1 Family Channel’s Bullying Awareness Week Teacher’s Guide Grades 4-6 Prepared By PREVNet Associates: Harrison Oakes, Wendy Josephson, Dilys Haner, Joanne Cummings and Debra Pepler With the Assistance of: Jasprit Pandori, Jeremy Doucette and Mary Spring TABLE OF CONTENTS What is Bullying? 5 Key Facts About Bullying 7 Dispelling Myths: Additional Facts About Bullying 8 Advice to Share With Students Involved in Bullying 10 Children Who See Others Being Bullied 10 Children Who Are Being Bullied 10 Children Who Bully Others 11 SECTION 1: BULLYING AWARENESS WEEK (BAW) What is Bullying Awareness Week? 13 Family Channel Rally & Contest Details 14 Establish Respectful Relationships – Develop Classroom Code of Conduct 15 Bullying Awareness Week Lead-Up Activities 18 Community Outreach 18 Create Your Own “Stand UP!” PSA 18 Reaching Out to Media 18 T-Shirt Design Contest 19 Caring Kids Awards 19 Bullying Awareness Week: November 12-18, 2012 20 Digital Media Resources from Family.ca 20 Daily Focus and Activities 20 Day 1: Get the Facts 20 Day 2: Cyberbullying 20 Day 3: Community Involvement 21 Day 4: Get Creative 21 Day 5: Stand UP! Wrap Up 21 Additional Activity Suggestions 22 Creative Writing Assignment 22 Bullying-themed Reading Unit 22 Bullying Awareness Week Follow-Up Activities 23 2 3 SECTION 2: FAMILY CHANNEL RESOURCES Guidelines for Using Family Channel Resources in Your Classroom 25 Expectations and Guidelines for Activities 25 Discussions 25 Role-Play Scenarios and Activity Handouts 26 Encouraging Students to Seek Help if They Need It 26 Series: The Latest Buzz 27 Episode: “The Peer Pressure Issue” 27 Storylines and Teaching Points 27 Role-Play 29 Series: The Latest Buzz 31 Episode: “The Bully Issue” 31 Storylines and Teaching Points 31 Role-Play 32 Series: Wingin’ It 34 Episode: “Bully Elliot” 34 Storylines and Teaching Points 34 Role-Play 36 Series: What’s Up, Warthogs! 38 Webisode: “What’s Up, Stand Up!” 38 Storylines and Teaching Points 38 Role-Play 39 Series: Life With Derek 40 Episode: “The Bully Brothers” 40 Storylines and Teaching Points 40 Role-Play 44 SECTION 3: ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Why Teachers Should Care About Bullying 47 How to Know if a Student Is Involved in Bullying 48 Ten Ways Teachers Can Help Prevent Bullying 49 Tip Sheet About Teasing 51 Possible Consequences for Students Who Bully 54 Special Considerations 56 LGBT & Questioning Students 56 How Can Teachers Reduce Victimization of LGBT & Questioning 57 Special Education Students 58 Students With Disabilities and Other Exceptionalities 58 SECTION 4: APPENDICES Navigating Relationships Storyboard 60 Photocopy Master 61 Guidelines for Creating Your Own PSA 62 Episode/Webisode Activities 63 Episode/Webisode Answer Key 68 Tip Sheet for Students 69 Tip Sheet for Teachers 70 Tip Sheet for Parents 71 Caring Kids Certificate Template 72 Bullying Prevention and Relationship Promotion Resources 73 Websites 73 Books 73 Films 73 Public Service Announcements 74 Programming Resources 74 References 77 We want to hear from you! If you have feedback about this Teacher’s Guide or if you’re willing to be contacted to provide feedback, please let us know by contacting us at [email protected]. 4 5 WHAT IS BULLYING? Section Reference1 Bullying is a relationship problem in which an individual or group repeatedly uses power aggressively to cause distress to another. It is a disrespectful relationship problem that requires relationship solutions. Children who bully are learning to use power and aggression to control and distress others. Children who are victimized become increasingly powerless and find themselves trapped in abusive relationships. They need help to stop the bullying. The power imbalances that influence bullying may be based on: Physical advantages such as size and strength Social advantages in the peer group such as a dominant social role, higher social status or popularity and strength in numbers Systemic power (advantages that reflect the greater power in society of some groups and stigmatize others on the basis of race, religion, culture, sexual orientation, economic disadvantage, disability or personal differences such as weight) Bullying can take many forms, including: Physical bullying: hitting, kicking, shoving, spitting, beating up, stealing or damaging another student’s property Verbal bullying: name-calling, mocking, hurtful teasing, humiliating or threatening another student, racial comments or sexual harassment Social bullying: excluding other students from the group, gossiping or spreading rumours, setting other students up to look foolish and damaging friendships Cyberbullying: the use of electronic media to bully others such as: o Using email, text messages and Internet sites to threaten, harass, embarrass, humiliate, socially exclude, damage reputations and friendships o Using cell phones to record images or videos that can be posted online o Obtaining passwords to private accounts and sending or posting messages in another person’s name o Passing on links of humiliating, embarrassing, harassing, threatening or damaging content for others to view Cyberbullying and the other, more traditional, forms of bullying have many things in common, such as an intention to harm and the effect of a peer group witnessing the bullying that impacts victims at different levels of severity. However, there are also some key differences that distinguish cyberbullying from traditional bullying. Why Cyberbullying is Different: Kids who are being cyberbullied are often bullied in person as well Kids who are cyberbullied have a harder time getting away from the behaviour because it “follows them home,” increasing the potential for feelings of powerlessness in the victim2 Cyberbullying has also been referred to as “non-stop bullying” because it happens 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and reaches kids even when they are alone3 Cyberbullying messages can be posted anonymously and distributed quickly to a very wide audience; it can be difficult and sometimes impossible to trace the source Deleting inappropriate or harassing messages, texts and pictures is extremely difficult after they have been posted or sent4 Cyberbullying evolves with technology and therefore must continually be re-examined to understand the impact of new technological developments on cyberbullying behaviours 6 7 KEY FACTS ABOUT BULLYING Section Reference5 Over 1,100,000 Canadian school-aged students are bullied at least once, each and every week Peers are present during 88% of bullying incidents When peers are present, they: o 54% of the time – passively watch o 25% of the time – intervene to stop the bullying o 21% of the time – join in on the bullying When peers intervene, bullying stops in less than 10 seconds, 57% of the time 83% of students say bullying makes them feel uncomfortable Students don’t always stand up to bullying because: o They are anxious about being bullied themselves o They don’t want to alienate themselves from their peers o They simply don’t know what to do or say Research suggests that it is the popular or self-confident students who do tend to intervene by directly addressing peers who bully We encourage two additional ways to stand up to bullying: o Offering support and comfort to the child/youth who is victimized o Report the bullying to a responsible adult DISPELLING MYTHS: ADDITIONAL FACTS ABOUT BULLYING Section Reference6 MYTH: Bullying does not cause any serious harm. FACTS: Victimized children are more likely to report headaches and stomach aches than non- victimized children. Children who both bully and are victimized may be at greatest risk for physical health problems. Victimized children are more likely to report anxiety and depressive symptoms than children who have not been bullied. Of greatest concern is the finding that mental health issues associated with involvement in bullying tend to persist into later life. A high risk of suicidal ideation (having thoughts of suicide) is found among children who are bullied, who bully others and who are involved in both of those roles. Both victimized children and children who bully are at risk for poor school functioning, in terms of poor attitudes toward school, lower grades and absenteeism. 20-25% of frequently victimized children report bullying as the reason for missing school. Youth who bully others are more likely to use alcohol and drugs, and are at risk for later criminality. MYTH: Only a small number of children have problems with bullying. FACTS: A World Health Organization study7 of Grade 6 to 10 students conducted in 2006 found that 36% of students reported being bullied and 39% reported bullying others at least once in the previous couple of months. o In the same study, 4% of Grade 6 students reported being bullied several times a week in the previous couple of months. At some point, the majority of children will engage in some form of bullying and experience some form of victimization. A small minority of children will have frequent, long-lasting, serious and pervasive involvement in bullying and/or victimization. 8 9 MYTH: Reporting bullying will only make the problem worse. FACTS: Because of the power imbalance that exists in bullying, it is incredibly difficult for children who are being victimized to remove themselves from destructive bullying relationships. Adult intervention is required to correct the power imbalance. Children and parents may have to report the bullying to more than one person before the behaviour will stop. Victimized children who told an adult about being bullied reported being less victimized the following year compared to children who did not report being bullied. Secrecy increases the power of children who bully and allows the bullying to continue. MYTH: Children who are victimized need to fight back. FACTS: Encouraging children who are victimized to fight back will likely escalate the situation and make the bullying interaction worse. When children use aggressive strategies to manage bullying situations, they tend to experience prolonged and more severe bullying interactions as a result.