The wound is alive and will surely remain so for the inhabitants of the small American town of Newtown. Misunderstanding reigns. Some point to the American system which idealizes firearms. Others have access to the health system, which is not so easy. There are certainly no right answers ...
For the moment, we have to ask ourselves if we want to broach the subject with our students. The majority of psychologists seem to agree in advising to wait for students to talk about it for themselves. If they ask questions, it is our role as adults to answer them, frankly and simply. However, we must avoid creating anxiety in the students. For example, you can specify that this situation never arose during your own teaching career, or even when you were a student.
This sheet is different from the others published on SCOOP !. It mainly presents resources to use if you choose to simply discuss the topic in class.
Goals
At the end of the activities, the student will be able to:
- Express your feelings about this situation;
- Know the emergency measures in place.
Suggested Activities
ACTIVITY 1: What exactly happened?
Take a freehand survey in the classroom:
Did you hear about the primary school tragedy in the United States last Friday?
Start the discussion:
- What happened? (to validate what the students know, and especially if they have a fair conception of the events)
- How did you feel when you heard the news?
Then suggest that students take a few minutes to write a few words on a piece of paper or on the computer about their feelings about this event. The writing will be done individually and in silence.
Here are a few articles that describe the events, as needed.
Wikipedia page dedicated to the event
Who was Adam Lanza? (Radio-Canada)
No link between Asperger's syndrome and violence (Psychomedia)
ACTIVITY 2: Review the safety instructions and emergency plan at school
You may choose to review the school emergency plan with the students.
Some articles to read on reactions to the event in Quebec:
– Simulations of shootings in Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean schools (Radio-Canada)
– Security measures in place in some schools (Radio-Canada)
