Hand in Hand We Can STOP Bullying
Source: thebookmom
When Should I Use This Lesson?
When siblings are treating each other unkindly
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When a new student is entering your classroom and you are wanting to create a safe atmosphere for them
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When you notice a student with bullying tendencies
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When you notice a student who is being bullied
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When you want to remind kids what good friends (the opposite of bullies) look and sound like
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What exactly is a bully?
Websters Collegiate Dictionary defines a bully as, "A blustering browbeating person." My girls answer the question, "A bully is a mean person mom, a kid that hurts people on purpose." Both definitions are exactly right, whether it is an elementary kid yelling or hurting others physically or a middle school kid heaping shame on another with his words, bullying is treating another unkindly because you want to. President Obama said this about bullies, "...no one deserves to be bullied." I couldn't agree more. Below you will find a book and a project to help you talk with kids about bullies, both what it means to be a bully and how to handle a bully. Let's get the conversation started and help stop bullying among our children.
The Book
Little Smudge by Lionel Le Neouanic
Source: thebookmom
How to Use The Book
Read the book Little Smudge by Lionel Le Neouanic with your children. I read it all the way through enjoying the story. Then ask these questions. I included our answers in pharenthesis so you can get an idea of how a conversation could go.
1. What was this story about? (being nice, friends, solving a problem, not judging, helping new people) Me: "Those are great ideas, yes, I think the story was about all of those things.
2. What do you think the author wanted us to learn from reading this story? (how to be nice, to not be scared or mean to mean kids, to let everyone play) Me: "Wow, good thinking"
3. Tell me about the kids in this story. (There was one nice kid, he was shy and kids were mean to him. There were mean kids that got nice but they forgot to say sorry) Me: Yes, it is important to say you are sorry when you are mean.
4. Do you think the mean kids were mean on purpose? How do you know?(Yeah, they totally were, they were teasing and everything and they even wanted to fight!"
5. Do you know what it is called when you are mean on purpose, when you choose to do or say something you know will hurt somebody else? (a naughty kid) Me: "Well, it is a naughty thing to do, but you call a person who does that a bully. A bully chooses to be mean on purpose."
6. Do you think Little Smudge did a good job of handling the bully kids in the story? (yes, he solved the problem and he wasn't even mean). Me: I think so too. Let's see if we can make a chart of how he handled bullies so we can use it if we need to handle a bully.
Our "How to Handle a Bully" Chart
Source: thebookmom
How to Handle a Bully
1. Walk Away
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2. Go find and adult who cares about you to talk about the problem with you
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3. Cry if you need to, it's ok to cry when you are sad
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4. Make a plan with a grown up who loves you
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5. Have courage and try your plan
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6. If your plan doesn't work, don't freak out just walk away and talk to your grown up again
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Working out our Understanding
Source: thebookmom
Project Supplies
3 different kinds of ribbon cut into smaller sized pieces
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You will need enough for each child to have a set of all 3 ribbons
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construction paper
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tape
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Our Project
Each Shape is unique.
Source: thebookmom
Each shape is important.
Source: thebookmom
When we work together, we can make a beautiful picture!
Source: thebookmom
The Project
Once you have read and talked through the book and made your own "How to Handle a Bully" poster, you are ready for the project. You will be using three different kinds of ribbon to think again about the lesson this book is trying to teach.
Step One: Give each child 3 different kinds of ribbon cut into smaller sized pieces. In a classroom I would have them pre-cut and placed in baggies to pass out quickly.
Step Two: Instruct your children to choose one ribbon to represent themselves and then put the pieces together to make any shape they want. It can be a square, rectangle, an animal or something they like, anything.
Step Three: Instruct the kids to take the other two kinds of ribbons and make two more shapes. All 3 shapes need to be different but made with the same kind of ribbon (if you have a heart it should only have one kind of ribbon in it.)
Step Four: Ask the kids what part of the story these three shapes represent. (This is the part where all the shapes are apart and looking at how they are different, so there's a good chance someone could choose to be a bully.)
Step Five: Now ask the kids to think about how they could change the picture they made to look like the pages at the end, where the shapes realized they are all important and had something fun to offer. Encourage your children to make lots of different shapes that include some of all the ribbons.
Step Six: Challenge your children to see if they can use all the ribbon to create a shape or picture that shows the author's point, that we all have unique and important things to offer a group or that we are better when we choose to be kind and include instead of be mean and bully. We came up with a house and a hand, a circle or heart might be good. I would leave it really open ended and let your children explain their picture to you.
Step Seven: If you want to have a concrete reminder of this project, have the children rebuild their final shape on a piece of construction paper and tape it on. Then hang them up near your "How to Handle a Bully" poster.
When you are done with the project, remind your students again that they can choose to not bully by seeing that everyone is important and should be treated with respect. Also remind them that they have the power to stop a bully by using the steps on your "How to handle a Bully" chart. I would hang your chart in a place where it can be seen often. I'm sorry to say this won't solve the problem forever, but it will give your kids a good working knowledge of what a bully is and how to handle a bully. It will also begin a conversation that will help you when you need to deal with a child who is bullying or one who has been bullied. By educating and engaging with our kids we can make our homes, neighborhoods, and learning environments safer places. Start your conversation today.
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