Materials and Preparation

• Copy the Taking Perspectives Student Handout, one for each student.

• Review the Taking Perspectives Student Handout–Teacher Version.

• Preview the video “Friday Night Lights Video Clips,” and prepare to show it to students. (See note on next page.)

Essential Question

How does online cruelty affect the people involved?

Lesson Overview

Students learn about the dynamics of online cruelty and how it affects all the people involved. They begin by exploring a scenario from the TV show Friday Night Lights, in which a teen girl creates a hate website about another girl. Students take the perspective of different characters and brainstorm alternative decisions each character could have made. Finally, students discuss what actions they can take when they encounter online cruelty in their own lives, including how to be an upstander.

(Note: The term online cruelty encompasses what is often referred to as cyberbullying, but it covers a broader range of behaviors and may speak more effectively to teens than the term cyberbullying. We use the term online cruelty throughout this lesson.)

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to ...

• articulate why it’s important to consider the perspectives of others in online (and offline) communities.

• consider the motivations and feelings of all the parties involved in an incident of online cruelty.

• draw conclusions about how they should respond when someone is the target of online cruelty.

Key Vocabulary

perspective: the view or outlook of someone, based on their thoughts, feelings, experiences, and background

target: a person who is the object of an intentional action

offender: a person who intentionally commits acts to hurt or damage someone bystander: a person who passively stands by and observes without getting involved

upstander: a person who supports and stands up for someone else

Note: The “Friday Night Lights Video Clips” video in this lesson portrays a cyberbullying situation. It includes some sexual references, including “whore” and “slut". If you do not feel comfortable showing this material, describe the scenario and have your class complete the handout based on your description. The use of these clips does not constitute an endorsement of the show.

Warm-up (5 minutes)

DEFINE the Key Vocabulary term perspective.

Explain to students that in any situation, the people involved generally hold different perspectives, which influence the way they feel about the situation and how they react to it. Students may be familiar with the alternate term point of view, which is often used in relation to literature.

ASK: Have you ever had a conversation with someone where you had a different point of view? What happened? How did you feel?

Why is it important to understand someone else’s perspective?

EXPLAIN to students that they will be viewing some video clips that show how different characters react to or think about an incident of online cruelty (cyberbullying).

Introduce Characters (10 minutes)

INTRODUCE the class to the TV show Friday Night Lights. Explain to the class that the show takes place at Dillon High School, in a fictional small town in Texas, where much of the activity revolves around the school’s football team, the Panthers. Introduce the class to each of the characters in this story.

Write their names on the board.

•Lyla: Lyla is head of the cheerleading team at Dillon High School. Her boyfriend was the football team’s quarterback. Recently, she cheated on her boyfriend with another football player named Tim. Her classmates participated in a website that slams Lyla for her behavior.

• Brittany: Brittany is Lyla’s alternate on the cheerleading team. She set up a website where she and others at school slam Lyla.

•Tim: Tim is a player on the football team. He secretly dated Lyla while she was still seeing the team’s quarterback, who was his friend.

•Tami: Tami is the school’s guidance counselor. She often has to intervene in interpersonal conflicts at the school.

• Ben: Ben is Brittany’s father.

• Buddy: Buddy is Lyla’s father, and he is a successful car dealer in the town of Dillon.

DEFINE the Key Vocabulary terms target, offender, bystander, and upstander, and write them on the board. Tell students that they will be figuring out who is playing these roles in the clip they’ll view from Friday Night Lights.

Taking Perspectives (25 minutes)

ARRANGE students into six groups, and assign each group one of the six characters.

DISTRIBUTE the Taking Perspectives Student Handout, one per group (or student).

SHOW the “Friday Night Lights Video Clips” video.

INVITE each group to complete their student handout, writing their answers on the back of the handout or on blank paper (each group answers a different set of questions about their assigned character). Have them note any differences in perspectives among members of their group.

ENCOURAGE volunteers from each group to share their responses on the handout with the class. Use the Taking Perspectives Student Handout – Teacher Version for guidance with answers.

DISCUSS some or all of the following questions with the class, using them to spark a larger conversation about online cruelty and its consequences. You also can have students discuss in groups.

ASK: Are actions in an online community (like the slurs on the website) different than actions taken offline (like the notes left on Lyla’s locker at the school)? Why, or why not?

How are anonymous actions – like posting on a website or leaving a note – different from things done face-to-face?

Imagine you were a bystander at this school, watching this situation unfold. What do you think you would have done? Do bystanders have a responsibility to do anything?

BRAINSTORM ways to be upstanders when it comes to online cruelty. Write answers on the board.

ASK: How can upstanders help those who face online cruelty? How can they help defuse online cruelty before it escalates?

Note: If a student says that an upstander should retaliate, be violent or hateful, or use online cruelty towards the offender, explain why this is not a good solution. It can escalate the situation and make it worse.

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 should you think about before you post anything about another person online, in an instant message, text, or any other kind of digital message?

Someone posts a picture of your friend with some nasty comments, and other kids make fun of him or her. What would a bystander do in this situation? What would an upstander do? What would you do?

Aside from a target, who else can be impacted by online cruelty? Who else could be involved, implicitly or explicitly?