Stilwell Elementary School and REbeL, Inc. Present: Story Time!

Jessica Edwards, LIX 831: Childrens Library Program Plan

Many adolescent girls believe physical appearance is a major part of their self -esteem, and their body is a major sense of self (American Association of University Women, 1991). The experience of body dissatisfaction can lead to poor health habits and low self-esteem. These negative feelings may contribute to a higher prevalence of depressive symptomatology and lower self-esteem among girls (Siegel,et al., 1998) and can affect health behaviors associated with poor eating habits, dieting, depression and anxiety, and eating disorders (The National Association of Social Workers, 2012).

Introduction: According to the National Association of Social Workers (2012), the media was identified as the primary source of information about health issues for young women, and [a] study of mass media magazines revealed that women's magazines had 10.5 times more advertisements and articles promoting weight loss than men's magazines. These studies support the importance of discussing self-image and media literacy with girls at a young age. The Stilwell Elementary Library and Blue Valley High School's REbeL chapter proudly present the Story Time! program. This program is designed to reach out to elementary school girls, ages 9-11. Through a series of large and small group presentations and activities, students will learn the importance of positive relationships and self-love, and they will gain an understanding of the impact that the media can have on these aspects of their self-esteem. Learning Targets: I understand the meaning of body diversity and can appreciate that all people can be healthy, regardless of their shape and size, including myself. I can identify physical differences between characters in a television show and myself, and I understand that sometimes TV and movies do not include characters who represent the diversity in the real world. I can think about who I would like to be now and when I get older, and I understand that those characteristics are worth more than what I see in a mirror.

Site/Target Audience: Stilwell Elementary School Library (k-5 public school) Students from ages 9-11 (4th-5th grade) Community Needs: One of the goals of the Blue Valley School District focuses on student wellbeing, as well as a respect for diversity. Story Time! fulfills these goals be teaching students to think critically about the unrealistic expectations of beauty established by the media, which leads to a better understanding of and appreciation for the uniqueness of every individual. The aim of this programs is creating greater media consciousness, higher self-esteem and self-image, and a decrease in the "mean girl" behavior that so often accompanies young people. Planting these messages at an early age is paramount, as these students will soon be in middle school, where negative self-image and bullying behaviors begin.

Program Description and Activities: REbeL Story Time! is a peer education program facilitated by the Stilwell Elementary Library. Girls in grades 4-5 are given the opportunity to participate in this program after school for three, one-hour periods over three weeks time. Each session will focus on a different aspect of the REbeL mission: respect for body diversity, media literacy, and self-love/anti-bullying. Week 1: Shapesville: Body Diversity! The first session of the program will introduce the idea of what REbeL calls body diversity. This concept asserts the fact that we are all made in different shapes and sizes, and that people can be healthy at every size. The book Shapesville is used to to illustrate this idea with younger students. The peer educators will begin the program by introducing themselves and talking a little about REbeLs goals and how they interact with students in their own schools. They will explain that one of the things that REbeL tries to teach people is that it is important to respect our own bodies as well as those of other people. They will then read through the book Shapesville, pausing to show the pictures to the students. When they finish the story, they will discuss the following questions as a group. 1) What did you learn from the book? 2) What did you like about the book? 3) What do you like most about yourself? 4) The book talked about being healthy. What are some ways you can keep your body healthy? 5) What makes a good friend? When the discussion is over, students will receive the Im a Star! handout (*appendix 1) and decorate it by writing in what makes them a star. These will be hung up in the library for the remainder of the program. The educators will end the session with the statement: All of us are different shapes, sizes, and colors, but we are all starts!!! They will also point out that the book Shapesville is available in the library for them to check out and share with others. Session 2: What is the message? This lesson focuses on the media and its impact on girls' understanding of how television has created a different standard of beauty than what is depicted in reality. Peer educators will introduce the concept of self-image, and students will brainstorm ideas of what their own selfimage is. They will think about whether or not they or other girls they know ever make comments like, "my nose is too big," "my hair is too curly," or "I am too tall," which are examples of self-image and how they think about themselves. The educators will point out that there are positive self-image comments and negative, and that having a positive self-image can lead to higher self-esteem. They will also share that sometimes the media's unrealistic standards of beauty can lead to a negative self-image, and it is important to remember that TV can be deceiving. After the students finish the introductory discussion, they will work on the first handout provided by seejane.org (*appendix 2), listing characteristics of themselves and comparing them to those of the main characters in their favorite TV shows. They will then look at two video clips: one

from a television show depicting body diversity, and one that does not. They will discuss which show they think would promote higher self-esteem and why. The wrap up of the activity is a discussion of shows that they think depict characters that have visible flaws and body diversity like normal girls. They will share these ideas with each other, and the peer educators will close the session with the assertion that it is important to remember that characters in shows are sometimes unrealistic depictions of what real girls and boys look like so that we do not fall trap to believing that is how all people should look. Session 3: Mirror Mirror To open the final session, students will be reminded of the previous lesson concerning body image in the media, linking it to the final activity. For this activity, the girls will sit in a circle and discuss all the things that they are expected to be or look like (ex. athletic, polite, thin, beautiful, good student, etc.). Then, the peer educators will ask each girl to say one thing that describes who she really is (daughter, sister, friend, student) and who she would like to become (athlete, pilot, lawyer, writer, teacher, mother). After the group discussion, the girls will decorate their mirrors as reminders of who they really are and what they want to be. They will cover up the reflective part of the mirror with images that represent their dreams and aspirations. The girls will be reminded that they dont need to be a certain way just because someone else thinks they should. They are perfect just the way they were born!

Materials Needed: Session 1: one copy of Shapesville document camera (If needed) "I'm a star!" handouts for each student Session 2: Seejane.org handouts for students Clips from example shows (if time) Session 3: Hand Mirrors Glue Crafts and magazines to decorate mirrors with. Publicity: Story Time! will be promoted and publicized in several ways. REbeL, Inc. will publicize the program through its website and monthly newsletter. It's members will also be informed of the program and will spread information via word-of-mouth. REbeL will also post information through social media on its Fabebook and Twitter accounts. Stilwell Library will be in charge of most of the publicity. They will also tweet out information regularly, post information on the library and school web pages, and send home announcements to parents in the weekly school newsletter. Fliers will also be displayed at local businesses and handed out at various parent events.

Evaluation Tool: The Story Time! evaluation tools will involve consulting both students and parents. Feedback will be important to the program, since it is relatively new in the community. The surveys, found in the appendix, are composed of questions regarding the effectiveness of the presenters and the quality of the information provided. Feedback will be used to better the program in the future. It will be share with employees of the library, as well as the REbeL high school sponsors. Resources Consulted: (2013). Girl Scouts. Retrieved from forgirls.girlscouts.org. (2013). National Association of Social Workers. Retrieved from http://www.naswdc.org. Cark, David. (2012). REbeL. Retrieved from www.rebelks.com. Davis, Geena. (2012). Geena Davis Institute on Gender Media. Retrieved from www.seejane.org.

Appendices:

Appendix 1: Im a Star!

Im a STAR!
Name:_____________________________________________

Appendix 2: Media Literacy Handout

http://www.seejane.org/downloads/usatoday/GDlesson6SE.pdf Appendix 3: Mirror Mirror Activity http://forgirls.girlscouts.org/print-play-girls-are-supposed-to-be/?ar=girls10_12

Appendix 4: Evaluation Tools

Parent Evaluation: Readers: ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Date: _____________________________ Parent Evaluation: 1. The readers were energetic and engaging. Strongly disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly Agree 2. The tasks were paced well, without moving too quickly or dragging. Strongly disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly Agree 3. Follow-up questions were asked and discussed at a developmentally appropriate level. Strongly disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly Agree 4. My child enjoyed the program. Strongly disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly Agree 5. I believe my child gained important knowledge about self-image. Strongly disagree

Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly Agree Helpfulness of: 6. Group Activities Not helpful Somewhat Helpful Helpful Very Helpful 7. Handouts Not helpful Somewhat Helpful Helpful Very Helpful Handouts Additional Comments or Suggestions for Story Time!:

Student Evaluation:

1. The peer educators were easy to understand and I could follow the lessons with no trouble. Strongly disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly Agree 2. The lessons were fun and enjoyable. Strongly disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly Agree 3. I feel like I learned something new about myself and others. Strongly disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly Agree 4. I have more appreciation for my body after this program. Strongly disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Agree Strongly Agree Additional comments or suggestions for Story Time!: