Personal/Social Lesson

School Counselor: Ms. Drzewiecki

Activity: No Place for Bullies
Grade(s): 9th Grade

Date: 10/19/15

ASCA Student Standards (Domain/Standard/Competencies):

Personal/Social Development:
Standard A: Students will acquire the knowledge, attitudes and interpersonal skills to help them
understand and respect self and others.
PS:A1.2 Identify values, attitudes and beliefs
PS: A1.5 Identify and express feelings
PS: A1.6 Distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate behavior
Standard B: Students will make decisions, set goals, and take necessary action to achieve goals.
PS: B1.3 Identify alternative solutions to a problem
PS: B1.10 Identify alternative ways of achieving goals
Standard C: Students will understand safety and survival skills.
PS: C1.7 Apply effective problem-solving and decision-making skills to make safe and
healthy choices.
Learning Objective(s):
1. Students will learn to identify bullying.
2. Students will learn about the potential effects of cyberbullying.
3. Students will suggest guidelines and methods to prevent bullying in their community, whether
online or at school.
Materials:

Pre/Post-Test
Pens/pencils/markers

Student journals
Classroom Board

Copies of the article When the Bullies Turned Faceless (found online at
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/featured_articles/20071218tuesday.html?
wb48617274=C113C22B)
Copies of the definition of bullying from the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services website, stopbullying.gov (found online at http://www.stopbullying.gov/what-isbullying/definition/index.html?wb48617274=C113C22B)
Procedure:
1. As students enter class, the school counselor will provide them with the following scenario:
After a school basketball game, a student starts break dancing. A large group of students forms
around him. Some students take out cell phones and take pictures of him. Other students
applaud and shout encouragement to him. The school counselor will then have students respond
to the following prompt in their journal, written on the board prior to class: What do you think the
context of this scenario is likely to be? What details (such as popularity, friendship, etc.) might
make this a friendly, joking situation as opposed to one of ridicule and bullying? What do you
think the students might intend to do with the pictures? After a few minutes, the school counselor
will have students share their opinions with the class and create their own definition of bullying.

The school counselor will record students responses on the board and then provide students with
a definition of bullying, such as one that includes cyberbullying that is found on the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services Stop Bullying Now! website:
http://www.stopbullying.gov/what-is bullying/definition/index.html?wb48617274=C113C22B . The
school counselor will read the definition aloud, compare it to students definitions on the board,
and discuss this with students.
2. As a class, students will read and discuss the article, When the Bullies turned Faceless,
found online at:
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/featured_articles/20071218tuesday.html?
wb48617274=C113C22.
The following questions will be discussed as a group:
a. How do you think the bullying in Megan Meiers town has changed since her death and
why?
b. Do you think that social networking sites, such as MySpace, encourage students to
express and spread negative comments?
c. How do mental health issues, such as self esteem and depression, make the effects of
bullying even worse?
d. Do you agree or disagree with Dr. Robertss assessment of online bullying, that the
targeted kids have no escape. And why?
e. In your opinion, what should schools and parents be doing to help prevent bullying?
f. Do you think students at your school feel like Jake Dobson, that everybody is sitting
there with a cell phone just waiting for me to mess up?
3. The school counselor will explain that students will be holding an anonymous discussion about
bullying and cyberbullying. The school counselor will create discussion questions to which the
students will respond to anonymously in writing. After the questions are responded to, the school
counselor will collect and shuffle all the papers, then randomly read the selected responses aloud
and have students respond in writing on another sheet of paper. The students responses will be
collected and compiled into a typed document for review in a future class.
4. The school counselor will wrap-up the lesson by asking students to respond to the following
prompt in short answer: A big step toward stopping bullying it to make it socially unacceptable.
How can you help to create a place, whether online or at school, where bullying is not a part of
the social environment? Each student will identify three to five suggestions toward this goal.
Students will also reflect on the reasons people bully others and how to remove their motivation
to do so. Students answers to the aforementioned question will be discussed and shared with
other counselors and school administrators, if appropriate.
Plan for Evaluation: Students will be evaluated based on participation in the initial exercise,
thoughtful participation and discussion of the article, responses to discussion questions and
reflection on suggestions and guidelines.
Process Data: At minimum, 90% of freshmen will participate in the No Place for Bullies lesson.
Perception Data: 80% of freshmen will be able to identify bullying and the potential effects of
such.
Outcome Data: All freshman students who participated in the lesson will have suggested
guidelines and methods to prevent bullying in their school community. Bullying and related
behaviors at Kenwood Academy will show a decrease of 5% from the previous school year.
Follow Up: In two weeks the school counselor will meet individually with students who
participated in the No Place for Bullies lesson plan to further reflect on the lesson and to
address students concerns regarding bullying. The school counselor will answer any questions
the student may have and provide additional information and support as needed.