Content Area Standard: 7.

6 j) Identify cause and effect relationships

Selections from nonfiction texts:

MAYBE MEAN GIRLS' MENTAL GAMES HAVE A PURPOSE

by Erika Engelhaupt 2013

"bad-cyberbully" is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Human nature has a dark and violent side.

And that means you too, ladies. A new set of
studies suggests its a Mean Girls world out
there, and aggressive competition may be
rooted deep in evolution.
We humans are fascinated by women
willing to duke it out. Witness Jerry
Springers career. We love to hate women
who go ballistic and throw chairs at female rivals. But we also tend to marginalize aggressive
behavior in women, dismissing it as aberrant. As with many of the unsavory topics I write about
here, we are mesmerized and yet repulsed. We cant look away, but theres little rigorous scientific
study, perhaps because we are afraid to look too closely.
Evolutionary biology, for example, is often described in terms of nature red in tooth and claw. Yet
aggression, and in particular aggressive competition for mates, has long been viewed as the
domain of males. Sure, in many species the males put on spectacular displays of chest-thumping,
all-out aggression. Its the rams that ram, after all. But females have their own agendas, and their
competition with one another can be no less fierce. Female topi antelopes head-butt in fights over
males much like rams do, and female chimps sometimes even kill each others newborns.
But only after the sexual revolution of the 1970s did the phrase competition among females even
begin to crop up with any regularity in books, anthropologist Sarah Hrdy points out in the introduction
to an October 28 special issue of Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. Review papers
in the rest of the issue examine how females compete, and offer evolutionary explanations of
behaviors ranging from maternal aggression in rodents to spreading rumors about sexual
promiscuity by Homo sapiens.

Ms. Covington

7th Grade

An article about the mean girl effect is the most unusual in a journal usually dedicated to every
species but ours. Human females have a particular proclivity for using indirect aggression, which is
typically directed at other females, especially attractive and sexually available females, writes Tracy
Vaillancourt of the University of Ottawa in Canada. This indirect aggression includes criticizing a
rivals appearance, social exclusion and rumor-mongering. These kinds of behaviors are what
people usually chalk up as cattiness, but Villaincourt argues that its a pretty good strategy for
mating, too. Unlike physical fights, theres a low chance of injury, and a few studies suggest that
young women who use indirect aggression (our mean girls) have sex at an earlier age and are
more likely to be in a dating relationship than their peers especially compared with the subjects of
their aggression. This suggests that indirect aggression works, but keep in mind that there have not
been many studies; both of these were fairly limited, based on surveys of around 140 girls each.
Anne Campbell of Durham University in England argues that women tend to engage in indirect
aggression rather than risky fisticuffs because of their importance as mothers. A mothers survival
and well-being are too important to her childrens survival (and, by extension, moms reproductive
success) to be risked in a brawl, the thinking goes.
Its important to point out that Campbell is not just talking about individuals making fight-or-flight
decisions in the moment, but about how evolution might have shaped womens brains and
physiology over many generations. She is arguing that motherhood could act as a constraint on
aggression, so that women do compete, but in less lethal ways.
This manifests physiologically, she suggests, through women having a lower threshold for fear and
better ability to rein in emotional behavior. Theres a bit of neuroscience that may back this up, with
women showing greater activity in the amygdala (important in fear) than men when given a small
fright. But as is common in evolutionary psychology, its hard to tell chicken from egg. Have women
really evolved differently from men, or are researchers just picking up the effect of social conditioning
that makes women more averse to violence?
Whether theres an evolutionary explanation for womens patterns of aggression is still very much an
open question. Few studies have really tested hypotheses about any of this. Even this new set of
papers contain little new data, since it mainly surveys the existing literature and pulls together ideas.
Hopefully its at least a start in acknowledging the complexities of sexual competition and womens
role in it and not just an excuse for a mean girls joke.

http://commonlit.org/texts/maybe-mean-girls-mental-games-have-a-purpose

AIN'T I A WOMAN?
by Sojourner Truth 1851

Ms. Covington

7th Grade

"Sojourner Truth c. 1870" is in the public domain.

Well, children, where there is so much racket there must

be something out of kilter. I think that twixt the negroes of
the South and the women of the North, all talking about
rights, the white men will be in a fix pretty soon. But
whats all this here talking about?
That man over there says that women need to be helped
into carriages and lifted over ditches, and to have the best
place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages,
or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And
aint I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I could
have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and
no man could head me! And aint I a woman? I could work
as much and eat as much as a man- when I could get itand bear the lash as well! And aint I a woman? I have borne thirteen children, and seen them most
all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mothers grief, none but Jesus heard me! And
aint I a woman?
Then they talk about this thing in the head; whats this they call it? [Intellect, somebody whispers]
Thats it, honey. Whats that got to do with womens rights or negros rights? If my cup wont hold but
a pint, and yours holds a quart, wouldnt you be mean not to let me have my little half measure-full?
Then that little man in black there, he says women cant have as much rights as men, cause Christ
wasnt a woman! Where did your Christ come from? Where did your Christ come from? From God
and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him.
If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these
women together ought to be able to turn it back, and get it right side up again! And now they is
asking to do it, the men better let them.
Obliged to you for hearing me, and now old Sojourner aint got nothing more to say."

http://commonlit.org/texts/ain-t-i-a-woman

Ms. Covington

7th Grade

ONLINE IDENTITY
by CommonLit Staff 2014

"Sisters" is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

ONLINE IDENTITIES
An online identity, sometimes called an Internet
persona, is an identity established by a user to
interact with others through social media such as
Facebook, Twitter, blogs, or multi-player games.
Although some people use their real names
online, many Internet users prefer to be
anonymous, identifying themselves by pseudonyms. Some users can be deceptive about their
identity.
Users express online identity both explicitly and implicitly. Users express themselves explicitly
through usernames, pictures, and the information about themselves that they choose to give others,
such as their hometown. They can also explicitly express their identity by choosing an avatar, an
icon-sized graphic image, or by creating user profiles in social media networks, such as Facebook.
Implicitly, users express their identity through what they say to other users and the opinions they
express. As other users interact with an established online identity, it gains a reputation, which
enables them to decide whether the identity is worthy of trust. The Reliability of

ONLINE IDENTITY AND THE MASK EFFECT

Social networking services and online avatars have made the notion of identity far more complex,
because the identities that people define in the social media are not necessarily the identities that
they actually have. For example, several studies have shown that people lie about themselves in
online dating profiles, or in communication with potential partners.
A person may feel that she is able to lie about her identity on the Internet because it creates a
mask effect, where no one can see her true self. Social theorists believe that whenever an
individual interacts with others online, she portrays a mask of her identity, not her true identity. This is
partly due to the fact that in some online contexts, such as Facebook, she must answer specific
questions to create an online profile. Further, as she begins to interact with others, she adds more
and more layers to her mask through the vocabulary she uses and the topics she writes about.

Ms. Covington

7th Grade

The kind of mask one chooses reveals at least something about the person who chooses it. While
the online mask does not reveal the actual identity of the person, it does reveal an example of what
lies behind the mask. For instance, if a person chooses to act like a rock star online, this may mean
that he or she has an interest in rock music. Even a person choosing to hide behind a totally false
identity says something about the fear and lack of self-esteem he or she may be experiencing.

RELATION TO REAL-WORLD PHYSICAL AND SENSORY CONSTRAINTS

Online identity offers potential social benefits to those with physical and sensory disabilities,
because others cannot see them. These users can free themselves from their disabilities by
creating online personas that are not disabled. This is called disembodiment, and gives these
users the opportunity to operate outside the constraints of social stigmatization. They can be treated
on their merits as a person, rather than being seen as someone inferior due to a disability.

CONCERNS
Most concerns about virtual identity revolve around the contrast between online and offline
existence. The ability to challenge the notion of what real means has raised questions about how
virtual experience may affect ones offline emotions.

http://commonlit.org/texts/online-identity

Ms. Covington

7th Grade

Rationale:
1-3 paragraphs for rationale of standards, texts, and notebook sections:
The standard is one that could be cross curricular because cause and effect
relationships are found almost anywhere (especially in history).Identifying cause and effect
relationship is a skill that students will need throughout their lives. Students would be able to
easily identify the cause and effect relationships and record their thoughts about them in their
writing notebooks. The cause and effect relationships that the students will read about will
provide them with many different ideas to write about.
All of these texts are interesting and relative to student lives. Two talk about the internet,
one involving female relationships and cyberbullying. The other is about an African American
woman facing the adversity in the South. Students would most likely be familiar of the impact of
the internet can be as fair as cyberbullying, and they will know about Sojourner Truth and
African Americans in the South from their history class. By having text that the students will
already know something about or have an opinion on, they will be more open to writing in their
notebooks in a low stakes environment. They will be able to identify their own relationship with
the text and the cause and effect relationship within the text.
The writing strategies below will be low stakes and mostly based in student opinion
about the text they read. For their journals they will complete reflections on the text, for their
SWBS chart they will fill it out based on the text in order to highlight the main ideas of the cause
and effect relationship. Based on what they found to be important within the text, students will
complete found poems, highlighting only the main ideas of the cause and effect relationship
described within in text. They will be graded mainly on participation and completion of the
activities.Students may have trouble with SWBS charts, but they will be modeled fully in a I-do,
you-do, we-do type of modeling. As for the found poems, students who believe that they are not
creative will be encouraged to pick out just the main ideas of the poem and focus on those
rather than focusing on making a good poem.The reflections that student will write in the journal
section of their writing notebook will help them to form their own opinions about the text and put
their thoughts onto paper. Once they have done this, they will be able to participate in a richer
discussion because they have already written what they think and believe to be important and
reflect on.

Ms. Covington

7th Grade

Students Writing:

Journal Assignment
Name: ___________________________________________ Date:_____________________
Instructions: Write a reflection piece about Erika Engelhaupts MAYBE MEAN GIRLS'
MENTAL GAMES HAVE A PURPOSE we just read in class. This reflection should be based on
the cause and effect relationships yousaw to be important in the text. Make sure to write in
complete sentences.
Grading: This assignment will be graded on the content of the reflection. Full credit will be
received if the reflection shows that the student has read and thought about the text.
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________

Ms. Covington

7th Grade
Journal Assignment (EXAMPLE)

Name:

Jessi Covington

Date: April 9, 2016

Instructions: Write a reflection piece about Erika Engelhaupts MAYBE MEAN GIRLS'
MENTAL GAMES HAVE A PURPOSE we just read in class. This reflection should be based on
the cause and effect relationships yousaw to be important in the text. Make sure to write in
complete sentences.
Grading: This assignment is worth 5 points and will be graded on the content of the reflection.
Full credit will be received if the reflection shows that the student has read and thought about
the text.
_______This article discusses female relationships and their potential to be aggressive like
the movie Mean Girls. The cause of aggression in female relationships is other females and
and the fact that women are known to behave with indirect aggression, according to the_____
article. Another cause of aggression could be competition between women. Because women
have a tendency to compare themselves to one another, competition can quickly arise. When
one woman sees another in better shape, with better clothes, or the seemingly perfect life,__
she has the potential to become jealous and spark an indirect competition. The competition__
would be one of the main causes of aggression in female relationships, making it difficult for
women to break the chain of this indirect but aggressive behavior.____________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________

Ms. Covington

7th Grade
Somebody Wanted But So

Name: ___________________________________________ Date:_____________________

Instructions: Work through the following questions and steps in order to create a Somebody
Wanted But So (SWBS) statement, which summarizes the central cause and effect relationships
in Online Identity.
Grading: A completed chart will receive full points, incomplete charts will receive half credit.

1. Who would you define as the somebody in the text? Who is the main character?
Write your response in the Somebody
Somebody

2. What did that somebody in the text want? Write your response in the Wanted
Wanted

3. What is the but in the story? In other words, what prevented the character from getting what
he/she wanted? Write your response in the But
But

4. How is the problem resolved? Does the person

Ms. Covington

7th Grade

get what he/she wanted? Write your response in the So

So

5. Use the answers you wrote in the boxes to write a summary statement.
Summary Statement:
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________

Ms. Covington

7th Grade

Somebody Wanted But So (EXAMPLE)

Name:

Jessi Covington

Date: April 9, 2016

Instructions: Work through the following questions and steps in order to create a Somebody
Wanted But So (SWBS) statement, which summarizes the central cause and effect relationships
in Online Identity.
Grading: A completed chart will receive full points, incomplete charts will receive half credit.

1. Who would you define as the somebody in the text? Who is the main character?
Write your response in the Somebody
Somebody
Online identity/ internet persona

2. What did that somebody in the text want? Write your response in the Wanted
Wanted
To create a mask for themselves

3. What is the but in the story? In other words, what prevented the character from getting what
he/she wanted? Write your response in the But
But
Their online presence and effect their offline emotions

Ms. Covington

7th Grade

4. How is the problem resolved? Does the person

get what he/she wanted? Write your response in the So

So
They must be careful when using the internet and the persona they are projecting

5. Use the answers you wrote in the boxes to write a summary statement.
Summary Statement:
____People create an online identity/ internet persona to create a mask for themselves, but
their dishonest internet persona can affect their offline emotions, so people must be very _
careful when using and putting things up on the internet.______________________________

Found Poem Assignment

Ms. Covington

7th Grade

Name: ___________________________________________ Date:_____________________

Instructions: Reread Sojourner Truths Aint I a Woman and highlight the cause and effect
relationships and what you believe to be most important. Turn those relationships and form
them into a found poem. Write your found poem in the space below.
Grading: Found poems will be graded on participation.
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________

Found Poem Assignment (EXAMPLE)

Ms. Covington
Name:

7th Grade
Jessi Covington

Date: April 9, 2016

Instructions: Reread Sojourner Truths Aint I a Woman and highlight the cause and effect
relationships and what you believe to be most important. Turn those relationships and form
them into a found poem. Write your found poem in the space below.

Grading: Found poems will be graded on participation.

Woman
Women need to be helped
I aint a woman
Nobody ever helps me
No man could head me
He says women cant have as much rights as men
But the first woman God ever made
Turned the world upside down
Women are asking to turn it back
The men better let them

Annotated bibliography:

Ms. Covington

7th Grade

Beers, K. (2003). When kids cant read: What teachers can do. Portsmouth, NJ
Beers gives an example of a SWBS chart and how to use it in the classroom.
Since the chart is fairly simple to fill out, students can take what they read and found to
be important in the text and transfer it to the chart. The chart is a good way for students
to organize their base ideas about the text they read.
Engelhaupt, E. (2013). Maybe Mean Girls' Mental Games Have a Purpose.
Retrieved April 10, 2016, from http://commonlit.org/texts/maybe-mean-girlsmental-games-have-a-purpose
Finley, T. (2010, September 01). The Importance of Student Journals and How to
Respond Efficiently. Retrieved April 10, 2016, from
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/student-journals-efficient-teacher-responses
This article discusses how journaling is important for students to help enhance
their writing abilities. By having students practice their writing in a low stakes
environment, they feel more free to write about a text that they have read in the
journals. Taking away the element of possible judgement for being incorrect, students
can express their opinions in a reflection in their journals.
Hilbun, J. (2015, November 24). Find Poetry: Using Found Poems in School and
Public Libraries to Enhance Student Creativity and Writing. Retrieved April 10,
2016, from http://www.yalsa.ala.org/jrlya/2015/11/find-poetry-using-found-poemsin-school-and-public-libraries-to-enhance-student-creativity-and-writing/
This research study discusses how found poems help students to be creative
and expressive. By encouraging students to find their own poems within a text, they are
able to express what they believe to be important. Their found poems can be used to
show how the students interpreted the text.
Staff. (2014). Online Identity. Retrieved April 10, 2016, from
http://commonlit.org/texts/online-identity
Truth, S. (1851). Ain't I a Woman? Retrieved April 10, 2016, from
http://commonlit.org/texts/ain-t-i-a-woman