Shifting Boundaries: Lessons on Relationships for Students in Middle School

• NCJ Number: 233612
• Author(s): Nan D. Stein Ed.D.; Kelly Mennemeier; Natalie Russ; Bruce Taylor Ph.D.
• Date Published: December 2010
• Length: 65 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2010-MU-MU-0008; 2008-MU-MU-0010; 2005-WT-BX-0002
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Training (Aid/Material)
• Award: Dating Violence/Harassment Prevention Programs in Miami-Dade Middle Schools: A Collaborative Multi-level Randomized Experimental Evaluation; A Dating Violence Prevention Program for Each Grade in Middle School: A Longitudinal Multi-Level Experiment.; An Evaluation of Gender Violence/Harassment Prevention Programs in Middle Schools

Annotation

This material provides lessons on relationships for sixth and seventh grade students.

Abstract

Material provided includes lesson plans, class exercises, student handouts, and discussion points for educators with guidelines for teaching the lesson plans. The sixth grade lessons include: Class 1: "What is a Boundary?" provides information on boundaries from the personal through the geo-political and defines the meaning and role of boundaries in student relationships and experiences. Class 2: "Measuring Personal Space" explores the individual expectation of personal space boundaries. Class 3: "Introduce Respecting Boundaries" identifies the difference between behaviors that are acceptable and behaviors that are against school policy or against the law. Class 4: "Mapping Safe and Unsafe Spaces at School" helps identify where (exact locations) in the school the students feel "hot" and where they feel "cool"; provides information for the school to use in order to develop a "cooler" school environment; empowers students to transform "hot" areas into "cool" areas by examining why they consider particular locations to be "hot"; and what the school can do to make those areas "cooler." The seventh grade lessons include two additional classes: 1) "Big Deal or No Big Deal?" provides guidance on infractions which are no big deal, against school rules or against the law. 2) "Says Who" questionnaire/"What Can I Do?" provides a definition of sexual harassment; dispels common myths about sexual harassment; and raises awareness of the prevalence of sexual harassment. Included is a Respecting Boundaries Agreement (RBA) along with staff guidelines for the introduction and signing of the RBA. Appendix