Stop Bullying!

Schools are a primary place where bullying can happen. Helping to establish a supportive and safe school climate where all students are accepted and knowing how to respond when bullying happens are key to making sure all students are able to learn and grow. There are many tools on StopBullying.gov specific for teachers, administrators, and other school staff.

Resources

• Learn what bullying is and what it is not. Many behaviors that look like bullying may be just as serious, but may require different response strategies. You can also learn about what to look for as warning signs that some of your students might be involved in bullying and who might be at more risk for being involved. Know about special considerations for specific groups.
• Establish a safe school climate. Often the first step to preventing bullying is making sure the students, teachers, and administrators alike are educated about bullying. Tools like the School Bus Drivers Training and Classroom Teacher Training can help. For kids, tools like these webisodes can help them learn about bullying.
• Learn how to engage parents and youth in the building a positive school climate. Learning how to talk about bullying with youth is a critical step.
• Know about your obligations under your state’s anti-bullying law. Learn also about federal laws that require schools to address harassment based on race, color, national origin, sex, and disabilities. Work to establish rules and policies to help let the entire school community know the expectations around bullying and procedures to report and investigate when something happens.
• Assess bullying in your school and understand how your school compares to national rates of bullying.
• Respond when bullying happens. Learn how to stop it on the spot, find out what happened, and support all students involved.

Lesson Plans

• Lesson Plan for Elementary School Children Students in grades 2-6 learn what they can do when they see bullying or are bullied.
• A Bad Case of Bullying: Using Literature Response Groups
  Students in grades 3-5 respond to a story by writing and telling about a time they had a similar experience as one of the characters in A Bad Case of Stripes.
• No Place for Bullies
  Students in grades 3-12 reflect on bullying in their schools and community and suggest solutions to the problem.
• April Fools!
  Students in grades 6-8 reflect on their reactions to practical jokes and compare good jokes with bullying and harassment.
• A High-Interest Novel Helps Struggling Readers Confront Bullying in Schools
  Students in grades 9-12 read The Bully by Paul Langan, a realistic, high-interest novel, and discuss bullying and consider what they can do to prevent bullying.
• ‘A Troubling Trend’: Discussing Bullying and Antigay Attitudes
  Students in grades 6-12 discuss recent suicides that have occurred as a result of antigay bullying and complete a campaign to foster safety and acceptance in their own school.

Activities

• Stopbullying.gov
  Students in grades K-5 will find information on bullying and cyberbullying, a series of webisodes on bullying and games. The site includes resources for adults as well.
• Get Ready for Bullying Awareness Week!
  Students in grades K-12 promote school-wide awareness of bullying issues by creating anti-bullying posters.
• Conflict Resolution: Activity Ideas
  Students in grades 2-5 can use these activities to practice skills in resolving conflicts with bullies and help them think critically about logical resolutions.

Background Resources

• Articles about Bullies
  Archived articles about bullying and cyberbullying, including commentary, published in The New York Times.
• Kids against Bullying
  A website for teens.
• School Violence
  Provides lessons on school violence.
• Bullying Guide (PDF,1.5 MB, 6 PP)
  PBS teacher guide for In the Mix, a TV show about teens made by teens.
• Stop Bullying…Take A Stand!
  Bullying and cyberbullying and what to do if you are a victim.
• Bully Prevention ( PDF, 1.65 MB, 52 PP)
  Educator instructions for using the Positive Behavior Support system. (PBS)
• Olweus Bullying Prevention Program from Hazelden & Clemson University
  Bullying resources from a leading bullying researcher.

Audio & Video

• Anti Bullying Network: Resources
  Audio, databases, publications, and recommended websites.
• Hazelden – An Overview of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program
• The Olweus Bullying Prevention Program in Action 2 Parts

Books

FOR EDUCATORS AND PARENTS

• Bullying at School: What We Know and What We Can Do by Dan Olweus (Wiley-Blackwell, 1993)
• The Bully, the Bullied, and the Bystander: From Preschool to HighSchool–How Parents and Teachers Can Help Break the Cycle (Updated Edition) by Barbara Coloroso (Harper-Collins, 2008)
• Bullyproof Your Child For Life: Protect Your Child from Teasing, Taunting, and Bullying for Good by Joel Haber and Jenna Glatzer (Penguin Group, 2007)
• Why Good Kids Act Cruel: The Hidden Truth about the Pre-Teen Years by Carl E. Pickhardt (Sourcebooks, Inc., 2010)
• Real Life Bully Prevention for Real Kids: 50 Ways to Help Elementary and Middle School Students by Catherine DePino and Lori Evans (Rowman & Littlefield Education, 2009)
• No Kidding About Bullying: 125 Ready-to-Use Activities to Help Kids Manage Anger, Resolve Conflicts, Build Empathy, and Get Along by Naomi Drew (Free Spirit Publishing, Inc., 2011)

FOR KIDS

• Sorry! by Trudy Ludwig and Maurie J. Manning (Tricycle Press, 2006)
• My Secret Bully by Tracy Ludwig and Abigail Marble (Riverwood Press, 2004)
• The Recess Queen by Alexis O’Neill and Laura Huliska-Beith (Scholastic Press, 2002)
• Cliques, Phonies, & Other Baloney by Trevor Romain (Free Spirit Publishing, 1998)
• Just Kidding by Trudy Ludwig and Adam Gustavson (Tricycle Press, 2006)