Like most schools, we have a few bullies and a lot of
bystanders who don’t always know the right thing to do when they see
bullying happen. There’s an awesome
student teacher in Rainbow City this year, and she thought of a great bully
awareness lesson. Her name is Valeen,
and her idea is to ask kids who they really are on the inside and to make a
pledge to do their part to end bullying.
We began the
lesson by reading Patricia Polacco’s book Bully,
first because our students love Patricia Polacco, and also because we are about to start blogging as a
class and as individuals. Polacco’s book addresses the issue of cyber-bullying as well as
kids generally being mean to others.
After reading
the book aloud, we had a great discussion about bullying and the different
forms it takes. We also spent some time
discussing the responsibility of the bystander to do something about the
situation, such as getting help from an adult or befriending the child who was
bullied.
The activity
consisted of asking each student to choose a car, cut it out, and write a short
statement or pledge in the window (cab of the car, taxi, or truck) telling what
he/she will do to end bullying. The cars are on a bulletin board in our
classroom as a reminder that our students are “Children Against Bullying” and
we can see who really is “in their cab”.
Valeen’s
idea, embellished by me with her
permission is now available free to you and your students in my TpT store. I have included a book list for those who would rather not read the
Polacco book, and a sign without our names on it to hang on
your bulletin board.
Wishing
you peace and love,
Valeen
and Retta
