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Not in Our School

About NIOS

Not In Our School is a program that creates safe, accepting and inclusive school communities. Not In Our School provides training, films, lesson plans and resources that inspire students to take the lead in standing up to bullying and intolerance in their schools.

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  • Class Actions: Pre-Screening Activities
    Find previews and information about Class Actions at niot.org/ClassActions Written by: Julie Mann, Newcomers High School teacher, and Joe Lobozzo, Lakewood High School teacher Journal 1: Your friend is in an empty hallway (no teachers) being verbally attacked by some older, tougher students because of his different style of dress. What would you do? How would you feel? Why? (Pair/share when finished)
  • Eliza Riley - Advocate
     
  • Jackie Rotman - VOLUNTEER
      During a dance performance on stage, Jackie Rotman's music suddenly stopped. In response, members of the audience joined Jackie on stage and began dancing to show their support. Expanding on the idea that dance can help foster a positive atmosphere, Jackie began providing hip-hop classes free of charge to youth that would not otherwise be able to afford them.
  • Activity Guide: Public Art as an Avenue for Respect and Social Justice
    As a result of the murder of Marcelo Lucero, there were many positive efforts in the community to embrace diversity and build respect for all. One of these was the creation of public art to reflect feelings and attitudes about the murder and to create a positive and hopeful message for the future. The use of art can be a wonderful way for students to express ideas about diversity, respect and social justice concerns. The following guideline provides instruction on how to lead such a process with students. Age-level: middle and high school students
  • Class Actions Screening Questions, Part 1: Mississippi
    Find previews and information about Class Actions at niot.org/ClassActions Written by: Julie Mann, Newcomers High School teacher, and Joe Lobozzo, Lakewood High School teacher
  • Demonte Smith- VOLUNTEER
     
  • Extraordinary Upstander: Tadashi Nakamura
      Tadashi Nakamura is a 30 year old, fourth-generation Japanese American and second-generation filmmaker. Besides carrying on his parents’ work—his mother is writer/producer Karen L. Ishizuka and his father is director Robert A. Nakamura—Nakamura seeks to tell his community’s history to a new generation. The first film of the trilogy was Yellow Brotherhood (2003), a personal documentary focused on the meaning of friendship and community through the Yellow Brotherhood youth organization, which was formed in the 1960s to combat youth drug use.
  • Activity Guide: Student-led Assembly to Shatter Stereotypes
    In this video, students created an assembly performance that included individual presentations, role-playing scenarios and musical performances.  Any or all of these efforts represent exciting and creative ways for students to contribute their voice and perspectives to important social justice issues.   As this is a big undertaking, please review the following guidelines to assist in your planning and implementation.
  • Class Actions Screening Questions, Part 2: Indiana
    Find previews and information about Class Actions at niot.org/ClassActions Written by: Julie Mann, Newcomers High School teacher, and Joe Lobozzo, Lakewood High School teacher Vocabulary: Hate crime Anti-semitism Hanukah Menorah Rabbi  
  • Kiki Vo - FORGIVE
     
  • Class Actions in the Classroom: A Compilation of Lesson Ideas
    Schools and college campuses are screening Not In Our Town: Class Actions across the country. Here we will compile ideas on how to use this PBS program in your classroom. Thanks to Newcomers High School (Long Island City, NY) teacher Julie Mann and Lakewood High School (Lakewood, OH) teacher Joe Lobozzo for preparing these comprehensive materials.  Pre-Screening Activities  Part 1: Mississippi Part 2: Indiana Part 3: California
  • Lesson Idea: Stand Up, Stand Out: No Checking, No Capping, No Bullying
     Overview:
  • Class Actions: Post-Screening Activities
    Find previews and information about Class Actions at niot.org/ClassActions Written by: Julie Mann, Newcomers High School teacher, and Joe Lobozzo, Lakewood High School teacher I.    Role-playing:   Put students into groups of 3.  Give out the role-play scenarios. Explain to your students that they will be acting out these scenes. It is their job to create a positive ending, one in which the bullying is prevented.  Have each group perform the scenario and have the class analyze the scene to see what positive solution they created. Write down all the positive solutions on a poster as possible antidotes to bullying.
  • Class Actions Screening Questions, Part 3: California
    Find previews and information about Class Actions at niot.org/ClassActions Written by: Julie Mann, Newcomers High School teacher, and Joe Lobozzo, Lakewood High School teacher Vocabulary: Bullying Support Upstander Bystander Guidance counsellor Questions:
  • Class Actions Screening Questions, Part 2: Indiana
    Find previews and information about Class Actions at niot.org/ClassActions Written by: Julie Mann, Newcomers High School teacher, and Joe Lobozzo, Lakewood High School teacher Vocabulary: Hate crime Anti-semitism Hanukah Menorah Rabbi   Questions: How does one hate crime affect an entire community? What strategies did Bloomington United use to fight against the hate crime? When the rabbi was given a ball at the school basketball game, what message did that send to hate groups? What can we learn from Bloomington United? What risks do people in this part of the film take by acting? Why is it worth it for them to take those risks?  
  • Class Actions Screening Questions, Part 1: Mississippi
    Find previews and information about Class Actions at niot.org/ClassActions Written by: Julie Mann, Newcomers High School teacher, and Joe Lobozzo, Lakewood High School teacher Vocabulary:   KKK Confederacy Segregation African-American Dixie Questions: How would you feel as a student of color at Ole Miss while students chant “The South Will Rise Again”? How do you feel about the student group who met to fight against the discriminatory chanting? How do you feel about the chancellor’s decision to stop the discriminatory chant at the football games? Here are the words of the University of Mississippi Creed. What does it mean to you?  
  • Class Actions: Pre-Screening Activities
    Find previews and information about Class Actions at niot.org/ClassActions Written by: Julie Mann, Newcomers High School teacher, and Joe Lobozzo, Lakewood High School teacher Journal 1: Your friend is in an empty hallway (no teachers) being verbally attacked by some older, tougher students because of his different style of dress. What would you do? How would you feel? Why? (Pair/share when finished)
  • Lesson Idea: “Students Take On Cyberbullying”
    Created by Facing History and Ourselves   Overview   In this lesson idea, the short video “Cyberbullying” is explored through teaching strategies such as pre-viewing, anticipation guides, four corners, evaluating Internet resources, fishbowl and levels of questions. By learning about cyberbullying and how students in Watchung are taking a stand against online bullying, students may think more deeply about this in their own community.   This lesson is part of the Not In Our School Video Action Kit, a comprehensive toolkit featuring films, lessons, and resources designed to motivate students to speak out against bullying, and create new ways to make their schools safe for everyone.   Materials   Paper
  • Lesson Idea: “No Human Being Was Born Illegal”
    Created by Facing History and Ourselves    Overview
  • Lesson Idea: “Students Map Bully Zones to Create a Safer School”
     Created by Facing History and Ourselves Esta lección también está disponble en español.  Overview

School Groups

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