In this new video geared toward elementary schools, students from Grimmer Elementary School in Fremont, CA explore the impact of bullying and ways to be an upstander.
After intermediate students share personal experiences, they decide to take action and invent the "Leaving a Positive Footprint" activity, where the pupils paint blue footprints with positive messages "walking" though their campus. Later, they work with first grade buddies to discuss bullying and speaking up, and together they make paper footprint cut-outs and create their own upstander messages to post around the school.
Download the full PDF version of the lesson plan by clicking here.
Bullying
SUGGESTED QUESTIONS FOR STUDENTS AFTER READING THE CHRISTMAS MENORAHS, VIEWING NOT IN OUR TOWN, OR VIEWING OR PERFORMING PAPER CANDLES.
By Janice I. Cohn
Fighting Bullies
The residents of Billings stood up to bullies despite the risks.
Why did they do that?
Do you think that would have happened without the help of people like Chief Inman and Margaret MacDonald?
Do you think that would have happened if Tammie Schnitzer had not “gone public” with what happened to her family?
What were the risks these people took by taking a stand?
What can each of us do in our own lives if we must confront − or someone we know must confront − bullying?
Would you attempt to help another person who is being bullied or treated badly? Why?
What factors would affect your decisions?
What would you want to do, and how would you want to do it?
What would be helpful to you in these situations
Fighting Hatred And Intolerance
• Do you think the events that happened in Billings could happen in any town? Why?
Kiki is an extraordinary Sacramento student who, through her perseverance, strong character, and ability to forgive, has been able to celebrate life, finding happiness and success. Ten years ago, Kiki and her sisters were badly burned in a house fire in their native Vietnam that took the life of their mother. Raised by her father after securing treatment in the United States, Kiki and her sisters endured taunts and bullying and were separated when their father died of lung cancer a few years later. They have since been reunited.
However, Kiki does not focus on the pain from her loss. In her own words, "There is of course a part of me that is still hurting, but not from the fire. I'm hurt at the fact that I didn't forgive myself and others earlier...But now I have learned to forgive completely. I'm ready to move on to my next journey in life.”
This lesson addresses the following SEL strategies and you can have students look for these issues and examine them in themselves.
Self-awareness: Kiki recognizes the pain she felt from years of teasing but learns to forgive others and believe in herself.
Self-management: Kiki gains confidence in herself and her abilities and because of this she does not allow hurtful comments to keep her from her dream of going to college.
Description: This video provides a brief overview of the purpose and goals of NIOS. It includes brief interviews with Patrice O’Neill, founder of NIOT and other NIOS leaders and offers examples from schools that have taken action to end bias, harassment, bullying and create safer school environments.
Directions: After viewing the video, engage students in a discussion using some or all of the following questions:
• What do you notice about NIOS and how it works?
• How do you think NIOS can be used to address bullying or intolerance in a school community?
• Do you agree with the idea that it is human nature to categorize and stereotype other people? If so, how do we stop ourselves from acting on our stereotypes or biases?
• Do you agree with the statement “silence equals acceptance” in the face of bias or bullying? Why or why not?
• What student activities on film drew your attention?
• How could you see implementing NIOS in our school or district?
Student leaders from Del Sur Middle School in Lancaster, California visit a local elementary school and teach 4th and 5th grade students how to be upstanders. Through role-playing and interactive activities led by the middle schoolers, the younger students learn the meaning of the term "upstander" and how to effectively intervene, get help and support a peer who is being bullied. This process can be an effective tool to use with students in your own classroom and school.
This film is a great way to spark discussion as part of a schoolwide campaign. Click here to get the Not In Our School Anti-Bullying Campaign Quick Start Guide.
Closed captioning available for this film. To turn on closed captioning, hit play and go to the bottom right-hand corner and click "CC."
Subtítulos están disponibles en español. Para utilizarlos, haga clic en "CC" ubicada en la parte inferior del video.