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Using Literature to Teach About Bullying
Subjects
- Literature
- Safety
- Sociology
Grades
Brief Description
Use literature to teach students to recognize the different
types of bullying, their causes, and ways of dealing with them.
Objectives
Students will
- recognize the signs of bullying.
- be able to employ ways to prevent bullying situations.
Keywords
Bullying, conflict resolution,
cooperative
Materials Needed
- The Bully by Judith Casely
- Lily's Secret by Imou Miko
- Hooway for Wodney Wat by Helen Lester
- Crickwing by Janell Cannon
Other appropriate books with bullying themes might
be substituted for the above titles.
Lesson Plan
Read aloud the four stories listed in the Materials section above.
After reading each story, discuss the following questions.
- Who is the bully?
- Why is this character acting like a bully?
- What types of bullying do you see in this story?
- How might the character being bullied handle the bully?
Alternative strategy: Arrange students into small groups.
Ask each group to read one of the books on the list and respond
to the questions.
Discuss/brainstorm the following vocabulary words as a class or
in smaller student groups. Create an acceptable definition for each
word.
- bullying
- conflict
- resolution
- violence
- gossip
- exclusion
Have students work in small cooperative groups; give each group
one of the types of bullying listed below. Have each group discuss
examples of that type of bullying. Group members should be prepared
to discuss the harm that can result from that kind of bullying and
to offer more positive ways to treat others.
- gossip
- exclusion
- physical bullying
- verbal bullying
After students share their problems and solutions, bring the class
back together and have students create a contract for acceptable
behavior in their classroom.
Extension Activities
- Have students explain how they might apply what they have learned
to situations outside the classroom.
- Have students create posters displaying positive behavior.
- Ask students to brainstorm historical events that were the result
of bullying on a global scale (e.g., the Holocaust).
Assessment
A brainstorming rubric can be used to assess the group's willingness and ability to contribute information. A cooperative group rubric (See example
1 or example
2) can be used to assess group participation. Students might
also be assessed on their ability to apply information gained through
the literature in creating their classroom behavior contract..
Submitted By
Joanne Hughes, Covert Avenue Elementary
School in Elmont, New York
Originally published 04/24/2003
Links last updated 09/10/2004
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