The Misfits

Use these activities to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity. 

No Name-Calling Week Campaign

Because of James Howe’s book The Misfits, a group of educators and the book’s publishers started something called “No Name-Calling Week.” You can use these resources to find out more about this event and get some ideas about how people participate:

• a 3-minute video by the GLSEN Student Ambassadors
• a brief overview by the Museum of Tolerance
• a more detailed guide that GLSEN created for educators

After you have spent a little time learning about No Name-Calling Week, think about what you would do if you were planning No Name-Calling Week for your school. Choose ONE of the following activities to complete:

• Create a Poster: Choose a form of name-calling that is a problem among students your age. Create a poster that uses words and images to persuade others that this kind of name-calling is hurtful and wrong.
• Create a Presentation: Do some research to find out what causes some people to call others hurtful names. Create a presentation that uses words and images to share this information with your peers.
• Plan an Activity: Think of an activity that will help students get to know each other in a way that will make them want to be more respectful to one another. Write a paragraph that introduces your activity and then offer a step-by-step plan for how your activity will take place.
• Write a Survey: Write a survey of about ten questions that will gather information about what kinds of name-calling are a problem at your school, why people call each other names, and what people think can be done to solve this problem.
• Make a List of Resources: Use online research to find resources that will help people your age understand why name-calling is hurtful and wrong and what they can do to help solve this problem. Your list should include links to videos, stories, and informational articles, and should be about ten items long.

Teaching Suggestion: You might choose to arrange students in small groups and ask that each member of the group complete a different activity from the list above, coordinating their work into one cohesive project. The list contains enough variety in the type, scope, and rigor of activities that it should be possible for most students to find a suitable activity, but you can also consider eliminating or adding activity requirements to adapt them for more- or less-advanced students.