Literature Selection/Advocacy Topic Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson & Rape

1. Literature Selection/Advocacy TopicSpeak by Laurie Halse Anderson & Rape Names Shayla & Audrey

2. Speak Laurie Halse Anderson

3. Objectives • Pre-service teachers will evaluate importance of sexual assault education as a middle level teacher. • Pre-service teachers will explain role of Speak for reaching out to struggling adolescents.

4. Statistics that may surprise…

5. 44% of sexual assault and rape victims are under age 18. Untied States Department of Justice National Crime Victimization Survey, 2004

6. 7% of females & 3% of males in grades 5-8 have been victims of sexual abuse Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network Who are the Victims?

7. It is estimated that 50% of all rapes are unreported. Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network Who are the Victims?

8. Shouldn’t your students be able to speak to you?

9. Overview • Possible Unfamiliar Vocabulary • Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson • Relevance to Middle Level Educators & Other Students • Resolutions & Strategies for Helping Students

10. Possible Unfamiliar Vocabulary • Challenge—an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group • Censorship—A change in the access status of material, based on the content of the work and made by a governing authority or its representatives. Such changes include exclusion, restriction, removal, or age/grade level changes. • Rape—the crime of forcing another person to participate in sexual acts without their consent and against their will

11. About the Author • Born Oct. 23, 1961 in Northern New York State • First wrote picture books, but it more well known for young adult works • Married to Scot, her childhood sweetheart, & has 4 daughters & one son • Fun Facts— • Wants world peace • Her name pronounced correctly • Similar Themes—Catalyst

12. Speakby Laurie Halse Anderson Ranked 60th on the ALA’s Top Banned/Challenged Books of 2000-2009 Reasons for challenges range from sexuality, suicidal thoughts in teens, graphic teenage situations, and “soft pornography”

13. Speakby Laurie Halse Anderson National Book Award Finalist New York Times Bestseller Printz Honor Book Created into a movie staring Kristen Stewart Grouped with Catalyst & Fever 1973 to earn 2009 Margaret A. Edwards Award

14. Plotting Points • Freshman, Melinda Sordino, is raped by a popular senior, Andy Evans, at an end of the summer party. • She calls the cops in search of help, but is unable to speak when dispatch answers. The party is busted. • When the school year begins, Melinda is disowned by her friends and classmates. • She admits to no one, including herself, what happened.

15. Plotting Points • She is assigned to bring life to an object in art class. Her object is a tree. • A new girl befriends Melinda in the first weeks of school until she finds a more promising social group. • Melinda creates a hideout in an old closet. She recedes there often. She limits all speaking. • Parents, teachers, and counselors reach out to Melinda because of her struggling grades and set her up on a contract for success in classes.

16. Plotting Points • Her former best friend, Rachel, begins dating Andy. Melinda attempts to anonymously warn her. • When that fails, she tells her in the library via a note. Rachel doesn’t believe her. • Rachel confronts Andy about the incident with Melinda while at prom. • Andy traps Melinda in her closet, tells her she wanted it, and attempts to rape her again.

17. Relevance to Middle Level Educators & Other Students Melinda is described with symptoms and side-effects of a teen who has been raped without the author explicitly stating them. • Depression • Grades Fall • Disconnection from home • Disconnection from friends • Change in behavior • Body mutilation Rape is described in a PG manner, but the emotional features of Melinda’s pain are realistic.

18. Relevance to Middle Level Educators & Other Students 29% of sexual assault and rape victims are 12 to17. U.S. Department of Justice. • Need to be educated on the signs and symptoms because it affects this age group. • Need to provide an outlet through writing, art, singing, dance, sports, etc. • Need to know what to do and how to respond if a student does approach you.

19. Resolutions & Strategies for Helping • Keep lines of communication open • Listen & Support them • Regardless of the circumstances, do not blame the victim • Do not try to help them alone • Encourage them to seek counseling or support group therapy • Know that requires time • Encourage them to be survivors not victims

20. Wrapping it up… CLOSURE

21. Closure I am shocked whenever anyone challenges Speak. This is a story about the emotional trauma suffered by a teen after a sexual assault. Throughout the entire book, she struggles with her pain, and tries to find the courage to speak up about what happened so she can get some help. Isn’t that what we want our kids to do – reach out to us? Some people in America get all weird whenever anything that is remotely sexual in nature comes up for discussion. -Laurie Halse Anderson

22. Closure • Do you agree with Anderson’s quote? Why or why not? • What signs of rape does Melinda exhibit? • How could Speak be used as a resource in the middle school classroom? • How can you help students who are victims of rape or sexual assault?

23. Bibliography of Teacher Resources & Technology • http://www.teachervision.fen.com/literature-guide/printable/60193.html • Includes literature guide for Speak, including a poem written by Anderson and discussion questions for issues within the book. • http://justicewomen.com/help_teach.html • Includes twelve teaching scenarios designed for use in groups that explores various rape, domestic violence, and sexual assault circumstances. • http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/ • The Center for Disease Control & Prevention Injury Prevention section focuses on various violence prevention issues including child maltreatment, elderly maltreatment, intimate partner violence, sexual violence, suicide, and youth violence among others.

24. Resources • Anderson, L. H. (1999). Speak. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux. • Anderson, L. H. (2012). Laurie Halse Anderson. Mad Woman in the Forest. Retrieved April 27, 2012, from www.madwomanintheforest.com/ • Helping a victim of rape: Information for teens. (2012). Palo Alto Medical Foundation. Retrieved May 1, 2012, from http://www.pamf.org/teen/abc/sex/rapehelp.html • If Your Child Is Raped. (2012). KidsHealth. Retrieved May 1, 2012, from http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/talk/rape.html# • National crime victimization survey: Criminal victimization 2010. (2011). Bureau of Justice Statistics. Retrieved April 5, 2012, from bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/cv10.pdf • Top 100 banned/challenged books: 2000-2009. (2010). American Library Association. Retrieved April 5, 2012, from http://www.ala.org/advocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/challengedbydecade/2000_2009 • Who are the victims?. (2009). Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network. Retrieved April 5, 2012, from http://www.rainn.org/get-information/statistics/sexual-assault-victims