Bullying, Teasing, and Harassment

V1.2.1 Describe the difference between bullying and teasing. (HBO 3)

V1.5.5 Describe the difference between bullying and teasing. (HBO 3)

MEH1.2.6 Explain why it is wrong to tease or bully others. (HBO 8)

Students will be able to accurately define teasing.

Students will be able to identify that bullying is wrong because bullies try to break self-esteem and self-confidence.

Students will be able to accurately identify at least one example of bullying, teasing, or harassment.

I can define teasing.

I know that bullying is wrong because it hurts my self-confidence and self-esteem.

Example identification

Exit Ticket

Bullying: when someone uses words or actions to make you feel scared or unsafe

Harassment: when someone is bullied because they belong to a certain group

Read aloud the definitions of “Self-Confidence” and “Self-Esteem”.

“Self-Esteem means feeling good about yourself.”

“Self-Confidence is knowing I can do things.”

Say: “Today we will learn about something that can really hurt our self-esteem and self-confidence. Today we are going to learn about bullying.”  Write the word “Bullying” on the whiteboard.

Say: “Today I have some new words to show you. These words have a different purpose than the words than the words we’ve been using. I wonder how these words will make you feel?” [Begin placing Bullying Words on the table in front of students, saying each word as you place it down].

Closely monitor student reactions. Give students a few moments to consider the words you’ve introduced. Ask: “How do these words make you feel?” Write student answers on the whiteboard around where you’ve written “bullying”. Ask for a show of hands: “Who would like to glue these words to their poster?” Pause for a few moments. Encourage students to confidently state that they do not want these words on their poster. 

Modification: Use the “Either/Or” feeling words to help students identify the feelings associated with the “bullying” words the teacher places on the table in the first part of the introduction. Ask students to select between emotions. Once the negative emotion is selected, tape it to the whiteboard. 

Sit down at the table with your students. Say: “We’ve spent the last four classes building up our self-esteem and self-confidence. So, why are we doing this? Why are we looking at words that break our self-esteem or hurt our self-confidence?” Solicit answers. Look for answers like: So we know what bullying feels like. So we know what bullies do. So we know how self-esteem and self-confidence can be broken. So we don’t use these words. 

Say: “Bullies use a lot of tools to hurt our feelings and break our self-confidence. Learning about bullying helps us learn how to stand up for ourselves. Let’s look at some more examples of things bullies do.”  

Go to the board and erase everything besides the word “bullying”. Say: “Another word that is similar to bullying is teasing. Teasing is a type of bullying.” Write the word, “teasing” on the board. Ask: “Can you say the word teasing?”

Say aloud the following definitions: “Teasing is when someone says or does something that makes you feel bad about yourself. Bullying is when someone uses words or actions to make you feel scared or unsafe.” Write these definitions on the board. 

Say: another word that is similar to “bullying” and “teasing” is “harassment”. Say: “harassment” is another type of bullying. Write the word, “harassment” on the board. Ask: can you say the word “harassment?”. 

Say aloud the following definition: “Harassment is when someone is bullied because they belong to certain groups.” Write this definition on the board. Say: “Sometimes people are bullied because of their differences. If someone is bullied because they are gay, because they are a woman, because they have a different skin tone, or because they have a disability, this is called harassment.” 

Ask students to decide if each example below is an example of “bullying” or “teasing”.

Make sure students can still see the definition, and give students the following examples:

• Here are some examples of bullying, teasing, and harassment:
  • John pushes Kat down [bullying]. 
  • Gabriella calls Trevor ugly [teasing]. 
  • Josh keeps poking George even after George asks him to stop [bullying].
  • Pam laughs and points at Juan when Juan answers a question [teasing].
  • Jean teases her classmate because she found out that he is gay [harassment].

Note: Look into the supplemental materials for more activities aimed specifically at harassment.

2. Pass out one set of “Answer Cards” to each student and teacher. Say: “Everyone hold up their Bullying, Teasing, and Harassment card.” Teachers hold up their card to model what to do. Ensure that each student is able to follow the prompt. Say: “Now, hold up your Not Bullying card.” Teachers hold up their card to model what to do.

3. Show each example card. Clearly and slowly read the caption accompanying the picture, or hold up the picture (if no caption) so that everyone can see. Pause. Ask students if they would like you to read it again, or if they are ready to vote. Ask students to vote. Say: “Is this bullying, teasing, or harassment? Or, is it none of them?” 

4. Discuss. In the example cards you will find all but three describe a bullying scenario. If the example does describe bullying, teasing, or harassment, ask: “How would this make you feel?” Say: “Bullying makes us feel bad. Bullying breaks our self-esteem and our self-confidence. Bullying is not okay.”

5. If the example does not describe bullying, teasing, or harassment, ask: “Why is this not bullying?”

• • In the “Mattie” example, say: “Mattie bumped into Kerry by accident. Making a mistake is not bullying. Mattie is not a bully.”
  • In the “Janet” example, say: “Janet is feeling nervous. She is afraid that people will laugh at her, but no one is bullying her. Feeling worried is not the same as being bullied.”
  • In the “Alice” example, say: “Alice is being silly. Alice wants people to laugh. People are laughing because Alice is funny, Alice is not being bullied.”

Ask: “What does it feel like to be bullied?”

Ask: “What happens to our self-esteem and our self-confidence when we are bullied?”

Pass out the Exit Tickets for students to complete.

Bullying Think, Pair, Share: Ask: “Can you think of a time when you’ve been bullied? Or a time when you’ve seen bullying? If you can’t, can you think of a time when you’ve seen bullying on television?” Give students a moment to think. 

Then, pair up students. Say: “Talk to your partner about your answer. On a piece of paper, write down one or two examples of bullying.” Let students work for five minutes or so. 

Finally, share examples aloud. Make a list on the board. This is a good way to get students to engage with one another and also gives you feedback about the types of bullying that students are experiencing. 

Bullying and Teasing PowerPoint: Go through the PowerPoint with students and discuss each panel. Find suggestions for discussions in the “notes” included in the PowerPoint. 

My Book About Bullying: Each student receives a blank “My Book About Bullying” and the associated “Bullying Packet”. Students work to create their own “My Book About Bullying” by cutting answers out of the packet and gluing them to the correct page in their book. Go through each page with students slowly and discuss.

Why Bully? PowerPoint: This PowerPoint is designed to help students understand the reasons that people may bully others. This can be an important conversation starter for many students. 

Definition Cards of Bullying and Teasing: Students may benefit from a discussion that differentiates teasing from bullying. Use these definition cards to help students get clarity and see some clear examples.

Harassment PowerPoint: Students may benefit from this PowerPoint that describes harassment in greater detail. Use the Teacher Notes to help you conduct the class. Note that this PowerPoint teaches that harassment describes bullying done to individuals from protected classes. Students may be familiar with “sexual harassment” and may get confused by the distinction. Point out that “harassment” as you are describing here is meant to identify when bullying is about a person’s race, gender, sexual orientation, etc. Point out that “sexual harassment” is a serious issue that we will talk about in future lessons. For now, describe “sexual harassment” simply as: when people say or do things in a sexual way that are unwanted.