Materials and Preparation

• Preview the video, “Stacey’s Story – When Rumors Escalate,” and prepare to show it to students.

• Copy the Cyberbullying: Crossing the Line Student Discussion Guide, one for each student.

• Review the Cyberbullying: Crossing the Line Student Discussion Guide–Teacher Version and select which case study you would like students to analyze.

Essential Question

When does inappropriate online behavior cross the line to cyberbullying, and what can you do about it?

Lesson Overview

Students learn to distinguish good-natured teasing from cyberbullying. Students learn about serious forms of cyberbullying, which include harassment, deception, “flaming,” and threats to safety. Students watch the video “Stacey’s Story – When Rumors Escalate,” a documentary-style story in which a girl reflects on what it was like to be the target of cyberbullying. Students then discuss the video and related case studies in the Cyberbullying: Crossing the Line Discussion Guide.

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to ...

• analyze online bullying behaviors that “cross the line.”

• learn about the various ways that students can be cyberbullied, including flaming, deceiving, and harassing.

• adopt the point of view of teens who have been cyberbullied, and offer solutions.

Key Vocabulary

harassing: bombarding someone with messages over digital media, or repeated contact when it is least expected

deceiving: using fake names, posing as someone else, or creating a fake profile about someone else

flaming: saying mean things, usually in ALL CAPS, and often in a public forum with the intention to humiliate

hate speech: a verbal attack targeting someone because of their race, gender, religion, ability, or sexual orientation

Warm-up (10 minutes)

ASK: What are some of the ways that you and your friends tease each other online for fun?

When does teasing “cross the line” and become harmful? What are some signs, and what does it feel like to be in that situation?

ASK students if they have ever heard of the the Key Vocabulary terms harassing, deceiving, flaming, and hate speech. Have students describe the terms, and then provide their definitions.

POINT OUT to students that these are examples of situations that definitely “cross the line” and are considered cyberbullying. (However, they are not the only examples.)

DISCUSS with students why someone might not want to talk to other people about a cyberbullying situation. What would the roadblocks be? Why? Emphasize to students that, no matter what label they put on a situation, if it makes them feel uncomfortable, upset, or hurt, they should talk to someone about it.

Stacey’s Story (15 minutes)

EXPLAIN that you are going to watch a video of a teen reflecting on a cyberbullying experience.

SHOW students the video “Stacey’s Story – When Rumors Escalate.”

DIVIDE students into groups of four or five.

DISTRIBUTE copies of the Cyberbullying: Crossing the Line Student Discussion Guide to each student, and have students discuss the Video Discussion Questions in their small groups.

ENGAGE students in a full-class discussion about their responses to the Video Discussion Questions. Refer to the Cyberbullying: Crossing the Line Student Discussion Guide – Teacher Version for guidance.

Case Study Analysis (15 minutes)

HAVE each group read and discuss the case study that you selected from the student handout (Case Study 1, “Attacked from All Sides” or Case Study 2, “Election Sabotage”).

ENGAGE students in a full-class discussion about their responses to the case study questions. Refer to the Cyberbullying: Crossing the Line Student Discussion Guide – Teacher Version for guidance

POINT OUT that it can be hard to judge someone’s intentions online. Let students know that no matter how a message is sent, words used with the intention of hurting someone are taken very seriously by schools, parents, and even the police. Let students know that they should tell trusted adults if they observe or are involved in cyberbullying, and that they must report it to the school, their parents, or other trusted adults when someone has threatened to hurt someone else.

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 does it feel like when a teasing situation “crosses the line” from harmless to harmful?

What are some different forms of cyberbullying?

What advice would you give to someone who feels cyberbullied?