46% of all married couples got divorced in Germany in 2012. This

Family Problems: Is Divorce Bad for Children? (Klasse 9/10)
Einzelmaterial 196
S1
Family Problems: Is Divorce Bad for Children? – Über die
Folgen von Scheidung für Kinder und Jugendliche sprechen
(Klasse 9/10)
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Claudia Schachner, Prof. Dr. Engelbert Thaler, Cornelia Wegele und Alisa Wiedemann
M1
Reasons for divorce – why does marriage only have a fiftyfifty chance?
46% of all married
couples got divorced in
Source: www.statista.com/statistik/daten/
studie/76211/umfrage/scheidungsquote-von1960-bis-2008
Why do so many marriages end in divorce? Discuss this question with your classmates.
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Germany in 2012.
This means that nearly
every second marriage
was broken off early.1
Tasks
1. On your own: Note down 3 possible reasons for divorce.
a
b
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2. Together with your partner: Compare your notes, agree on 3 reasons for
divorce and put them into order by starting with the most important reason
and ending with the least important one.
3. With another pair of students:
a) Compare your findings and again agree on 3 reasons. Put them in order
of importance.
b) Think of ways to prevent divorces.
Extra task: Marriage is an outdated concept! Discuss.
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S5
M5
Is Divorce Bad for Children? – Reading an article
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Is Divorce Bad for Children?
by Hal Arkowitz and Scott O. Lilienfeld (2013)
The breakup may be painful, but most kids adjust well over time
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Many of the 1.5 million children in the U.S. whose parents
divorce every year feel as if their worlds are falling apart.
Divorcing parents are usually very concerned about the welfare
of their children during this troublesome process. Some parents
are so worried that they remain in unhappy marriages, believing it will protect their offspring
from the trauma of divorce. Yet parents who split have reasons for hope. Researchers have found
that only a relatively small percentage of children experience serious problems in the wake of
divorce or, later, as adults. […]
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Rapid Recovery
Divorce affects most children in the short run, but research suggests that kids recover rapidly after
the initial blow. In a 2002 study psychologist E. Mavis Hetherington of the University of Virginia
and her then graduate student Anne Mitchell Elmore found that many children experience shortterm negative effects from divorce, especially anxiety, anger, shock and disbelief. These reactions
typically diminish or disappear by the end of the second year. Only a minority of kids suffer
longer.
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Most children of divorce also do well in the longer term. [S]ociologist Paul R. Amato, then at
Pennsylvania State University, examined the possible effects on children several years after a
divorce. The studies compared children of married parents with those who experienced divorce
at different ages. The investigators followed these kids into later childhood, adolescence or
the teenage years, assessing their academic achievement, emotional and behavior problems,
delinquency, self-concept and social relationships. On average, the studies found only very small
differences on all these measures between children of divorced parents and those from intact
families, suggesting that the vast majority of children endure divorce well.
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© www.Colourbox.com
Will children of parents who have got divorced have more problems in their future lives
than children from intact families?
[…] Taken together, the findings suggest that only a small percentage of young people experience
divorce-related problems. Even here the causes of these lingering difficulties remain uncertain.
Some troubles may arise from conflict between Mom and Dad associated with the divorce.
The stress of the situation can also cause the quality of parenting to suffer. Divorce frequently
contributes to depression, anxiety or substance abuse in one or both parents and may bring about
difficulties in balancing work and child rearing. These problems can impair a parent’s ability to
offer children stability and love when they are most in need. […]
Reproduced with permission. Copyright © 2013 Scientific American, a Division of Nature America, Inc.
All rights reserved.
1 to adjust: to change sth. to suit a new situation – 3 to fall apart: to break into pieces –
4 welfare: here well-being – 6 to remain: to stay – 7 researcher: sb. who studies sth. in detail –
8 in the wake of sth.: as a result of sth. – 11 in the short run: in a time that is in the near future
– 12 initial blow: first shock – 13 graduate student: a student studying for a higher degree –
14 anxiety: a feeling of fear and worry – 15 to diminish: to reduce in size or importance –
15 minority: a smaller number or part – 18 to examine: to look at sth. in more detail to
discover new information – 20 adolescence: a period of time in which a person develops into
an adult – 21 to assess: to judge sb. or sth. after carefully thinking about it – 22 delinquency:
criminal or unacceptable behaviour – 22 self-concept: the idea people have about themselves –
24 vast: extremely big – 24 majority: a bigger number or part – 26 lingering: lasting a long time –
26 uncertain: not known – 27 to arise: to happen – 28 parenting: the raising of children –
28 frequently: often – 29 substance abuse: the use of drugs – 30 to rear: to raise a child – 30 to
impair: to make sth. less good as it was before or as it should be
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Family Problems: Is Divorce Bad for Children? (Klasse 9/10)
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S6
M6
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Is Divorce Bad for Children? – Understanding an article
This worksheet will help you to understand the article better.
Tasks
1. Before reading the article, have a look at its headline and discuss the
question together with your partner.
2. Read the article and underline the most important information.
3. Review the underlined information and sum up the content of the article in 1 or 2
sentences.
4. Decide whether the statements are true (T) or false (F). Correct the statements that are
wrong.
Statement
T/F
a) Only a minority of children whose parents are divorced
face serious problems in the long-term.
b) Divorce never affects children in the short run.
Correction
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c) Sociologist Paul R. Amato wanted to find out which children
decided to live with their mothers after the divorce.
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d) Divorced couples usually feel happy and relieved after the
separation and can handle raising their child and going to
work quite easily.
5. Answer the questions in complete sentences and in your own words.
a) Why do many couples stay in problematic marriages and do not get divorced?
b) What was the result of the study of Paul R. Amato?
c) What reasons sometimes prevent a divorced parent from offering love and stable
circumstances to the child?
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S9
M9
Family Portrait – watching the video clip
Let’s watch the video clip of the song Family Portrait by P!nk. Pay attention to the music
and the story without special regard to the lyrics.
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Tasks
1. The beginning
Watch the beginning of the video clip of the song Family
Portrait without the sound. Describe the situation
shown.
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2. The music
a) Describe what you expect the music to be like by ticking  up to three
adjectives you think are suitable to describe the music. You can also
find your own adjectives to describe it.
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 melancholic
 cheerful
 pessimistic
 fast
 sad
 energetic
 rhythmic
 aggressive
 threatening
 slow
 harmonic
 loud
 light
 passionate
 quiet
b) Now watch the beginning of the video clip with the sound on. Describe
the music. Compare your expectations with the actual music. Does
the music fit the singer’s feelings?
3. Analysis
a) Watch the whole video clip. Describe the feelings the girl has during
the course of the story. Name at least three different feelings and
refer to the corresponding scene.
© www.Colourbox.com
b) Analyse the relationship between the mother and the daughter:
How does the mother behave towards her daughter? What sort of
behaviour and relationship might the girl long for?
c) Compare the situation to the one depicted in the poem by Adam T.
Cumberbatch.
4. The ending
a) Explain what happens at the end of the video clip.
b) Interpret the ending.
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S 12
Kompetenzen
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Schulung der Lesekompetenz durch das Lesen und Verstehen eines Zeitungsartikels
und eines Gedichtes
Schulung der Schreibkompetenz durch das Analysieren eines Gedichtes und eines
Popsongs sowie das Schreiben eines Scheidungsratgebers
Schulung des Hör-Seh-Verstehens durch die kreative Erarbeitung eines authentischen
Popsongs
Erweiterung des Wortschatzes rund um die Themen „Familienprobleme“ und
„Scheidung“
Niveau
Klasse 9/10
Dauer
2–3 Unterrichtsstunden (je nach Auswahl der Materialien)
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Einbettung
Die Einheit kann unabhängig vom Lehrwerk eingesetzt werden. Inhaltlich bietet sich
eine Anknüpfung an die Themen „Teenage problems“ (Klasse 9) und „Growing up“
(Klasse 10) an.
Hinweise
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Scheidungskinder sind Schulversager, sie werden leichter drogenabhängig und sind
später unfähig, eine stabile Beziehung aufzubauen. Solche Vorurteile sind weit verbreitet.
Ob eine Scheidung tatsächlich negative Langzeitfolgen für Kinder hat, darüber ist man sich
in der Wissenschaft nicht einig. Unumstritten ist jedoch, dass eine Scheidung zumindest
temporär eine emotionale Herausforderung für die meisten Kinder und Jugendlichen
darstellt. 2008 waren laut Statistischem Bundesamt 150 187 Minderjährige von der
Scheidung ihrer Eltern betroffen. Das Thema wird daher auch für viele Schülerinnen
und Schüler1 relevant sein, die entweder selbst sogenannte Scheidungskinder sind oder
jemanden kennen, dessen Eltern geschieden sind.
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1 Im weiteren Verlauf wird aus Gründen der besseren Lesbarkeit nur noch „Schüler“ verwendet.
Zur Durchführung
M 1: Der Einstieg erfolgt mittels eines stummen Impulses, der auf Folie kopiert
präsentiert wird. Dabei bleiben die Aufgaben verdeckt. Die Lernenden äußern sich
spontan zu dem Auszug aus einer Statistik. Darauf beantworten sie die Frage nach den
Gründen für eine Scheidung und den Möglichkeiten, eine solche zu verhindern, in einem
think-pair-share. Die Auswertung findet im Plenum statt. Optional kann anschließend
darüber diskutiert werden, ob die Ehe ein überholtes Modell ist (extra task).
Differenzierung: Die thematische Wortschatzliste „Talking about family
problems and divorce“ (CD 13) kann in lernschwächeren Klassen zusammen
mit M 1 ausgeteilt werden. Sie dient den Schülern als sprachliche Unterstützung
während der Einheit. Die Vokabeln werden in den jeweiligen Stunden als Hausaufgabe
aufgegeben. Die Lernenden formulieren pro Wort einen Beispielsatz.
M 2: Eine Auseinandersetzung mit dem Thema „Scheidung“ auf lexikalischer und
emotionaler Ebene erfolgt, indem die Schüler in Einzelarbeit fünf Wörter aus einem
Kasten auswählen, die die Gedanken und Gefühle eines Scheidungskindes am besten
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