Materials and Preparation

• Drawing paper and markers (for all students)

• Copy the Why Care? Student Handout, one per group of four or five.

Essential Question

How do you judge the intentions and impact of people’s words and actions online?

Lesson Overview

Students learn about the difference between being a passive bystander versus a brave upstander in cyberbullying situations.

Students reflect on what it means to be brave and to stand up for others. They fill out the Why Care? Student Handout, create a diagram of the players involved, and generate ideas about how bystanders can become upstanders. They then identify concrete solutions for dealing with cyberbullying situations.

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to ...

• reflect on what it means to be brave and stand up for others offline and online.

• learn to show empathy for those who have been cyberbullied.

• generate multiple solutions for helping others when cyberbullying occurs.

Key Vocabulary

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

upstander: someone who helps when they see cyberbullying occur

empathize: to imagine the feelings that someone else is experiencing

Warm-up (10 minutes)

ASK: What does it mean to be brave?

How can you show bravery if someone is being cyberbullied and you are a witness?

DEFINE the Key Vocabulary terms bystander, upstander, and empathize.

DISCUSS the following qualities associated with upstanders:

An upstander ...

• is not directly involved in the cyberbullying incident, but steps in to help anyway.

• empathizes with the targets of cyberbullying, letting them know that they care and are listening.

• does not spread rumors or go along with cyberbullies because of peer pressure, and may even tell the cyberbully to stop.

• encourages the target to tell a trusted adult about the situation

Create a Cyberbullying Map (15 minutes)

DISTRIBUTE the Why Care? Student Handout and ask students to read the story about Kevin and José.

GUIDE students to use drawing paper and markers to create a map showing all the players in this event (bully/bullies, target, bystanders). Students may choose to show a labeled web, use concentric circles, or draw something more representational.

Ask students to share their maps with the class.

Read about Bystanders (15 minutes)

HAVE students complete the Why Care? Student Handout, and follow up with a class discussion.

ASK: Who is doing the cyberbullying in this story?

Who are the bystanders?

What would you do if you were a bystander?

What would you say to José if you wanted him to stop?

What would you say to Kevin or do for him to show your support for him?

What could you say to the other kids at school who viewed the video and left cruel comments?

How could you have involved a trusted adult?

POINT OUT that people who posted cruel comments were just as guilty of being bullies as the boys who originally uploaded the video. Discuss with students how trusted adults could help, including asking a guidance counselor to talk to Kevin, a technology teacher to investigate whether it would be possible to remove the video from the site, and a school principal to enforce school bullying rules.

HAVE students add to their concept map drawings, clearly labeling their proposed solutions.

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 kinds of online behaviors could be considered cyberbullying?

What does it mean to be a bystander to cyberbullying?

What are some things a bystander can do to become an upstander?