Bloom's Taxonomy Discussion - Angry Blake

There are six levels in the Bloom's Taxonomy discussion question process. After reading "Angry Blake," the teacher will ask questions from all six levels.

Links to Teaching posters needed for these questions
5 Basic Needs
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
Passive, Aggressive, & Assertive Reponses to Conflict
3 Outcomes of Conflict: WIN-WIN, WIN-LOSE, LOSE-LOSE
Don't be part of the problem. Be part of the solution.
'I Message' Sentence Starters Display Poster
Good Character Traits

Level 1 - Ask the Knowledge Questions.

Answer options:
4 Anger Styles of Acting Out, Displaced Anger, Ignored Anger, Avoidance vs. Working it Out

1. Teacher says or asks: CHOOSE which Anger Style or Styles got displayed by Blake in the story. SELECT what was the Anger Trigger that provoked that character into feeling angry in the first place.

Students Respond:
Anger Triggers for Blake: Blake's Anger Triggers were a build-up of lots of things: a bad dream, his parents getting a divorce, burnt toast that morning, memories of kids putting him down in the past, Blake overhearing his parents arguing incessantly, ... . Lots of things combining together to make him wake up in a bad mood.

Anger Style for Blake: Blake's Anger Style was Acting Out. He shoved Cody or did some name-calling with Cody, Diane, Alicia, and Tim, and yelled.

2. Teacher says or asks: CHOOSE which Anger Style or Styles got displayed by Cody in the story. SELECT what was the Anger Trigger that provoked that character into feeling angry in the first place.

Students Respond:
Anger Trigger for Cody: Blake pushed Cody for no reason, he yelled at him, and called him names.

Anger Style for Cody: Cody did a combination of Ignored Anger and Avoidance. He might have done some Acting Out; however, Blake had disappeared from view before Cody could figure out the safest and smartest way to react. He truly felt victimized.

3. Teacher says or asks: CHOOSE which Anger Style or Styles got displayed by Diane in the story. SELECT what was the Anger Trigger that provoked that character into feeling angry in the first place.

Students Respond:
Anger Trigger for Diane: Blake yelled at her and called her some mean names.

Anger Style for Diane: Diane did a combination of Avoidance and Acting Out. She cried and ran off to the girl's bathroom. She truly felt victimized and helpless to react in any other way.

4. Teacher says or asks: CHOOSE which Anger Style or Styles got displayed by Alicia in the story. SELECT what was the Anger Trigger that provoked that character into feeling angry in the first place.

Students Respond:
Anger Trigger for Alicia: Blake yelled at her and called her some mean names.

Anger Style for Alicia: Alicia did a combination of Ignored Anger and Working It Out. She ignored the names that Blake called her and asked him if he would like to talk about what was truly making him so upset. She even suggested that he might want to talk to a guidance counselor to deal with his fears about his parent's upcoming divorce. They ended up forming a bit of a friendship as a result.

5. Teacher says or asks: CHOOSE which Anger Style or Styles got displayed by Tim in the story. SELECT what was the Anger Trigger that provoked that character into feeling angry in the first place.

Students Respond:
Anger Trigger for Tim: Blake yelled at him and called him some mean names.

Anger Style for Tim: Tim did a combination of Ignored Anger and Working It Out. He ignored the names that Blake called him and changed the subject altogether to a topic he figured would really interest Blake. Tim talked about how much he loved skateboarding and why. He got Blake caught up in talking about his love of dirt biking and why. Blake found it impossible to hold on to his anger while he reveled in the reasons why he loved dirt biking. They ended up forming a bit of a friendship as a result.

Level 2 - Ask the Comprehension Questions.

Note to teacher: Post the Basic 2 Basic Needs posters to help facilitate the next question. For your convenience, click on the following link to print a copy of the 2 Basic Needs Display Posters.
William Glasser's Five Basic Needs
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

1. Teacher says or asks: DESCRIBE what Basic needs Blake was trying to get met.
a. Belonging
b. Self-Respect
c. Respect
d. Power
e. Safety & Security
f. Freedom
g. Fun

Students Respond:
a. Belonging- Blake was not getting his BELONGING need met with his parents since they were so busy arguing with each other.

b. Self-Respect - Blake was trying to feel more SELF-RESPECT by taking out his frustrations about his parents' divorce on the kids at school. Sometimes, it worked for him. Other times, it did not. He did feel more feelings of SELF-RESPECT after talking things through with Alicia and the guidance counselor. It also made him feel better about himself talking about his dirt biking hobby with Tim.

c. Respect- Blake felt RESPECTED by Alicia, Tim, and the guidance counselor.

d. Power- Blake is feeling POWERLESS due to having a bad dream, his parents getting a divorce, burnt toast that morning, and memories of kids putting him down in the past. He wants and needs to feel POWERFUL by bullying others. He successfully bullies Cody and Diane. He tries to bully Alicia and Tim unsuccessfully.

e. Safety & Security- Blake felt UNSAFE and INSECURE since his parents were getting a divorce. He felt scared of how the divorce would impact his life.

f. Freedom- Blake wanted the FREEDOM of not having to listen to his parents argue with each other.

g. FUN- Blake had FUN dirt biking. He also had FUN talking about dirt biking and skateboarding with Tim. He also had FUN walking to lunch with Alicia who was being nice to him and helpful.

2. Teacher says or asks: DESCRIBE what Basic Needs Cody was trying to get met.
a. Belonging
b. Self-Respect
c. Respect
d. Power
e. Safety & Security
f. Freedom
g. Fun

Students Respond:
a. Belonging- Cody wanted to get his BELONGING need met with his best friend by repeating a juicy piece of gossip.

b. Self-Respect - Cody lacks feeling SELF-RESPECT since he could not come up with a good way to handle Blake's bullying.

c. Respect- Cody feels RESPECT from his best friend, but he definitely does not feel RESPECTED by Blake.

d. Power- Cody felt that be repeating a juicy piece of gossip to his best friend, this would make him feel more POWERFUL.

e. Safety & Security- Cody did not feel SAFE or SECURE when Blake suddenly pushed him and called him names and threatened him.

f. Freedom- Cody would like the FREEDOM to walk through the hallway without getting pushed or yelled at.

g. FUN- Cody was planning to have FUN by repeating a juicy piece of gossip to his best friend; however, being pushed and yelled at by Blake destroyed his ability to enjoy himself at that time.

3. Teacher says or asks: DESCRIBE what Basic Needs Diane was trying to get met.
a. Belonging
b. Self-Respect
c. Respect
d. Power
e. Safety & Security
f. Freedom
g. Fun

Students Respond:
a. Belonging- Diane did not get her BELONGING need met as Blake called her a bunch of mean names. There was no one to come to her rescue.

b. Self-Respect - Diane felt a lack of SELF-RESPECT since she did not know how to handle Blake's put-downs. She felt really bad about herself because she ran into the bathroom to cry.

c. Respect- Diane did not feel RESPECTED by Blake.

d. Power-Diane felt POWERLESS when Blake called her a bunch of mean names.

e. Safety & Security- Diane did not feel SAFE or SECURE because of Blake's name-calling. Diane was at least feeling a little SAFER by running into the girl's bathroom to cry. At least Blake could not follow her in to continue his name-calling.

f. Freedom- Diane would have liked the FREEDOM to not be called a bunch of mean names by Blake.

g. FUN- Diane was not having any FUN due to Blake's name-calling.

4. Teacher says or asks: DESCRIBE what Basic Needs Alicia was trying to get met.
a. Belonging
b. Self-Respect
c. Respect
d. Power
e. Safety & Security
f. Freedom
g. Fun

Students Respond:
a. Belonging- Alicia got her BELONGING need met with Blake once she offered to listen to his problems. They actually made a bit of a connection that continued the next time they saw each other.

b. Self-Respect - Alicia had enough SELF-RESPECT to not give much credence to Blake's put-downs. She felt even more RESPECT for herself when she was able to act like a counselor to Blake.

c. Respect- Alicia started out feeling DESRESPECTED by Blake. That changed. In the end, after offering to listen to his problems, she felt RESPECTED by him. She especially felt RESPECTED by him later on when she found out he took her advice to visit a guidance counselor.

d. Power- Alicia started to feel POWERLESS when Blake first started calling her names. Then she re-claimed her POWER and felt more POWERFUL as she offered to listen to him recount why he was having a bad day.

e. Safety & Security- Alicia started out not feeling SAFE or SECURE when Blake first started calling her names. After they started talking things out, she felt much more SAFE and SECURE that day and the next time they saw each other.

f. Freedom- Alicia would have liked the FREEDOM to not have had to been called names by Blake in the first place. After they started talking things out, she felt FREE to suggest they walk together to lunch.

g. FUN- Alicia started out not having any FUN due to Blake's name-calling. She ended up having more FUN when they began to talk things out. She had even more FUN the next time they ran into each other when she found out he had taken her advice to talk with a guidance counselor. Then, walking to lunch together felt FUN and easy.

5. Teacher says or asks: DESCRIBE what Basic Needs Tim was trying to get met.
a. Belonging
b. Self-Respect
c. Respect
d. Power
e. Safety & Security
f. Freedom
g. Fun

Students Respond:
a. Belonging- At first Tim did not get his BELONGING need met when Blake started calling him names. Once he got Blake talking about his favorite hobby of dirt biking and he got to talk about how much he loved skateboarding, he really felt like he BELONGED. The two of them forged a bit of a friendship together.

b. Self-Respect - Tim had lots of SELF-RESPECT. He had so much SELF-RESPECT that Blake's name-calling barely touched him.

c. Respect- Tim did not feel RESPECTED by Blake at first. Once he got him talking about his favorite hobby of dirt biking, he felt much more RESPECTED by him.

d. Power- For a brief moment, Tim might have felt POWERLESS when Blake first started the name-calling. Once he managed to control and direct the conversation with talking about their favorite hobbies, he probably felt much more POWERFUL.

e. Safety & Security- Tim might felt a brief moment of not feeling SAFE or SECURE when Blake started the name-calling. Once he managed to distract Blake with a conversation about their favorite hobbies, he probably felt extremely SAFE and SECURE.

f. Freedom- Tim liked the FREEDOM he felt with enjoying his hobby of skateboarding. He enjoyed talking about his hobby. He also enjoyed the FREEDOM he felt in getting Blake to talk about his favorite hobby as well.

g. FUN- Tim had fun skateboarding. He had FUN talking with Blake about dirt biking and sharing conversation about their two favorite hobbies.

Level 3 - Ask the Application Questions.

Note to teacher: Post the 3 Responses to Conflict posters (i.e., Passive, Aggressive, & Assertive) to help facilitate the next question. For your convenience, click on the following link to print a copy of the 3 posters for Passive, Aggressive, & Assertive Responses to Conflict.

1. Teacher Says or Asks: Look at the three posters for Passive, Aggressive, and Assertive Responses to Conflict. SELECT when one of those responses happened in the story. IDENTIFY how or with whom it was done.

a. Any Passive Responses displayed by Blake?
b. Any Aggressive Responses displayed by Blake?
c. Any Assertive Responses displayed by Blake?

d. Any Passive Responses displayed by Cody?
e. Any Aggressive Responses displayed by Cody?
f. Any Assertive Responses displayed by Cody?

g. Any Passive Responses displayed by Diane?
h. Any Aggressive Responses displayed by Diane?
i. Any Assertive Responses displayed by Diane?

j. Any Passive Responses displayed by Alicia?
k. Any Aggressive Responses displayed by Alicia?
l. Any Assertive Responses displayed by Alicia?

m. Any Passive Responses displayed by Tim?
n. Any Aggressive Responses displayed by Tim?
o. Any Assertive Responses displayed by Tim?

Students Respond:
a. Passive Responses displayed by Blake
* Blake hid his feelings from his parents. He tried to ignore their conflict. The tension he felt about his parents fights and divorce plans cause him to do the attitude thing with some of the kids at school.

b. Aggressive Responses displayed by Blake
* Blake yelled at Cody, Diane, Alicia, and Tim. He pushed Cody. He definitely did the loud put-downs of all four of those kids.

c. Assertive Responses displayed by Blake
* Blake finally talked things out with Alicia and Tim. He ended up being respectful of both of them. He did end up self-mentoring himself when he finally decided to visit a guidance counselor and to make himself feel better with talking about dirt biking. He also went dirt biking at every opportunity.

d. Passive Responses displayed by Cody
* Cody ended up avoiding reacting to Blake's put-downs as he could not think fast enough how he should respond. He basically ended up hiding his feelings. He planned to do some gossiping with his best friend. The story does not indicate whether he ever followed through on that plan or not.

e. Aggressive Responses displayed by Cody
* NONE

f. Assertive Responses displayed by Cody
* NONE

g. Passive Responses displayed by Diane
* Diane did real crying rather than fake. She avoided Blake by running into the bathroom to cry.

h. Aggressive Responses displayed by Diane
* NONE

i. Assertive Responses displayed by Diane
* NONE

j. Passive Responses displayed by Alicia
* Alicia avoided Blake's put-downs by deflecting the conversation into a more positive vein.

k. Aggressive Responses displayed by Alicia
* NONE

l. Assertive Responses displayed by Alicia
* Alicia talked things out with Blake. She worked for a WIN-WIN outcome with him. She did active listening with him. She was respectful with him, which made him be respectful back.

m. Passive Responses displayed by Tim
* Tim totally ignored Blake's put-downs and totally changed the subject to skateboarding instead.

n. Aggressive Responses displayed by Tim
* NONE

o. Assertive Responses displayed by Tim
* Tim ended up talking things through with Blake about fun topics. He was respectful with Blake. He firmly set his boundaries by not giving in to his put-downs. He was an active listener about dirt biking. He used manners with Blake. Blake ended up using manners back. They ended up being respectful of each other.

Level 4 - Ask the Analysis Questions.

Look at the following poster: 3 Outcomes to Conflict

1. Teacher says or asks: ANALYZE which outcome was demonstrated between Blake and Cody: WIN-WIN, WIN-LOSE, or LOSE-LOSE?

Students Respond: Blake felt like he WON and Cody felt like he LOST.

2. Teacher says or asks: ANALYZE which outcome was demonstrated between Blake and Diane: WIN-WIN, WIN-LOSE, or LOSE-LOSE?

Students Respond: Blake felt like he WON and Diane felt like she LOST.

3. Teacher says or asks: ANALYZE which outcome was demonstrated between Blake and Alicia: WIN-WIN, WIN-LOSE, or LOSE-LOSE?

Students Respond: Blake felt like he LOST at first because Alicia did not get upset by his name-calling. Alicia felt like she WON because she managed to defuse the tension and get Blake to talk about his problems. It ended up feeling like a WIN-WIN for both of them.

4. Teacher says or asks: ANALYZE which outcome was demonstrated between Blake and Tim: WIN-WIN, WIN-LOSE, or LOSE-LOSE?

Students Respond: Blake felt like he LOST at first because Tim did not appear to be upset by his name-calling. Instead, he started talking about his love for skateboarding. Tim felt like a WINNER the whole time. When Blake ended up getting into the talk about their respective hobbies, he began to feel like a WINNER too. So it ended up feeling like a WIN-WIN for both of them.

Teacher says: Look at the following poster: Don't be part of the problem. Be part of the solution.

5. Teacher says or asks: ANALYZE in what ways Blake was being part of the problem. CONTRAST how Blake could have been part of the solution instead.

Students Respond: Blake was part of the problem because he did not tell his parents how bad he was feeling. He also was part of the problem as he took out his frustrations on the kids at school. Blake could have been part of the solution with his parents if he talked things out with them, letting them know how upset their arguing made him feel. He still was not part of the solution with Diane. He did end up being part of the solution with both Alicia and Tim as they formed a bit of a friendship. He also ended up being part of the solution by distracting himself more with his love of dirt biking and eventually seeking help from a guidance counselor who helped soothe him.

6. Teacher says or asks: ANALYZE in what ways Cody was either being part of the problem or being part of the solution.

Students Respond: (Accept Reasonable Answers.)

7. Teacher says or asks: ANALYZE in what ways Diane was either being part of the problem or being part of the solution.

Students Respond: (Accept Reasonable Answers.)

8. Teacher says or asks: ANALYZE in what ways Alicia was either being part of the problem or being part of the solution.

Students Respond: (Accept Reasonable Answers.)

9. Teacher says or asks: ANALYZE in what ways Tim was either being part of the problem or being part of the solution.

Students Respond: (Accept Reasonable Answers.)

Level 5 - Ask the Synthesis Questions.

Teacher says or asks: Look at the 'I Message' Sentence Starters poster.

a. Pretend you are a character in the story. CHOOSE one of the Sentence Starters and CREATE three 'I Messages' to say to another character within the story, making a request of him or her.

I ____________________ because ___________________.

Students Respond: (Accept reasonable answers.)

a. I __________________________ because ___________________________.

b. I __________________________ because ___________________________.

c. I __________________________ because ___________________________.

Level 6 - Ask the Evaluation Questions.

Note to teacher: Post the Good Character Traits Display poster to help facilitate the next question. For your convenience, click on the following link to print a copy of the Good Character Traits Display Poster.

1. Teacher Says or Asks: Look at the Good Character Traits poster. DETERMINE what Character Traits Blake demonstrated.

Students Respond: (Accept reasonable answers.)

2. Teacher Says or Asks: DETERMINE what Character Traits Cody demonstrated.

Students Respond: (Accept reasonable answers.)

3. Teacher Says or Asks: DETERMINE what Character Traits Diane demonstrated.

Students Respond: (Accept reasonable answers.)

4. Teacher Says or Asks: DETERMINE what Character Traits Alicia demonstrated.

Students Respond: (Accept reasonable answers.)

5. Teacher Says or Asks: DETERMINE what Character Traits Tim demonstrated.

Students Respond: (Accept reasonable answers.)

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