Materials and Preparation

• Chalkboard or whiteboard

• Copy the That’s Cyberbullying Student Handout, one per group of four or five students.

Essential Question

What is cyberbullying, and how do you deal with it?

Lesson Overview

Students discuss positive and negative aspects of interacting with others online. They learn the definition of cyberbullying and help the teacher fill in a Venn diagram that compares in-person bullying with cyberbullying. They then read a story of a student who is cyberbullied, identifying the players involved and how the target might feel.

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to ...

• empathize with the targets of cyberbullying.

• recognize some of the key similarities and differences between in-person bullying and cyberbullying.

• identify strategies for dealing responsibly with cyberbullying.

Key Vocabulary

cyberbullying: using the Internet or cell phones to upset someone else on purpose, often over and over again

target: the person being cyberbullied empathize: to imagine the feelings that someone else is experiencing

bystander: someone who sees cyberbullying happening but does nothing to help

up-stander: someone who helps when they see cyberbullying occur

Warm-up (5 minutes)

ASK

What are some positive aspects of going online?

What are some of the ways that people hurt other people’s feelings online?

EXPLAIN

Explain that in order to really enjoy the power of the Internet, it is important for students to learn how to handle any situation they might encounter online responsibly so they can keep their experiences positive.

Exploring Bullying vs. Cyberbullying (10 minutes)

ASK

How do you think it feels to be bullied, and why?

Vocabulary

Ask students to describe the Key Vocabulary terms cyberbullying and target. Then provide the definitions.

DRAW

Draw a Venn diagram on the board. Label one side “Bullying” and the other side “Cyberbullying.”

EXPLAIN

Explain that there are similarities and differences between in-person bullying and cyberbullying. Let students know that both can be very hurtful to the target, but that they should be aware of the differences between the two as they learn how to deal with cyberbullying.

ASK

What are some of the similarities and differences between bullying and cyberbullying? (Fill in the Venn diagram with students’ responses.)

Identifying Cyberbullying (25 minutes)

DEFINE

Vocabulary term empathize.

HAVE

Have students recall a time when they have empathized with someone else, and ask them to share this memory with a partner.

DISTRIBUTE

Handout the That’s Cyberbullying Student Handout.

INVITE

Invite students to read the scenario out loud, along with the questions that follow. Then have students work with a partner to answer the questions.

ASK

Who are the cyberbullies?

Who is the target?

Is this a cyberbullying situation? Why or why not?

How do you think Sondra might feel, other than embarrassed?

Why do you think the two girls created the mean website about Sondra?

DISCUSS

Use one or all of the following questions to deepen class discussion about the scenario on their handout:

Imagine someone saying that they hate you and making fun of you everywhere you go at school. Now imagine someone doing that on the Internet. How are these two situations similar? How are they different?

What advice would you give Sondra about how to handle the situation?

Encourage the following tips:

• Don’t respond or retaliate. If you are angry and reply, then you might say mean things. Cyberbullies often just want to get a reaction out of you. Don’t let them know that their plan has worked.

• Block the bully. If you get mean messages online, take the person who sent you the messages off your buddy or friends list. You can also just delete messages from bullies without reading them.

• Save and print bullying messages. If the bullying continues, save the messages. These could be important evidence to show your parents or teachers if the bullying does not stop.

• Talk to a friend. When someone makes you feel bad, it can help to talk the situation over with a friend.

• Tell a trusted adult. Telling an adult – like a parent, family member, teacher, or coach – isn’t tattling. It’s standing up for yourself.

What do you think the people who are bullying Sondra would say about their behavior?

EXPLAIN

Explain to students that good experiences online are much more common than bad ones. However, just as in the real world, situations online can arise in which they might encounter something uncomfortable. Point out that in this lesson, they can learn how to deal with some of those upsetting experiences.

INVITE

Invite students to share their own stories of bullying or cyberbullying situations, without using actual names. Encourage them to discuss how the target felt. Use the prompts below if students are having trouble remembering incidents.

Possible prompts:

• Have you ever seen a site or a message that caused another student distress?

• What happened? Why? Remember, don’t use real names.

Wrap-up (5 minutes)

You can use these questions to assess your students’ understanding of the lesson objectives. You may want to ask students to reflect in writing on one of the questions, using a journal or an online blog/wiki.

ASK

What are some words or phrases to describe how it feels to be cyberbullied?

How is cyberbullying the same and/or different than in-person bullying?

What are some ways to handle a cyberbullying situation?