October 13, 2015

THE BASICSTopic: School Shootings and Gun Violence

Articles “’UCC Strong’: Oregon college students attend first day of class since shooting” (10/12/15) (The

Guardian) “Obama Weights White House Moves on Gun Control” (10/9/15) (NBC News) “Bernie Sanders Talks Gun Control, Calls for Assault Weapon Ban” (10/11/15) (NBC News) “To Curb Gun Violence, Hillary Clinton Has a Plan for Possible Executive Action” (10/5/15) (The NY

Times) “Many school shooters, one common factor: a warped sense of masculinity” (10/2/15) (The Christian

Science Monitor) “Threats to Pa. and Calif. Schools Highlight ‘Contagion Factor’ of Mass Shootings” (10/5/15) (Yahoo) “How Australia and Britain Tackled Gun Violence” (10/2/15) (New York Magazine) “School Shootings: An American Problem?” (4/19/15) (Harvard Politics)

Questions to Consider

What might explain the number of school shootings in the United States? Are school shootings “contagious”? Do gun control laws prevent school shootings? What changes in laws affecting gun violence

might make the country safer? Which groups lobby for tighter laws on the possession and use of guns? Which groups lobby for

second amendment rights to possess guns? Do the complicated number of factors in school shootings prevent a clear answer to the problem

of gun violence? Should this prevent action against gun violence? Is it possible to identify and deter potential mass killers?

What role does the media play in school shootings? Does media coverage make shootings “contagious”? Is the media coverage part of freedom of the press?

What role does social media play in the promotion of gun violence? What role does social media play in intercepting would-be killers?

Is the tendency to blame various groups (gun owners, parents, mental health providers, families, the media, violent games and films, Congress, schools et al) a productive strategy?

What are the effects of comments on gun violence made by the 2016 presidential candidates? What are the statistics about gun violence in other countries? Can we learn something from

them? Does the United States have a culture that promotes violence? What does the Second Amendment say? What does the Constitution of the United States say about guns? How is it interpreted? What does “UCC (Umpqua Community College) Strong” mean? Might a caring, inclusive

community discourage acts of violence? What does it take to be a better bystander?

THE EXTRASPre-teaching, Extensions & Further Reading

“Watch RFK deliver speech on gun control in Roseburg, Ore., weeks before his assassination” (Yahoo Politics)

National Rifle Association (NRA) Every Town for Gun Safety (everytown.org) “Pro Gun Control Arguments vs. Anti Gun Control Arguments” (Meditations on Life)

Lesson Plans

“Gun Control and Terrorism: Laws or Loopholes” (PBS) “Rampage Killings Get Attention, but Gun Violence Is Constant” (The Learning Network)

What’s the Connection? Constitutional

“Gun Control Legislation” (Guncite)Oregon

“Oregon shooting occurred in state that ‘actually forces colleges to allow guns’” (The Guardian) Students

“15 Tips for Talking with Children About School Violence” (www.colorincolorado.org) “Tragic Events” (The Fred Rogers Company)

Oregon State Social Science Standards8.14. Explain rights and responsibilities of citizens.8.17. Examine the development activities of political parties and interest groups and their affect on events, issues, and ideas. 8.20. Analyze the changing definition of citizenship and the expansion of rights. 8.26. Examine a controversial event, issue, or problem from more than one perspective. HS.24. Analyze and critique the impact of constitutional amendments.HS.30. Analyze the roles and activities of political parties, interest groups and mass media and how they affect the beliefs and behaviors of local, state, and national constituencies. HS.33. Explain the role of government in various current events.HS.35. Examine the pluralistic realities of society (e.g., race, poverty, gender, and age), recognizing issues of equity, and evaluating need for change. HS.59. Demonstrate the skills and dispositions needed to be a critical consumer of information.HS.60. Analyze an event, issue, problem, or phenomenon form varied or opposing perspectives or points of view.

CCSS Anchor Standards2. Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.

4. Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.6. Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.7. Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words. 8. Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.

We the People Lesson ConnectionsMiddle School, Level 2

Unit 4, Lesson 22: How does the U.S. Supreme Court determine the meaning of the words in the Constitution?

Unit 6, Lesson 29: What are the rights and responsibilities of citizenship?High School, Level 3

Unit 5, Lesson 27: What are bills of rights and what kinds of rights does the U.S. Bill of Rights protect?

Unit 6, Lesson 37: What key challenges does the United States face in the future?