavenport@gmx.de direkt bestellbar.

We all know what stalking is, but it would be good, I think, if we tried to have a more empathetic and less abstract view of it. One way to gain a sense of the harsh reality of stalking is perhaps to think about what it’s like to be stared at. The extreme discomfort that comes with being stared at is hardly the same as being stalked, but it may give us a clue what it’s like to be a victim of stalking.

Here are some facts about stalking: 80% of all stalking victims are women. Nearly 90% of all stalkers are men.

The typical stalker is the former intimate partner of the female victim. Although most stalkers are not mentally ill, they are often socially maladjusted, emotionally immature, insecure and jealous by nature. To compensate for these deficits, they try to exert power and control over the victim. Unfortunately, the impact they have on their victims is often disastrous.

They can cause fear, nervousness and depression in their victims. They make their victims feel helpless and unsafe. Under permanent stress, stalking victims exhibit stress-related symptoms such as headaches, stomach aches, eating and sleeping problems. In extreme cases, the victim feels isolated, disconnected from family and friends, feeling no one understands them. This may lead to the use of alcohol or drugs.

A question that’s often asked about stalking victims is, why don’t they get help?

There are several reasons,  including fears about how the stalker will respond, threats by the stalker, fears about how others will respond, and the belief that no one can or will help.

In my opinion, stalking is a cruel and cowardly act, one that German law – although reformed – does too little to restrain.

I have created a lesson plan about stalking in the hope that it can help sensitize students to this serious problem. I have also written a rap, The Stalking Rap

Swine Flu is the new topic of the week.

It’s one topic I hope will SOON disappear and go away. But with all the experts saying it’s going to be with us for a while, I thought it would be a good idea to design a worksheet to help students gain an insight into this complex issue.

The worksheet Swine Flu is for 9th – 12th graders.

Tried it out? I’d appreciate your comments!

A recent study shows that driving while using a cell phone is as dangerous as drunk driving!

The idea that hands-free cell phones in motor vehicles would solve the problem has been refuted by studies which show that it’s the conversation, not the phone, that causes the danger.

It’s the conversation, not the phone, which distracts the driver.

Despite the danger, the trend appears to be that cell phoning while driving is accepted as ‘normal behaviour’.

To sensitize students to this issue, I’ve designed a Worksheet with Activities.

DAS HANDY-SEGEN ODER FLUCH?: eine 7-teilige Unterrichtseinheit über Umgang mit dem Handy, darunter ‘Cars and Cell Phones’, ‘IM Rap’, ‘Cell Phone Conflict‘ (creative writing ), ‘SMS Role Play’, ‘SMS Questionnaire’, ‘SMS Personal Comments’ und SMS Blues Rap’. Jede Datei 1 €, als Paket 5 €. Zu bestellen direkt unter pdavenport@gmx.de