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Words Can Hurt

Grades: 
K, 1, 2
Subjects: 
Language Arts
Philanthropy
Social Studies
Keywords & Concepts: 
Lucy and the Bully
Act of Kindness
Bullying
Caring/Sharing
Choices/Consequences
Communities
Friendship
Group Discussions
Kindness
Literary Response
Reflection
Sensitivity
Trust
Viewpoint

Learners define bullying and describe what bullying behavior looks and feels like. In contrast, they experience the feelings of being helpful and nice to peers when they need it.

Duration 
PrintTwo 20-Minute Sessions
Objectives 

The learner will:

  • define and give examples of bullying, bully, and victim.
  • describe how bullying behavior might make people feel and how it affects the classroom community.
  • describe how helping others and being kind benefits the common good.
Materials 

a read-aloud copy of Clair Alexander's Lucy and the Bully. YouTube read aloud

Vocabulary 

  • bullying: repeated teasing, hurting, or scaring of someone who seems different from oneself

  • bully: a person who likes to tease, hurt, or scare people. A bully often picks on smaller or weaker people.

  • service: help given to others; helpful work one is not paid for

  • trust: belief that you can count on someone or something

  • victim: a person cheated, fooled, or harmed by another
Reflection 

Reflection: Have students look at the crumpled piece of paper and reflect on the book or stories/pictures about bullying. Then ask them to describe possible emotions of the victims. Write answers on a T-Chart or Anchor Chart. Then discuss that everyone in the class has a choice of how to act and react at all times. Discuss how they can act when they see that they have hurt someone or have seen someone hurt by another person.

Bibliography 

Other Books to Choose from: 

  • Broom, Maria. The Village Bully. http://www.mariabroom.com/village-bully 
  • Lovell, Patty. Stand Tall, Molly Lou Mellon. Putnam Juvenile, 2001. ISBN-13: 978-0399234163 
  • O'Neill, Alexis. The Recess Queen. Scholastic Press, 2002. ISBN-13: 978-0439206372
Related Resources 

Instructions

Print

  1. Anticipatory Set:

    Hand out to all students a piece of paper and ask them to crumple it up (but without ripping it). Then have them unfold it, smooth it out, and look at how scarred it is now. Ask them whether they are able to bring the paper back to its original look and feel. Relate this to an incident where a child bullies another child. It is very hard to take back unkind looks, words, actions or behaviors. Ask the children what they might do to repair the paper. They may suggest ironing, turning it into a piece of art, or pressing it between heavy books. Tell them that in just a few seconds they could cause harm, but it takes more effort to restore the hurt. Apologies, acts of kindness, and other positive efforts can help the bullied person feel better--and possibly even become a friend. Discuss what kind of "emotional scars" bullying leaves on someone. Tell the students that in the next few days they will be learning strategies for avoiding bullying behavior.

  2. Read Lucy and the Bully by Clair Alexander. Have students look at the pictures/listen carefully and then discuss how they feel about Tommy who was acting like a bully and Lucy who felt hurt. Discuss how the characters felt during the bullying and after they resolved the issue.

  3. Define bullying, bully, and victim. See Vocabulary, above. 

  4. Ask students to describe situations that can make people feel hurt and bad. Ask students to express how a person might feel in these situations.

  5. Explain that all hurtful situations are not bullying. Explain that bullying is making people feel bad repeatedly and on purpose. Then share the following examples of hurtful behavior and discuss whether they qualify as bullying or not:

  6. Note: Some of the following actions are deliberate, but not all of them show repeated behavior.

    -- A student says aloud in your class that your idea is silly.

    -- You shared your opinion with your classmates during a discussion and another student disagrees with what you said.

    --The same student cuts in front of you in the lunch line almost every day. (B)

    -- A student makes fun of you often because of the clothes you are wearing. (B)

    -- A student accidentally trips you on the playground and apologizes to you.

    -- You ask your friend to sit next to you, but he chooses to sit next to someone else.

    -- Students push other students in line for the swings at the playground.

    After reading each example above, discuss with the students the following: How would that make you feel? Is it bullying? What can someone do in that situation?

  7. Day Two:

  8. Ask the students if they know the verse "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me."Talk about whether words can hurt. Then have them brainstorm how the victim of unkind words might feel. Discuss whether bullying with words hurts as much as hitting and pushing. Ask how they think they would feel if they saw someone using unkind words with someone else at their school. Tell them that bullying behavior affects everyone at school because students feel bad for the victim and worry that they might be a victim next. This makes people feel that school might not be a safe place.

  9. Discuss the following questions without using names and add to the Anchor Chart:

    • What unkind acts have you seen at school that made you feel bad?
    • What are some kind things kids can do at school that make you feel good?

  10. Have the partners share one of their positive acts and one of their negative acts with the whole class. Discuss what it feels like when you are not kind to someone or when someone is not kind to you. Discuss what it feels like when you are kind and when someone is kind to you.

  11. Ask the students what they can say to a best friend to help him or her feel better. Ask if the same things can be said to the whole school.

  12. Discuss how helping others and being kind at school could affect bullying. How would the school be different if everybody said and did more kind things?

Cross Curriculum 

Read about the service-learning project called Bully Awareness and Prevention by Mt. Comfort Elementary students who were taught using this Friends Helping Friends to Prevent Bullying unit of three lessons to guide student learning and action.

Ms. Grandstaff is an elementary teacher who said, "I value teaching service and philanthropy to my students because I want them to grow into humans who are aware that they are a part of something bigger than themselves."

Philanthropy Framework

  1. Strand PHIL.I Definitions of Philanthropy
    1. Standard DP 01. Define Philanthropy
      1. Benchmark E.3 Recognize that citizens have a responsibility for the common good as defined by democratic principles.
    2. Standard DP 02. Roles of Government, Business, and Philanthropy
      1. Benchmark E.3 Identify ways that trust is important in all communities.
  2. Strand PHIL.II Philanthropy and Civil Society
    1. Standard PCS 01. Self, citizenship, and society
      1. Benchmark E.1 Define the word <em>trust</em> and its role in all communities.
      2. Benchmark E.4 Describe the characteristics of someone who helps others.