Reaching out to Children and Young people through Social and Emotional Learning on the Signs and Dangers of Cyberbullying

Overall learning objective/aim

To allow teachers to work with children and young people to recognize the signs and ultimate consequences of Cyberbullying on the victim. Followed by a long term project.

Overview

This module is intended for teachers to consider and discuss with pupils on what is Cyberbullying; the various means in which it can appear; the growing trends of Cyberbullying and the ultimate impact it can have upon the victim. This ideally will lead to the suggested long term activity(ies). Activity one is targeted towards pupils aged 11 and above.

The Origins of Cyberbullying:

In recent years bullying has been affected by technology, which has become a viable and popular tool used to violate the victim. Termed as Cyberbullying (Schrock and Boyd 2008) Cyberbullying appears where abusive messages can be posted in chat rooms by instant messaging, or isolating the victim in chat rooms. Bullies further use the internet to develop offensive web pages against the victim (http://www.bullying.co.uk/advice/anti-bullying-advice, 2011).

Cyberbullying can also appear through the abuse of mobile phones such as silent or abusive phone calls and offensive texts. Furthermore, during physical fights, bystanders can record the incident on their mobile phones and subsequently forward the bullying event to all their friends. A key difference between Cyberbullying and the traditional face-to-face bullying is that the abuse follows the victim, whereby the home no longer provides protection and the abuser is able to remain anonymous. More recently, victims are being targeted due to transgender issues, sexting and on the basis of homophobia. Whilst the victim can be targeted by the bully alone, in most cases, the perpetrator is surrounded by their peers or bystanders against the victim, rendering them further helpless.

RESPONDING TO CYBERBULLYING: Ten top tips for teens!!

(1) Take a stand: If you see someone being bullied, don’t just ignore it, step in…tell them to STOP! If Cyber-bullies receive criticism from their peers, they are more likely to refrain from continuing and doing so in the future!

(2) Ignore them: If this is an isolated incident, don’t respond! Often this is the reaction cyber bullies want & you become a target for them….do NOT allow them to get this satisfaction!

(3) Never retaliate: Be the bigger person & just do not retaliate, this not only perpetuates the situation, it also makes you look as bad as they are!! It does nothing to solve the problem, only makes it worse! Plus by retaliating, you may get into trouble for something you have said.

(4) Tell them to STOP! : For repeated bullying, if ignoring just isn’t working, then tell them to stop. Let them know that what they are doing is childish and VERY uncool…be respectful when you approach them, not aggressive, this often can throw the cyber-bullies as they are expecting some form of retaliation or signs that they are getting to you!!

(5) Talk about it: DO NOT SUFFER IN SILENCE!!! Tell someone you are being victimized by cyber-bullying, be it a parent, teacher, another trusted adult or a friend. Never keep this to yourself, it does nothing but make you miserable and the problem will not go away! TELL SOMEONE!!!

(6) Save the evidence: Record all instanced of cyber-bullying. Print out Facebook messages, emails, save text messages, instant messages; Skype messages and capture screen shots when cyber-bullying occurs! Show these documents to an adult whom you know can help.

(7) Block access to the Cyber-bullies!! Block cyber-bullies from gaining access to you in every way you can. Most websites & software programs have the ability for you to block users from messaging you or even being able to see you online! Yes, you can even block people from emailing you! Newer handsets have the capability to block preset phone numbers and you can also contact your cell phone provider to help (eg AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile). If the cyber-bullies cannot reach you, it will be difficult for them to target you.

(8) Report it to the content provider: If you don’t know who is bullying you, contact the content provider of the site where the cyber bullying is occurring & make a report. The most popular websites (eg Facebook, YouTube, Google) make it pretty easy to report cyber-bullying as harassment is a violation of terms of service of all reputable websites.

(9) Never pass along messages from cyber-bullies!! If you have received hurtful or embarrassing messages or photographs of someone else…DONT KEEP IT!!! Delete and refrain from forwarding it on to others…you need to be a part of the solution, not the problem!! You can let the cyber-bullies know from your actions that this just isn’t cool or acceptable behavior!!

(10) Call the police: If you feel your safety (or the safety of someone else) is being compromised and in danger, then call the police immediately. Don’t worry if you think you may be wrong, you could be saving someone or yourself! Anytime there is a threat, tell an adult, they can help ensure that your safety, or that of someone you have told about is being protected.

Activity One:

It can be proposed that students positively represent their school against online bullying by creating and designing their own web-site that deals with H1B (harassment, intimidation, or bullying) which will assist them in cutting down on online bullying, particularly cell phone abuse. Supported by key staff members and technicians, students are to use the website to create awareness to the whole school of all issues pertaining to online abuse through social networking, but specifically targeting texting and all other forms of online abuse via cell phones including, but not limited to, ‘happy slapping’ (recording incidents and circulating amongst many with the intention to humiliate the victim) and sexting. Students are encouraged to act as peer mentors via activities such as blogs, problem columns, forms for reporting incidents (including anonymous reporting) as well as supporting victims and bystanders through lunch time support groups.

Posing questions on the positive elements of social media network would be a useful way to spark a discussion and steer it towards the suggested activity.

Questions could include, but not limited to:

1. What are the most popular social networking sites?

2. What is positive and productive about such sites?

3. The technology – I-phones, androids, I-pads, etc., how do they and the internet access help to improve our lives?

Negative forms of social networking, some suggested questions:

1. Okay, so how can social media be harmful? Most popular sites that are abused?

2. With particular emphasis upon the use of cellular phones, how can they be abused?

3. What is the most popular form of cell phone abuse? Frequency?

4. What is most popular in your year in terms of negative use of cell phones?

The ways in which one may respond to possible answers may include-

1. How can recorded incidents of bullying via cell phones that are forwarded to peers be monitored a prevented?

2. The victim may not wish to report their ordeal whether it is sexting, happy slapping etc., in which ways can students act as positive peer supporters/upstanders on behalf of the victim? Tell a teacher?

3. How much awareness is given by your school that deals directly with online bullying, particularly the abuse of cellular devices, such as mobile phones? (Discussion to last approx. 20-25 mins)

A useful approach to steer the discussion towards the suggested activity would be to proposition the students into thinking about designing and developing their own website, suggesting a few titles such as; ‘Cell phone, Bullying, Stamp it Out’; ‘Unite against Cellphone-Bullying’; ‘Team Help-Against Online bullying’. It should be emphasized during each stage of the discussion process that students will receive full and ongoing support by key teachers and technical staff.

Teachers should discuss with students the ways in which they can support the victims and appropriately address the bullies. Propose online peer support via various methods- one on one support; blogs; columns; anonymous forum; live online debates; develop online forms which peers can use to report incidents anonymously if so desired. The effectiveness of developing anti-bullying quizzes and games should be discussed with the students and allow them to create these, again whilst all work would be guided, students are reminded that they will work independently. (Approximately 20-25 minutes).

To accompany the objectives of the website, it should also be suggested that students set up peer mentoring sessions during lunch times (8^th grade mentoring 7^th and 8^th grade students), where individuals can come and confide their problems in person with further help, if required, given by teachers who are mentoring the students. All discussions would be recorded, but kept in strict confidentiality, unless students requested for adult intervention.

Students may be encouraged to view this activity as ‘actionable’ via frequent meetings to discuss the logistics of the website, including arranging and deciding individual roles and positions for creating and designing, research and writing materials for the website, including the title and logo of the website. Students are to be ensured that the contents of each web page would be of their choice, but monitored and given guidance by teachers. Technical support would be ongoing for the layout and design. At each meeting students would be delegated individual and where necessary team responsibilities and deadlines. Again no material would go unmonitored by the teachers. Continual teacher interaction and budgeting discussion throughout the project.

Suggested six month plan, of school website and peer support group

(Aug 2013 – June 2014, 2 meetings p/m approx, details subject to change)

August 2013- Introductions, cellphone bullying problem discussions, plan suggested by students for school anti-bullying website; decide a name for the website; discuss and delegate roles for each student; organizing support group.

September 2013- Preliminary written draft ideas for contents of the website, including list of activities; columns; blogs; anonymous report form; photographs of the team; images, etc; discussion and information regarding launch of lunch-time support group (mid Sept.) and adult mentoring.

October 2013- Second and third draft for website contents; updates of lunch time peer support group, feedback and adult mentoring support required.

November 2013- Website written materials, pictures, images etc. approved and ready for finalization. Any final research necessary; discussion of website maintenance and technical support; lunch-time support group updates and required support. Aim for completion of website.

December 2013- Discussion of website feedback forms; website maintenance and technical support discussion; public school announcements and newsletter explaining purpose of website. Launch and operation of website.

January – June 2014- Regular implementation, maintenance, ongoing teacher support and technical advice from staff. Alert students of online feedback form.

May – June 2014- Evaluating student feedback forms for student school anti-bullying website.

Activity Two:

Cyber Bullying Prevention

Lesson 1

Updated November 2010

800-634-4449

www.cfchildren.org

Steps to Respect® Cyber Bullying Prevention Module

Lesson 1

Introduction to Cyber Bullying

Objectives

Students will be able to:

• Define cyber bullying

• Compare and contrast traditional bullying and cyber bullying

• Recognize various forms of cyber bullying

Lesson Materials

Glossary Poster 2: Recognizing Bullying

Handout 1A: Compare and Contrast, one per student

Home Link 1: No Cyber Bullying Mini-Poster, one per student

Teaching Note

This lesson calls for students to write in their journals. If students do not have writing journals, distribute scratch paper for the writing activity.

Lesson Outline

1. Review the definition of bullying.

2. Survey students for prevalence of

technology use.

Lesson Script and Instructions

In the Steps to Respect program, we have been talking about bullying. How do we define bullying? (Bullying is unfair and one-sided. It happens when someone keeps hurting, frightening, threatening, or leaving someone out on purpose.)

What else do we know about bullying? (Bullying is mean, negative, repeated, on purpose, and shows a lack of empathy and a power imbalance.)

Now I want to ask you some questions that won’t seem to have anything to do with bullying. Just raise your hands to answer for now. Nobody will get into any trouble.

How many of you have an email address? You might want to distinguish “email” here from social networking. This question is specific to things like “hotmail.com,” “msn.com,” or “comcast.net,” as examples. Note how many hands go up.

How many of you have more than one email address? Again, note the number of hands up.

Steps to Respect® Cyber Bullying Prevention Module 3

3. Define cyber bullying.

4. Discuss examples of cyber bullying and determine students’ knowledge of and experience with cyber bullying.

How many of you have some kind of cell phone? How many of you have a cell phone with you at school? It might be in your backpack, your bag, your pocket—but somewhere here at school?

How many of you have a social networking site? Give examples: Facebook, MySpace, or current age-appropriate social networking sites. You may want to remind students that many social networking sites are intended for people 13 and over.

How many of you like to play online games? Again, many of the most popular games are not intended for elementary-aged children. Although you don’t want to use this as an opportunity to scold students who might be playing these games, you want to be careful not to send the message that they are age-appropriate activities.

Wow! Thank you very much. These are all wonderful things that can be fun and useful when used respectfully. I wanted to know how many of you have those things, because today we are going to start talking about how these things are sometimes used to do disrespectful, mean, or hurtful things. We are going to talk about cyber bullying.

Cyber bullying is using technology to bully others. It is using email, cell phones, social networking sites, IMs, texts, blogs, or other personal technology to hurt other people.

Let’s stop and think about how this can happen. If a student volunteers to answer, allow him or her to do so. Otherwise, say: Sometimes people will send really nasty email messages that hurt other people’s feelings. Or maybe they text rumors about someone they don’t like. Or they post embarrassing pictures and make mean comments about them.

Put the following question on the board or screen. Do you know any cyber bullying stories that you can tell us? Maybe you saw a story on the news. Maybe you know someone. Briefly tell the story of what happened. Remind students to not tell real names or specific details of the story. Students may not have heard any stories or may not yet feel comfortable talking about them. If they have, allow one or two students to relate their stories. If they have not, relate a prepared story from your experience or from the news.

5. Have students compare and contrast traditional bullying and cyber bullying.

6. Summarize the lesson and assign a journalist activity.

Now I want you to think back to our definition of bullying. Then think about our definition of cyber bullying.

I am going to pass out a handout for you to work on. In pairs (or small groups), you are going to answer this question: In what ways do you think cyber bullying is the same as the usual, real-life kinds of bullying we talk about? Then how do you think cyber bullying is different from those kinds of bullying we usually talk about? The answers should reflect the basic definition and characteristics of bullying. For differences, look for: not face-to-face; easier for the person bullying to be anonymous; a lot more people might be able to “see” the mean stuff; there’s no place for the people being bullied to go and get away because they always have their electronics; easier to be even meaner because the person bullying won’t see the target; it lasts longer because you might not be able to completely erase it from the Internet or other peoples’ electronics.

Give your students about six to eight minutes or longer if you have time or they ask for it. Have students read some of their ideas to the whole class. Collect and save the answers for use in the next lesson.

Today we started to talk about cyber bullying. We defined it as bullying using technology. We also compared real-life bullying and cyber bullying. Next time, we will begin to look at some cyber bullying situations and consider ways to recognize, refuse, and report them. We will also start to talk about another R to add to the three Rs we already know. We will talk about ways to record examples of cyber bullying.

To wrap this up, take out your journals. Take about four or five minutes to write down what you now understand about cyber bullying. Collect the journals at the end of the lesson. Be sure to read them before the next lesson. If your students do not have journals, have them just do a “quick write” on a piece of notebook paper.

Lesson 1 © 201 Committee for Children 5 Steps to Respect® Cyber Bullying Prevention Module

7. Our cyber bullying prevention lessons will all have work that you will take home to your families. We will call these worksheets Home Links. For today I am going to give you a mini-poster that needs to be illustrated. It also has a place for you to fill in examples of the types of technology that should not be used for bullying purposes. Have students give examples of email, phones, on-line games, etc. so they know what kinds of things to write. You may add color and your own design flair. But when you are designing, I also want you to talk to your family and tell them what we talked about today. Ask them what they know about cyber bullying. The purpose of this Home Link activity is to help ensure that there is an ongoing conversation between your students and the adults at home. This will set the stage for the adult R, receive.

You may choose to decorate the school hallways or other locations with some of the mini-posters to help reinforce the message across the school that cyber bullying is not okay.

Remember, technology can be fun, educational, and useful when used respectfully. We always want to be as respectful when using technology as we are in person.

Family Handout 1

Dear Families:

As part of our Steps to Respect program, we are beginning to discuss cyber bullying. Cyber bullying has all the characteristics of “regular” bullying. But here’s how cyber bullying is different from regular bullying:

• It’s done using technology.

• The person doing the bullying and the target can be far away from each other in

space and time.

• The person doing the bullying can be anonymous and hidden.

• The bullying can be witnessed by many more bystanders, amplifying the pain for

the person being bullied.

• It is difficult to get away from because young people often have constant access to

technology devices.

• It can happen very quickly and be hard to recognize and refuse.

Young people report cyber bullying less often than “regular” bullying. They fear adults will not be able to help, and that the adult’s solution will be to limit or cut off access to their technology devices.

We will be talking about the three Rs: recognize, refuse, and report cyber bullying.

We will talk about and practice ways to be a bystander who is part of the solution, not part of the problem. We will also introduce an additional R to the students: record. The record message speaks to the need to document cyber bullying. This can be done in a variety of ways, including:

• Saving messages and images

• Taking screen shots

• Copying URLs

An additional R is directed toward us, the adults—the teachers, parents, and others to whom young people come for help. It is receive. This R message reminds us to stay calm, listen and look patiently, and support the young person who is being targeted.

If you know of or suspect incidents of cyber bullying, please alert the school staff. We take all incidents of bullying seriously and will respond to all concerns.

Steps to Respect® Cyber Bullying Prevention Module

Compare and Contrast

Think about bullying and cyber bullying. How are they the same? How are they different? Work with your partner or your group. See how many ideas you can come up with.

Bullying vs. Cyber Bullying

Same Different

Using to hurt someone

Activity Three:

Cyber Bullying Prevention Lesson 2

Updated November 2010 800-634-4449 www.cfchildren.org

Lesson 2

The Three Rs and Cyber Bullying

Objectives

Students will be able to:

• Recognize cyber bullying

• Use different methods for refusing to participate in cyber bullying

• Report and record cyber bullying

Lesson Materials

Glossary

Poster 3: The Three Rs of Bullying

Handout 2A: Lisa’s Email Story, one per student

Handout 2B: Practice Refusing, one per student

Home Link 2: Report, one per student

Lesson Outline

1. Review the last lesson.

2. Introduce today’s lesson.

3. Distribute and have students read

Handout 2A.

4. Discuss the story.

Lesson Script and Instructions

In our last lesson, we talked about cyber bullying. What is cyber bullying? How is it like regular or traditional bullying? How is it different? Use examples from Lesson 1.

Collect the Home Links from the first lesson. When you designed your mini-posters and talked to your families, did they know the term cyber bullying? What did they say about cyber bullying? Allow a few minutes to have students recount their family conversations.

Last time, I asked how many of you had an email account. Today, we will read a short story about email. It will demonstrate one example of cyber bullying. After we read the story, we will consider how we can recognize, refuse, and report cyber bullying.

Let’s take a few minutes to read the story “Lisa’s Email.” Have students read the story silently or aloud.

Who can briefly tell us all what happened? Was there cyber bullying? (Yes.) How did it happen? Sarah was cyber bullying Lisa. She deliberately sent out a mean note, she intended for something bad to happen to Lisa, and she encouraged other students to repeat the process. She also threatened retaliation

5. Discuss and practice: Refuse.

Distribute Handout 2B.

If they did not repeat the process.) Who was bullying in this story? (Sarah.) Who was the person being bullied? (Lisa.) This person can also be called the target.

Who else was a target? (The other students were potentially targets if they did not do what Sarah wanted.) Who were the bystanders? (Everyone who saw the email.) How was the bullying repeated? (Sarah sent the mean message to several classmates and told them to send it on to others.)

Was it on purpose? (Yes.) Yes, it was on purpose. Sarah deliberately excluded Lisa and told the other students to do the same and spread the message.

Let’s think about recognize, refuse, and report. We just recognized cyber bullying as bullying. Now let’s think about the second R: refuse. How could a bystander or target be a part of the solution and refuse to participate in this example of cyber bullying? Have students turn to a partner to discuss ideas. Then ask for volunteers to tell the class their idea. Write students’ ideas on the board. (Refuse to forward the message. Refuse to attend the party. Reply to all and say that this was bullying and they would not do it. Comfort Lisa. If they felt safe, tell Sarah that she is bullying, it’s not okay, and she should stop.)

Let’s practice. I am going to pass out Sarah’s email. After you read it again, think about all the “refuse” ideas we just heard. Think about the ones you like best. You have decided it is safe, and you want to write a short refusal reply to Sarah’s email. You can write the refusal to Sarah or to the people who received it. Remember, use respectful words. You do not want to sound like a bully yourself. Distribute Handout 2B. Allow students to work together if they are comfortable doing so. Allow five minutes to write their replies. Circulate around the class and check to see that students are refusing in a respectful way. When they have finished, have students trade their refusal replies so they have a chance to read others. Or collect all the responses and select two or three to read aloud. Discuss the replies, making sure students recognize the cyber bullying and the refusal to participate.

6. Discuss: Report.

7. Either have students do this activity with an adult family member at home, or use it as an in-class assignment to practice reporting cyber bullying.

8. Discuss record.

9. Summarize the lesson.

10. Have students write in their journals.

Remember: “reporting” and “tattling” are not the same. When you report, you are trying to keep someone safe, from being hurt, and out of danger. When you tattle, you are trying to get someone into trouble.

Reporting cyber bullying can be hard. In this story, who should report the cyber bullying? And who could they tell? (Any student who received the emails could talk to Mrs. Martinez or to his/her parents.)

How could they report it? (Show the email to the teacher or parents.)

I am going to give you an activity to help you think about and practice how you can report cyber bullying. Work on this with your families. Have an adult sign it and bring it back to our next class.

Now it’s time to learn about the fourth R: record.

Recording can be difficult because you don’t want to keep seeing the mean messages or nasty pictures. You may feel like you just want to get rid of them. But when you record cyber bullying, you’ll have something to show.

This is evidence— it proves that cyber bullying is taking place. How can you do that? Give students an opportunity to make suggestions.

You can take screen shots, save messages, copy down URLs, save IMs or TMs. If you do not know how to do some of these things, you can ask an adult to help you. You may want to survey your class to assess how many of them would know how to save evidence of cyber bullying. If necessary, conduct or have someone else conduct a short lesson on how to save evidence of cyber bullying.

We covered a lot today. We recognized an example of cyber bullying. You practiced ways you might refuse to participate in it, and discussed ways to report it. We also identified another R—record—and talked about ways to record cyber bullying as we report it. Pass out students’ journals.

Now take a few minutes to complete this statement in your journal: “For me, the most important thing we talked about today was because.” Collect the journals and read and return them before the next lesson.

Distribute Home Link 2, if it was not done as an in-class activity. Lisa’s email story!!!

Dear Families:

We are now well into our Steps to Respect lessons on cyber bullying prevention. So far, we have defined cyber bullying as bullying that uses technology. This includes email, cell phones and texting, social networking, blogging, online games, and even podcasting and YouTube.

In the first lesson, students compared traditional, real-life bullying to cyber bullying. In our second lesson, the students have begun to recognize examples of cyber bullying. They are practicing ways to refuse to participate and to report it when they see it. We also discuss the importance of recording the cyber bullying for evidence.

The new R for adults is receive. Teachers, parents, and others to whom young people come for help need to know how to hear a report effectively and respond accordingly. Receive urges us to plan ahead, stay calm, listen and look patiently, and support the young person who comes to us. To help receive students’ messages, we encourage you to:

• Have online safety-related conversations with children early on

• Discuss students’ personal uses of and experiences with technology devices

• Read and learn more about kids’ online behaviors

Attached to this letter is a sample of a family contract. Please consider modifying it and using it at home.

Sincerely,

Our Family’s Personal Technology

SAMPLE FAMILY CONTRACT

People in our family use a variety of personal technologies. To help keep our family safe and secure, the

members of the family have read and discussed this contract.

I, , (son/daughter’s name) am

years old and a student at .

I/We, , (parent(s)/guardian(s) name(s)

am/are the parent(s)/guardian(s) of .

Student

When using a computer, the Internet, cell phone, iPod, or any other kind of hardware or software, I agree that I will:

Be safe and respectful

Apply and use all available privacy settings

Always use appropriate language

Only use my technology devices in allowed placed and times at school

Not use or post offensive pictures or engage in inappropriate conversations

Tell my parents/guardians of any negative, dangerous, or otherwise inappropriate language, messages, pictures, or other activity on any of my technology

Include only information that is true

Not include identifying personal information

Only allow people I personally know in real life to be my online “friends”

Invite/allow my parents/guardians to be my “friends” in any social networking site where I have a personal site

Show my parents/guardians my site whenever they want to see it

Help my parents/guardians set up their own sites if they want me to

Spend no more than minutes/hours per day/week on this site

Only be online between (time) and (time) each day

Other:

Continued on back

Parent/Guardian

I/We agree that I/we will:

Learn what I need to know about online safety

Trust that my son/daughter is abiding by the rules of safety and online etiquette until I have reason to believe otherwise

Calmly listen if my son/daughter comes to me with a question or to report a problem like cyber bullying

Abide by all the rules of safety and online etiquette

Apply and use all available privacy settings

Talk to my son/daughter about online activities and conversations

Set up a social networking site of my own

Become my son/daughter’s online “friend”

Visit my site and my son/daughter’s site regularly

Monitor my son/daughter’s time online, both amount and time of day

Know whom to contact if I see/hear about or receive any inappropriate messages or activity

Close down my son/daughter’s personal page if I find it dangerous, offensive, or disruptive

Other:

The terms of this contract apply to all other forms of electronic communications, such as emailing, text messaging, instant messaging, wall posting, podcasting, blogging, and so forth.

Penalties for breaking the terms of this contract may include, but are not limited to:

• Loss of/reduced access to social networking sites from home

• Loss of/reduced access to home computer

• Loss of/reduced access to cell phone

• Loss of/reduced access to phones in general

• Other:

Signatures

Son/Daughter

Parent(s)/Guardian(s)

Date

This contract is in force for one year from this date and will be renegotiated as necessary.

Lisa’s Email Story

Lisa and Sarah are classmates in Mrs. Martinez’s class. Although they have been in school together for many years, they are not really good friends. Sarah tends to pick on Lisa from time to time for no particular reason.

Last week several of the other kids in class got an email. It was an invitation from Sarah. It invited everyone except Lisa to a party at Sarah’s house on the weekend. The email also spread a rumor about Lisa. It said that she was not invited because she was sick and contagious. It told the readers to stay away from Lisa and not invite her to play with them or else they would catch what she had. It also told the readers to send the message on to other friends. If they didn’t, the message said, they would not be invited to Sarah’s party, and they would also all get sick. It ended with “I will be checking!”

The kids in Mrs. Martinez’s class did not like the email. They didn’t really believe that Lisa was sick, but they also didn’t want to miss the party. Some kids did forward it to other friends.

Practice Refusing

You have read the story of Sarah’s email about the party and Lisa. Here is Sarah’s email. You recognize it as a form of cyber bullying. You do not want to participate in it. Write a reply. Keep it brief. Carefully decide who you want to send it to.

Handout 2B

Sleepover Party

Subject

To:

Hi Guyz! Hey its party time at my house. Next week on Saturday. Everybody who is anybody will be there, so you better plan to come.

BTW, don’t tell Lisa. She is not anybody! She is not invited!! She is bad news. Anyway I heard she is sick. She is so sick that she shouldn’t even be at school. But she has to come cuz she cant go to a doctor. So don’t tell her and stay away from her!!! Spread the word, too. Tell everybody else to stay away from lisa or they’ll be uninvited and they will all get sick too.

Remember. Next Saturday. And tell ur friends about Lisa or don’t bother to come!!! I will be checking.

C U L8TR,

Sarah

Send

Cancel

To:

Subject:

RE: Sleepover Party

Thanks,

Cancel

Report

You have read the story of Sarah’s email about Lisa and the party. Here is Sarah’s email again. You recognized it as a form of cyber bullying. You thought about it, and you wrote an email in which you refused to participate. In this exercise, think about who you could report it to and ways to report it as cyber bullying. Talk about this with your family.

Report this cyber bullying

Who could you tell?

What could you tell them?

Practice making this report to an adult in your home.

Family signature(s) Date

Home Link 2

Sleepover Party

To:

Subject

Hi Guyz! Hey its party time at my house. Next week on Saturday. Everybody who is anybody will be there, so you better plan to come.

Remember. Next Saturday. And tell ur friends about Lisa or don’t bother to come!!! I will be checking.

C U L8TR,

Sarah

Cancel

Send

Reaching out to Children and Young people through Social and Emotional Learning on the Signs and Dangers of Cyberbullying

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