Each year schools all over the U.S., even internationally, do reading and discussion projects with my book The Revealers to open up the difficult issue of bullying, and often to build literacy at the same time. Teachers and others often contact me to ask: How have other schools worked with your book? They're asking the perennial educator's question: What works?

Well, so what does? Will you take a moment to share something that you have done to engage your students or your school with this book? What lessons have you learned? Have your students generated any project material — videos, writings, information on bullying at your school — that you can post here for others to review and learn from? What questions do you have, that others who have worked with the book might answer?

Obviously I have a self-interest in this — but my hope is larger. This book is having a steadily widening impact around the country, on bullying behaviors and social struggles at the middle school level. The more we communicate and share with each other, the more we can help these positive impacts to widen and deepen and spread. I was trying to write a good story, and you're trying to teach or run a school in positive ways that affect kids lives. This is a chance to extend the difference we can make. The more this forum comes to life, the more kids' lives can be affected on this crucial social issue at this critical developmental time. What we share here, what you share, can matter in widening ways. So why not?

Please write something. Ask a question. Answer one. Attach a file, a link, a video, a sample from a project. Help this become a resource that more and more people will use. And thank you!

Doug

Doug,
Our students were charged up following your visit to our school, Parkside Middle! You spent the day with us on Sept. 22 and the following day one of my classes decided that they wanted to find out about bullying in our school. It only took them one class period to elect leaders and organize groups according to what their part was in the project! They wrote a survey of eight questions and have given this to our team of students which is approximately 120 students. Next week they are going to work on the math part and create a powerpoint demonstrating the percentages. They also have a team of very talented artists who are working on posters for our hallways- perhaps even a artists' gallery would be fun! Each day they are excited to work on the next part and each part that they complete they ask about doing another aspect. I really believe that they will make a difference...but more importantly THEY believe they can a difference. I am hoping that they will be allowed to present their project to our staff and perhaps to parents as well.
It all started with The Revealers,then followed by your visit to our school.How can we thank you?!
Peggy Cafferty

I think you just did. Thanks so much for posting this, Peggy!

We are very excited that Doug will be visiting us in December. Because $$ is tight everywhere, we have had a variety of fundraisers to raise "Dollars for Doug". A local florist sold us carnations at cost and we sold them for $1.00. We sold 300 in 15 minutes and left a lot of disappointed middle schoolers! The next month we ordered 500 carnations which seemed to be the amount that we needed. We called this fundraiser "Flowers for a New Friend Friday" and challenged kids to purchase a flower and give it to someone they would like as a friend. We also ordered the plastic colored bracelets (similar to the Lance Armstrong Live Strong bracelets) in our team colors (red, purple, gold, green, orange, blue, and white) and had "Positively RHAM" embossed on the bracelets. We also sell these for $1.00 each. We will sell the flowers monthly in September, October, and November, and the bracelets are sold during every Friday advisory and at the school store. Teachers also voted to donate a week of the dress down Friday money towards Doug's visit.

Twice a week during advisory, we reread THE REVEALERS and either discuss the chapter, write responses to questions, or create other activities (posters, poems, book covers) that show what kids are thinking about the events in the novel. On October 14th, members of the community, parents, board of education members, and other interested community members, joined our advisories for an extended discussion of the novel.

There's more to come as we prepare for Doug's visit!

Doug has visited our entire 7th grade (about 350--400 kids) via teleconference for the last three years. We have had the entire grade level of kids read The Revealers and then have an opportunity to meet him and discuss his book with him. The book has prompted amazing discussions among our seventh graders and the culmination of this project with his visit has even greater meaning. Aside from the more obvious benefit of meeting the author of a book they've read, Doug has a great way with the students. He's open and enganging, even transparent about the struggles of a writer and his struggles at that time in his life. Despite the limitations of a teleconference, he's able to really connect with the kids. Read the book yourself, read it with kids, get his new book. Support Doug in this new adventure!

I'm going to upload the "unit" we've used with our 7th graders. Though it's nothing new because I pieced it together from things other educators posted to his website. That having been said, feel free to use it in its entirety, take pieces, share.....

I have been unable to upload the whole unit because I'm unable to convert to the necessary file extensions. If anyone would like a copy of the unit we use, feel free to reply to this topic and I can email it to you.