What is Bullying?
Grade Level: 2/3
Subject Area: Social Studies
Essential Questions of Unit:
1. How does bullying affect people?
2. How can we make everyone feel safe and cared for?
Guiding Question:
1. What is bullying?
Lesson Context:
· This is the first lesson in a unit focusing on bullying. This lesson introduces students to the concept of bullying and allows the teacher to see what the students already know about it. The students create rules to follow in their classroom so that bullying does not occur.
Lesson Goals:
1. The students will learn that bullying can be verbal, emotional, and physical.
2. The students will learn that many of their classmates have been bullied before.
3. The students will learn the difference between bullying and teasing.
a. Students will learn that teasing becomes bullying when the person being bullied has told the bully to stop; yet the bully continues the action. At this point, the teasing has become repetitive and the bully is making a conscious effort to hurt another person.
4. The students learn about different examples of bullying.
5. The students learn how to create rules that will prevent bullying from occurring in their classroom.
MMSD Standards:
· Participate in making rules and guidelines for various groups and situations.
NCSS Standards:
· People, places, and environment.
· Individual development and identity.
Materials:
· Three sheets of white butcher-block paper.
· Markers to write with.
· Video: Learning About Bullying – Pt 1. The Tough Kid Bully Blocker Shorts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcFICCVWliY
o Projector/SmartBoard to play the video on.
· Plain computer paper.
· Lined writing paper.
· Pencils.
· Crayons/markers/colored pencils.
· Copy of bullying scenario.
Activities/Assignments/Procedure:
1. Arrange the class on the rug in a circle.
2. Read the class the following scenario:
a. When Maria walks home from school, some older students follow her and say mean things to her. They call her stupid and ugly. Sometimes they push her down or trip her while she is walking. These things make Maria very sad and she is often afraid to walk home from school alone.
b. Ask the students to turn and talk to a neighbor about what happened in the situation that was not very nice. Also ask them to think through how Maria felt during this time. Why was she feeling so sad? Then have the students share their answers with the whole class.
3. Ask the students if they know what it means to bully someone.
a. Allow students to share their thoughts. If no one is willing to share, pick sticks with students’ names on them.
4. On a large piece of butcher-block paper, record the students’ responses.
a. Possible responses:
i. To push/kick/hit someone.
ii. Telling someone that they can’t play with you.
iii. Friend groups that don’t let you be friends with them/cliques.
iv. Telling someone they are ugly.
v. Name-calling.
vi. Using mean words.
vii. Telling someone you won’t play with him or her if they are friends with someone else too.
5. On a second sheet of butcher-block paper, write the words: Physical, Verbal, and Emotional. There might be some overlap between what the students consider to be verbal and what they consider to be emotional.
a. Have the students classify their responses from step 5 under these headings.
i. Physical: to push/kick/hit someone.
ii. Verbal: name-calling, using mean words, telling someone they are ugly.
iii. Emotional: telling someone you won’t play with him or her if they are friends with someone else too, friend groups that don’t let you be friends with them/cliques.
6. Ask students how they came up with their examples of bullying.
a. Possible responses:
i. TV.
ii. Movies.
iii. It has happened to me.
iv. I have seen it happen to someone else.
b. Ask the students to raise their hand if they have ever been bullied. Explain to the students that bullying is very common. Tell the students that another term, teasing, is very similar to bullying. Ask the students if they know the difference between the two.
i. Possible responses:
1. When someone is teasing someone else, both people think it’s funny. They are both okay with what is being done.
2. When someone does not like the teasing, they can tell the other person to stop. If the teaser does not stop, then it is bullying.
ii. Tell the students that teasing can very quickly turn into bullying, so even though they are slightly different, it is very important that we do not tease anyone.
7. Play the first two minutes of the YouTube video Learning About Bullying – Pt 1. The Tough Kid Bully Blocker Shorts (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcFICCVWliY). In this video, students will learn some more things about what is and what isn’t considered bullying, as well as the difference between bullying and teasing.
a. Have the students discuss what they learned and add any new information about what bullying is to the first sheet of butcher-block paper.
i. Also on the first sheet of butcher-block paper create a section titled Not Bullying and have students share what they learned from the video about what is not considered bullying.
1. Be sure to focus the students’ attention on the differences learned about from the video regarding teasing and bullying.
a. Teasing is two sided – it goes back and forth between two people. Bullying is one sided and happens again and again.
8. Tell the students that we do not want to have any bullies in our classroom. Ask them to help you create a list of rules that they will need to follow so that bullying does not exist in the classroom. Have the students begin thinking in small groups of about four students and then share their ideas with the whole class. Hang this list up in the classroom.
a. Possible responses:
i. Do not make fun of another student when they do not think it’s funny.
ii. Do not hit/kick/physically hurt another student.
iii. Do not exclude people.
iv. Do not use mean words.
v. Do not treat someone in a way that you would not want to be treated.
vi. When someone tells you to stop doing something, stop doing it.
b. Have the students try to change their responses so that instead of “do not” they consist of things they should do.
c. If the students come up with many rules, help the students categorize them so they are easier to remember.
9. Have the students draw two pictures or write two paragraphs, whichever they prefer. One of the two pictures/paragraphs needs to represent teasing and the other needs to represent bullying. For the students that draw pictures, have them verbally explain to the teacher what is happening in the pictures. Have the students verbally explain to the teacher why we want to avoid teasing. Make sure all students include a label for the type of bullying they depicted: emotional, physical, verbal, or a combination.
Assessment:
Formal: The teacher will collect the drawings and the paragraphs to see if the students understood the concepts they were representing during that activity.
Informal: The teacher will observe the students throughout the discussions to see if they understand the differences between bullying and teasing, the different types of bullying, and that they recognize that bullying happens quite often to those around them.
Subject Area: Social Studies
Essential Questions of Unit:
1. How does bullying affect people?
2. How can we make everyone feel safe and cared for?
Guiding Question:
1. What is bullying?
Lesson Context:
· This is the first lesson in a unit focusing on bullying. This lesson introduces students to the concept of bullying and allows the teacher to see what the students already know about it. The students create rules to follow in their classroom so that bullying does not occur.
Lesson Goals:
1. The students will learn that bullying can be verbal, emotional, and physical.
2. The students will learn that many of their classmates have been bullied before.
3. The students will learn the difference between bullying and teasing.
a. Students will learn that teasing becomes bullying when the person being bullied has told the bully to stop; yet the bully continues the action. At this point, the teasing has become repetitive and the bully is making a conscious effort to hurt another person.
4. The students learn about different examples of bullying.
5. The students learn how to create rules that will prevent bullying from occurring in their classroom.
MMSD Standards:
· Participate in making rules and guidelines for various groups and situations.
NCSS Standards:
· People, places, and environment.
· Individual development and identity.
Materials:
· Three sheets of white butcher-block paper.
· Markers to write with.
· Video: Learning About Bullying – Pt 1. The Tough Kid Bully Blocker Shorts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcFICCVWliY
o Projector/SmartBoard to play the video on.
· Plain computer paper.
· Lined writing paper.
· Pencils.
· Crayons/markers/colored pencils.
· Copy of bullying scenario.
Activities/Assignments/Procedure:
1. Arrange the class on the rug in a circle.
2. Read the class the following scenario:
a. When Maria walks home from school, some older students follow her and say mean things to her. They call her stupid and ugly. Sometimes they push her down or trip her while she is walking. These things make Maria very sad and she is often afraid to walk home from school alone.
b. Ask the students to turn and talk to a neighbor about what happened in the situation that was not very nice. Also ask them to think through how Maria felt during this time. Why was she feeling so sad? Then have the students share their answers with the whole class.
3. Ask the students if they know what it means to bully someone.
a. Allow students to share their thoughts. If no one is willing to share, pick sticks with students’ names on them.
4. On a large piece of butcher-block paper, record the students’ responses.
a. Possible responses:
i. To push/kick/hit someone.
ii. Telling someone that they can’t play with you.
iii. Friend groups that don’t let you be friends with them/cliques.
iv. Telling someone they are ugly.
v. Name-calling.
vi. Using mean words.
vii. Telling someone you won’t play with him or her if they are friends with someone else too.
5. On a second sheet of butcher-block paper, write the words: Physical, Verbal, and Emotional. There might be some overlap between what the students consider to be verbal and what they consider to be emotional.
a. Have the students classify their responses from step 5 under these headings.
i. Physical: to push/kick/hit someone.
ii. Verbal: name-calling, using mean words, telling someone they are ugly.
iii. Emotional: telling someone you won’t play with him or her if they are friends with someone else too, friend groups that don’t let you be friends with them/cliques.
6. Ask students how they came up with their examples of bullying.
a. Possible responses:
i. TV.
ii. Movies.
iii. It has happened to me.
iv. I have seen it happen to someone else.
b. Ask the students to raise their hand if they have ever been bullied. Explain to the students that bullying is very common. Tell the students that another term, teasing, is very similar to bullying. Ask the students if they know the difference between the two.
i. Possible responses:
1. When someone is teasing someone else, both people think it’s funny. They are both okay with what is being done.
2. When someone does not like the teasing, they can tell the other person to stop. If the teaser does not stop, then it is bullying.
ii. Tell the students that teasing can very quickly turn into bullying, so even though they are slightly different, it is very important that we do not tease anyone.
7. Play the first two minutes of the YouTube video Learning About Bullying – Pt 1. The Tough Kid Bully Blocker Shorts (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcFICCVWliY). In this video, students will learn some more things about what is and what isn’t considered bullying, as well as the difference between bullying and teasing.
a. Have the students discuss what they learned and add any new information about what bullying is to the first sheet of butcher-block paper.
i. Also on the first sheet of butcher-block paper create a section titled Not Bullying and have students share what they learned from the video about what is not considered bullying.
1. Be sure to focus the students’ attention on the differences learned about from the video regarding teasing and bullying.
a. Teasing is two sided – it goes back and forth between two people. Bullying is one sided and happens again and again.
8. Tell the students that we do not want to have any bullies in our classroom. Ask them to help you create a list of rules that they will need to follow so that bullying does not exist in the classroom. Have the students begin thinking in small groups of about four students and then share their ideas with the whole class. Hang this list up in the classroom.
a. Possible responses:
i. Do not make fun of another student when they do not think it’s funny.
ii. Do not hit/kick/physically hurt another student.
iii. Do not exclude people.
iv. Do not use mean words.
v. Do not treat someone in a way that you would not want to be treated.
vi. When someone tells you to stop doing something, stop doing it.
b. Have the students try to change their responses so that instead of “do not” they consist of things they should do.
c. If the students come up with many rules, help the students categorize them so they are easier to remember.
9. Have the students draw two pictures or write two paragraphs, whichever they prefer. One of the two pictures/paragraphs needs to represent teasing and the other needs to represent bullying. For the students that draw pictures, have them verbally explain to the teacher what is happening in the pictures. Have the students verbally explain to the teacher why we want to avoid teasing. Make sure all students include a label for the type of bullying they depicted: emotional, physical, verbal, or a combination.
Assessment:
Formal: The teacher will collect the drawings and the paragraphs to see if the students understood the concepts they were representing during that activity.
Informal: The teacher will observe the students throughout the discussions to see if they understand the differences between bullying and teasing, the different types of bullying, and that they recognize that bullying happens quite often to those around them.