Lesson Plan On Bullying
By Gillian Gabourie
Grades 7 and 8
This is a lesson plan aimed at students in grade 7 and 8. This lesson is designed to teach students how to recognize bullying and how to deal with it in a proactive way. Students will participate in an interactive two part lesson that incorporates literacy, multi media, decision making skills and drama.
By the end of the two part lesson students will be able to:
Give a clear concise definition of what bullying entails
Inform people of the four main categories of bullying
Recognize bullying around them and have the tools to effectively deal with the situation.
Materials Needed by the Teacher:
Print out of the four scenarios
Chart paper and markers
Lap top and L.E.D. projector
Copy of the family feud answers
Part I: Recognizing Bullying.
This first lesson will help students recognize what bullying looks and sounds like. They will learn the four categories of bullying and understand what each entails.
Introduction: Which One Is Bullying? : Read the following four scenarios to your class. Ask your students to vote on which ones are examples of bullying. As they vote, ask them to explain why they think that the scenario they have chosen is an example of bullying.
1. Tom is in grade 8. He is scared to go to school because Marcus, a boy in his class, likes to lock Tom inside his locker.
2. Christina is in grade 7. Lately, her friend Maria has started hanging out with a new girl in the class, Justine. When Christina walks over to the two girls at recess, Maria and Justine will either pretend they can't hear what Christina says to them or they will run away laughing.
3. Steven got braces two weeks ago. Kate, a girl in his class, has been making fun of him every time he smiles, calling him Braceface and Metal Mouth. Steven doesn't like to show his teeth anymore at school because he knows Kate will make jokes about it.
4. Brittany is having an MSN chat with Torie. They are talking about the kids in their class and Brittany tells Torie that she has a crush on Ethan, the new boy in the class. The next day, Brittany discovers that Torie has copied their message and emailed it to all the kids in their grade, including Ethan.
After discussing each scenario, come up with a class definition of what bullying is. On chart paper, write your definition of bullying and have the students give you examples of the types of bullying that occur in the four main categories.
Teacher Script: Each of the four scenarios were examples of bullying. You can see how bullying comes in many forms. Some are easy to see, while others are a little more difficult to tell. What do you think Bullying is?
Guide them to realizing that it is a repeated behaviour that is intentional and designed to inflict harm on the victim.
Teacher script: Each scenario described one of the four main types of bullying. Not all bullying is done through hitting and pushing others. Some bullying is done through the words that we use or the way that we treat each other.
There are four types of bullying. They are Physical (punching, kicking, spitting); Verbal (Name calling, threatening, teasing); Indirect or Psychological (spreading rumours, excluding people from games and groups) and Cyber (writing mean things on someone's face book, emailing embarrassing photos of people).
Write the four types of bullying on the board and discuss what each one entails. Ask your students to give examples of each type and write them on the board.
Using your laptop and an L.E.D. projector, play a few internet clips of popular television shows and have the students put them in the four categories.
Teacher script: We are going to look at a few clips from television shows that most of us watch each week. See if you can identify which of the four types of bullying is happening in the clip.
Some ideas for bullies in television clips are:
Gossip Girl: Blair Waldorf does a lot of psychological bullying
The Simpsons: Nelson is famous for his physical and verbal bullying
Degrassi TNG: Time Stands Still Episode: Spinner and Jay tar and feather a classmate humiliating him in front of the whole school
Part II: How to Deal with a Bully.
The second lesson will teach students how to deal with a bully. The strategies listed in this lesson are designed to battle bullying in a positive way that benefits both the victim and the bully.
Introduction: Family Feud Game: On an overhead projector, put up the question: WHY DO PEOPLE BULLY?
Teacher Script: Today we are going to look at why people bully. In front of me I have the top 5 reasons people bully. Let's see if you can guess them. After we have guessed all five, let's see if we can figure out why these things would make someone want to bully other people.
The Top 5 Reasons People Bully
1. Someone else is picking on them
2. They are looking for attention
3. They feel bad about themselves and want other people to feel bad too
4. They have no friends and feel lonely
5. They want the people around then to think they are strong and tough
As they guess and you reveal the top five answers, give them some insight into what each one means. Discuss as a group why these five reasons would make someone bully others.
Refresh the class on your class definition of bullying and the four types of bullying that you looked at in the previous lesson.
Put up the following list on the overhead projector and discuss why each one is a good idea and how it would put a stop to bullying.
Teacher Script: Now that we know what a bullying looks like and some of the reasons that might make a person bully others, let's take a look at what you can do if you find that someone is trying to bully you. Bullying can be very scary and it's hard to know what is the right thing to do. Sometimes we think that if we tell a parent or a teacher about bullying, that this means we are tattling. It is never tattling if you are being hurt or scared.
Put the following list up on the overhead projector and allow the students to give their thoughts on each point and how they think it could work.
Ways to Stop Bullying
Teacher's Script: Bullies usually pick on people to see what the person will do. They like to see people cry or get angry. When the bully thinks they have hurt your feelings-- they see it as winning. It can be very hard to do, but when you are faced with a bully, you need to ignore them and walk away.
DON'T BULLY BACK
Teacher's Script: Some people might say that if you fight back, the bully will leave you alone. What will actually happen is that one or both of you will get hurt. Walk away when you see a bully coming.
KNOW WHERE THE BULLY WORKS
Teacher's Script: Think about all the places that you have seen a bully. Try to stay away from these places if you are alone until you tell an adult about the problem.
Teacher's Script: This is not tattling. Tell a teacher, a parent, a friend, a bus driver, any grown up that can help you with your problem. Most adult have had their share of bullies and can give you really great advice on how to beats deal with the situation.
BE CAREFUL OF THE INTERNET
Teacher's Script: If the bullying is happening online, there are several things you can do. Change your email address and only give it to people you trust. When you are emailing with friends, ask yourself if this is information you would want the whole world to know. Never put personal information about yourself on the internet -- you never know who might be reading it.
Discuss what the class thinks are good ways to deal with bullies. Come up with a class plan on chart paper. This plan can hang on your classroom wall as a reminder that bullying will not be tolerated in your classroom.
To finish up the lesson, have your students break into groups of 2. Give each group, one of the four scenarios from the first day. Based on what you've talked about, have the students role play how they would deal with the bullying issue. One student would play the bully and one the victim. They would write and perform a short play about how to proactively resolve the issue.