Lesson 10.1: Understanding Violent Behavior

Overview

This lesson focuses on understanding what leads to violent behavior and the consequences violence can have on individuals. Examining prejudice, bias, and the communication of empathy are highlighted.

Learning Targets

  • LO1: Compare and contrast physical and emotional violence.
  • LO2: Explain how personal, social, family, and community influences affect violent behavior.
  • LO3: Explain how prejudice, bias, and intolerance are related to violent behavior.
  • LO4: Compare and contrast the consequences of violent behavior to the victim, bystander, and offender.
  • LO5: Communicate respect for others.

Preparation

Chapter Opener: Use the chapter 10 My Knowledge of Anger and Conflict self-assessment to introduce the chapter before moving on to Lesson 10.1 or assign the self-assessment as a homework task before starting this lesson.

For the Warm-Up Activity: Write the Journal Question on the board or identify (and copy as needed) the worksheets you plan to use:

For the Content Focus: Open the Lesson 10.1 PowerPoint slides or make copies of the Lesson 10.1 Note-Taking Guide.

For the Lesson Focus: Copy the Lesson 10.1 Skill-Building Challenge Worksheet: Communicating Respect for Others.

Warm-Up Activity

Select a warm-up activity to help get your class focused and on task.

  • Self-Assessment: Have students complete the My Knowledge of Anger and Conflict self-assessment.
  • Journal Question: How might your opinion of someone else influence the way you treat that person? How might opinions can lead to violent behavior?
    • Option: Write or project the question and have students respond in their journal or on their “bell ringer” sheet as they enter class.
    • Option: Have students discuss the question with a partner or in a small group.
  • Vocabulary Review: Have students work individually, in pairs, or in small groups to complete the Lesson 10.1 Vocabulary Review Worksheet.
  • Quiz: Have students complete the Lesson 10.1 Quiz to assess their prior knowledge.
    • Option: Collect the quiz and use it alongside a posttest to demonstrate student learning.
    • Option: Have students share their answers with a partner and then go over the answers together as a class.

Lesson Content

Review the content from the textbook lesson.

Lesson Focus: Communicating Respect for Others

  1. Provide each student with a copy of the Lesson 10.1 Skill-Building Challenge Worksheet: Communicating Respect for Others. Form small groups of three students. Try to make groups diverse relative to hobbies and interests, race, and family background.
  2. Write the acronym RESPECT on the board and have the students review what each part of the acronym means. See figure 10.4.
  3. Have each group select one of the following topics or assign a topic; then, have groups discuss their topic.
    • What your family is like and how it feels to be you in your family
    • What race you are and what it is like to be that race
    • What your hobbies and interests are and how that influences what others think of you
  4. Make sure students use the RESPECT acronym to guide how they engage in the conversation.
  5. After sufficient time has passed, have students reflect on how they did. They will use their handout to evaluate their own performance on all aspects of the RESPECT acronym.
  6. If time allows, switch groups and repeat the exercise or have them stay in their same groups and discuss a different question.

Challenge Activity

Have students needing an additional challenge work on the following Thinking Critically task.

Research one form of violent behavior and gather information about that particular behavior. Focus on statistics, data, and facts. Write down at least eight pieces of information that you learned. Put the information that you think is most important for people to know at the top of the list in descending order.

Reflection and Summary

Review the critical content from today’s lesson. Review the learning targets and ask students to answer each question posed.

Can you...

  • Compare and contrast physical and emotional violence?

    Physical violence uses bodily force and includes things like hitting or kicking someone, forcing someone to do something against their will, or destroying property. Threatening others, destroying another person’s reputation, or causing damage to another person’s relationships are forms of emotional violence.

  • Explain how personal, social, family, and community influences affect violent behavior?

    Personal and social influences can affect violent behavior through peer pressure or rejection by peers, bias and discrimination, exposure to media and entertainment violence, social isolation, and use or abuse of alcohol or drugs.

    Family and community influences can affect violent behavior through violent behaviors in the home; poverty; and lack of community or family stability, parental supervision or involvement, community groups, social services, and medical services.

  • Explain how prejudice, bias, and intolerance are related to violent behavior?

    When people aren’t willing to examine their prejudices (opinions without facts) and biases (how we treat others based on our prejudices) and are unwilling to accept the beliefs or behaviors of others, it is called intolerance. Intolerance can lead to hate. When this happens, violent acts can follow.

  • Compare and contrast the consequences of violent behavior to the victim, bystander, and offender?

    In comparing the consequences of violent behavior, the victim, bystander, and offender may all be affected by anger and depression, relationship challenges, social isolation, substance abuse, sleep disorders, anxiety and anxiety disorders, and fear and paranoia. In contrast, the offender may also be affected by incarceration, job and income loss, and more violent behavior.

  • Communicate respect for others?

    This was done in the Skill-Building Challenge. Ask students to identify one element from the RESPECT acronym and to comment on how they did on that element.

Assessment

Complete one or more of the following assessment tasks for this lesson.

Take It Home

Ask a sibling, friend, teammate, or other peer in your community about their cultural, ethnic, or religious background and use the RESPECT acronym to help you listen and understand their perspective.

Option: Assign the My Knowledge of Anger and Conflict self-assessment as a homework task if it was not used at the start of this lesson.