Reading for Information

F OCUS ON FORM
“The Problem with
Bullies” is a feature
article, a nonfiction
article found in
a newspaper or
magazine. This
article gives readers
information on a
specific problem
and offers some
solutions.

TEKS 10C

a ORGANIZATIONAL
PATTERNS
Understanding how
an author organizes
an article can help you
locate and understand
the information the
author includes to
support the main idea.
One way to organize
information is by
problem-and-solution:

The PROBLEM with the author identifies

a problem and then
provides one or more
Play Audio BULLIES by Sean Price
possible solutions.
From the title of this
article, you can tell the
author is going to write

B y sixth grade, Karen had experienced her share of hardships. She

had just been adopted by a family in Chattanooga, Tennessee,
after spending six years in foster care. Naturally shy and quiet, Karen
about the problem
of bullies. As you
read, use your graphic
organizer to note
also struggled with a slight speech impediment.1 She had only one details about possible
good friend. a solutions.

1. speech impediment: a physical condition that makes it difficult for a person to speak clearly.

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 All this made Karen (not her real name) an easy target for a bully.
Her tormentor,2 a popular girl at school, loved to taunt Karen about the
way she spoke and about her home life.
“She made fun of the fact that I was a foster kid and that my mother
10 didn’t take care of me,” says Karen.
Sometimes the abuse was physical. The bully might shove Karen or
throw one of her shoes in the toilet. Even after the other girl received
several suspensions and detentions for her bullying, she refused to give
b FEATURE ARTICLE Karen a break.
Reread lines 15–19. Millions of U.S. teens understand what Karen went through. A study
Then reread the Focus by the National Institute of Children’s Health and Human Development
on Form on page 487.
Why is bullying an
found that more than 16 percent of students in grades 6–12 say that
appropriate topic for a they have been bullied. Nineteen percent said that they had been
feature article? Explain. bullies themselves. b
20 It’s not just the victims who are hurt by bullying. Another study found
that 60 percent of the bullies in grades 6–9 will be convicted of a
criminal act by age 24!
At one time, bullying was considered just a natural part of growing
up. Today, authorities see it as a serious health crisis. It is estimated
that bullying keeps 160,000 kids out of school each day.

c TAKE NOTES What Is Bullying? c

“What Is Bullying?” is
a subhead. What kinds Bullying takes many forms: gossip, snubbing, put-downs, threats,
of information do you
and violent attacks. Its roots lie in the difference of power between
think this section will
contain? Take notes in the bullies and their victims. Bullies tend to be confident, impulsive,
your graphic organizer 30 and popular. Victims tend to be withdrawn and have few friends.
as you read. Many bullies come from homes where they are neglected or abused.
Bullying allows them to exercise power that’s denied to them at
home.
Boys and girls bully differently. Boys tend to use threats and physical
violence. Girl bullies rely more on backbiting (cruel comments), social
exclusion, and spreading false rumors. Cyberbullying, a newer form of
harassment, allows bullies to humiliate3 their peers with e-mail and blog
postings.

2. tormentor: a person who is the source of harassment, annoyance, or pain.

3. humiliate: to lower the pride, dignity, or self-respect of another.

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 Reading for Information

For victims, being bullied damages self-esteem. Bullying expert

40 Marlene Snyder says that fear of bullies also makes class time much
more trying for the victims. “They’re sitting there trying to survive, not
being able to really learn,” she says.
Karen’s frequent complaints about the bullying finally brought her
some relief. She and her tormentor were given separate class
schedules for eighth grade.
Karen believes the other girl may have been threatened with d TAKE NOTES
expulsion. Whatever happened, the bully now ignores Karen. Life is In your graphic
organizer, note the
easier to handle. And yet the bullying has left its mark. effects of bullying that
“School’s still stressful,” Karen says. “I’m always on the watch to are included in this
50 see who’s coming toward me.” d section.

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 TEKS 10C

e ORGANIZATIONAL
PATTERNS
Stopping Bullies
In this feature article,
the writer identifies In recent years, many schools have implemented4 effective antibullying
bullying as a problem. programs. Denny Middle School in Seattle, Washington, launched such
In lines 51–61, he a program recently. Already there have been signs of progress. Craig
details a possible
solution. How would
Little, a student, saw a new student being taunted by a group of fellow
you describe the seventh-graders. The lead bully wouldn’t let the boy pass.
author’s viewpoint on Instead of standing by, Craig acted. He said, “You guys leave him
bullying? How does alone, and let him go.” Craig then escorted the boy away from the
the problem-and-
solution organizational
group. The lead bully and the new student have since made up. “I talked
pattern help develop 60 to both of them [later], and they’re all right with each other,” Craig said.
this viewpoint? “They’re kind of becoming friends.” e

4. implemented: put into effect or carried out.

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