Is It Bullying? What Is It?

Bullying is a word that gets thrown around a lot these days when anything goes wrong between peers.  It is our job to make sure students understand what constitutes bullying in order for them to use it appropriately when uncomfortable or unsafe circumstances arise.

With my fourth graders I handed out a quick 10-question true/false survey to find out what they already knew about bullying:

Then I created a chart, inspired by fellow blogger Mrs. Sinclair, that clearly identified the differences between teasing, conflict, a mean moment and bullying.  You can download a copy of it here.

After discussing this, I elaborated further on the definition of bullying by using Savvy School Counselor's "The A, B, C, and D of Bullying" poster:

I called out different scenarios and had each table discuss and come to consensus on where it feel on the chart.  We spent time debating and advocating for where it would best fit under by utilizing the criteria for each.  Some examples included: 

• Martin called Tom a freak.
• Each morning Sam tells Jarod he has to let him copy his homework or Sam will embarrass him in front of the whole class
• Sue rolled her eyes at Kendra when she walked into the room
• Every day at lunch Sarah tells Joan whom she can sit with at lunch

Finally, we went through the original bullying survey to see how accurate we were and if we had any further questions.  I made students a copy of both the handouts as well as printing out a color poster of each for the teacher to post in the room.