Discussing Bullying & Its Negative Impacts with Children

Bullying is something that impacts many students in school all over the nation. Bullying is defined on nobullying.com as "unwanted behavior that involves real or perceived power imbalance." Bullying often takes on different forms and can be happening without you ever really noticing. According to stopbullying.gov "Schools are primary place for bullying to occur". Knowing that schools are a key location for bullying it is our jobs as teachers to address this issue and help to create bully free zones. It is important to teach our students the negative impacts of bullying. This topic may be one that is hard to talk about with students but there are many different resources that can help you bring up the discussion. 

Books are a perfect way to begin a discussion on the impact of bullying. One book that I found that can be used to begin the discussion on bullying is called Each Kindness by Jacquline Woodson. This book is about a new student named Maya who arrives at school and has a hard time adjusting to the school. She has a difficult time making friends because they all seem to pick on her because she wears hand-me-downs and plays with old fashion toys. Every time she tries to play with Chloe and her friends they always turn her down. Eventually Maya stops asking and just plays by herself. Then one day Maya stops coming to school. After listening to a lesson the teacher gives on kindness, Chloe gets upset on the lost opportunity for kindness and friendship with Maya.

Each Kindness does a great job of addressing bullying and can be used a discussion starter around the topic. This book teaches students the negative impact that bullying may have on an individual. It also shares with students how the smallest amount of kindness toward one another can cause a ripple effect of kindness. I believe that it is important to share books like this to students so that they can truly understand that their words and actions matter. It is important for them to understand that how they treat people can have a lasting impact.

Here is a link to more books on the topic of bullying. 

The common core standards aligned with this book and discussion include:

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.3.1 -Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 3 topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.3.1.D -Explain their own ideas and understanding in light of the discussion.

References 

Educators. (n.d.). Retrieved July 13, 2016, from http://www.stopbullying.gov/what-you-can-do/educators/index.html

What is Bullying? (n.d.). Retrieved July 13, 2016, from https://nobullying.com/what-is-bullying/ 

Woodson, J., & Lewis, E. B. (2012). Each Kindness. New York: Nancy Paulsen Books.