OBJECTIVES: 1. Definebullyingandcyber-bullying 2.Whyiscyber-bullyingsoserious? 3. Analyzebehaviorsthatcouldbeconsideredcyber-bullying 4.Whattodoifyou’recyber-bullied

INDIANA STANDARDS(Grades6-8).1.2-Identifytheinterrelationshipsofemotionalandsocialhealthinadolescence.(Grades6-8).2.3-Explainhowpeersinfluencehealthybehaviors.(Grades6-8).2.5-Illustratehowmediamessagesinfluencehealthbehaviors.(Grades6-8).2.6-Explaintheinfluenceoftechnologyonfamilyhealth.(Grades6-8).4.3-Chooseeffectiveconflictmanagementstrategies.(Grades6-8).5.2-Explainwhenhealth-relatedsituationsrequireathoughtful decision-makingprocess.

TEACHER TALKING POINTSDefine bullying & Cyber-bullying: • Bullyingisanintentionalactthatisrepeatedovertimeandinvolvesarealorperceived imbalanceofpower. • Therearethree“pieces”tothisdefinition:Intentionalact,repeatedovertime,and realorperceivedimbalanceofpower. • Examplesofbullyingarephysicalbullying(harmingsomeone’sphysicalbody), verbalbullying(usingwordstoharmsomeone)andemotionalbullying(excluding someonefromagroup,spreadingrumors). • Cyber-bullyingisdefinedasbullyingthattakesplaceusingelectronictechnology. Electronictechnologyincludesdevicesandequipmentsuchascellphones,computers, andtabletsalongwithcommunicationtoolsincludingsocialmediasites,textmessages, chat,andwebsites. • Cyber-bullyingisatypeofemotionalbullyingthatcanusebothwordsandpictures. • Examplesofcyberbullyingincludemeantextmessagesoremails;rumorssentby emailorpostedonsocialnetworkingsites;andembarrassingpictures,videos, websitesorfakeprofiles.

Why is Cyber-bullying so serious?Unlikephysical,verbalandemotionalbullying,kidswhoarecyberbulliedhaveahardertimegettingawayfromthebehavior.Whyisthat? • Cyberbullyingcanhappen24hoursaday,7daysaweek,andreachakidevenwhenheor sheisalone.Itcanhappenanytimeofthedayornight.Itcanbenever-ending. • Cyberbullyingmessagesandimagescanbepostedanonymouslyanddistributedvery quicklytoawideaudience.Itcanbedifficultandsometimesimpossibletotracethesource. • Deletinginappropriateorharassingmessages,textsandpicturesisextremelydifficult aftertheyhavebeenpostedorsent.

BLINDSIDE BULLYING!

miDDle SCHOOl leSSON

Analyzing behaviors that could be considered cyber-bullyingAskstudentsiftheyever: • Useinstant-messagingwiththeirfriends • HaveaMySpaceorFacebookpage(orothersocialnetworkingsite) • SenttextmessageswithacellphoneLeadadiscussionaboutwhattypesofbehaviorscouldbeconsideredcyber-bullying: • Sendingmeanorthreateningmessagesorpicturesbycomputerorphoneabout someoneelse. • Postingprivateinformationorfalseinformationaboutanotherpersononline • Pretendingtobesomeoneelsetomakesomeonelookbad. • Intentionallyexcludingsomeonefromanonlinegroup • SpreadingrumorsviatheInternetortextmessages • Postingembarrassingpicturesorvideosofsomeoneelseonline.

What to do if you’re cyber-bullied: • Tell someone.Everyoneagreesthatthefirstthingtodoistellanadultwhomyou trust.Donotfeelembarrassedtoreportthis,evenifyoudonotknowwhoiscyber- bullyingyou. • Do not respond.Lessonsthatyou’velearnedaboutwalkingawayfromareal-lifebully workintheelectronicworldtoo.Ignoringbulliesisthebestwaytotakeawaytheirpower, butitisn’talwayseasytodo.Ashardasitmaybe,ifyouseesomethingupsetting,tryto stepawayfromthecomputerorturnoffyourphoneforawhile.Findsomethingto distractyourselffromwhat’sgoingonliketakingawalkorimmersingyourselfinabook ormovie.Thisbreakcangiveyoutimetodecideouthowyouwanttohandlethings. • Report the bullying to your service provider. SiteslikeFacebookandYouTubetakeit seriouslywhenpeopleusetheirsitestopostcruelormeanstufforsetupfakeaccounts. Ifusersreportabuse,thesiteadministratormayblockthebullyfromusingthesitein thefuture.Ifyou’rebeingharassedbysomeonesendingyou meantextsoremails,youcancomplaintophone serviceoremailproviders(suchasGmail,Verizon, ComcastandYahoo). • Block the bully. Mostdeviceshavesettings thatallowyoutoelectronicallyblockthe bullyorbulliesfromsendingnotes.Ifyou don’tknowhowtodothis,askafriendor adultwhodoes. • Be safe online. Passwordprotectyour cellphoneandyouronlinesites,and changeyourpasswordsoften.Besureto shareyourpasswordsonlywithyour parentorguardian.Beverycarefulabout whatyoupostonlinebecauseonceyou’ve postedaphotoormessage,itcanbe difficultorimpossibletodelete. • Save the evidence. Theonlygoodnews aboutdigitalbullyingisthattheharassing messagescanusuallybecaptured,saved andshowntosomeonewhocanhelp.Saveevidence evenifitseemslikesomethingminor–youmayneedthe evidenceincasethingsescalatelateron.

STUDENT ACTIVITY – Face-to-Face vs. Virtual

Thisexercisewilldemonstratetostudentshowface-to-facecuesthatyouwouldseeifyouweretalkingtosomeoneinpersonareabsentinavirtualortext-basedmessage.

Dividestudentsintosmallgroupsof3-5studentspergroup.Saythefollowingphrasesfirstwithasmileandafriendlytoneofvoiceandthensaythemaggressivelyorwithasarcasticvoicetodemonstratethispoint.

Hopefullytheywillseehowthesamewordscanhavedifferentmeanings,depending oncontext.

• Nicehaircut • That’sasillyidea • Coolclothes • You’resuchadork

Leadadiscussionaboutwhatthey learnedintheirgroups.

FAMILY INFORMATIONIntoday’stechnology-focusedworld,ourchildrenareusingandbeingexposedtothingsweneverhadavailabletouswhenwewereyoung.MostchildrencanmaneuvertheirwayaroundacomputeroriPadbetterthananadult.Unfortunately,withtechnologycomesawholenewworldofbullying…cyberbullying.

Signs of CyberbullyingManychildrenwhoarecyber-bulliedarescaredtotellanadultbecausetheyfeelashamedofthesocialstigmaorbecausetheyfeartheircomputerprivilegeswillbetakenawayathome.Thesignsthatachildisbeingcyber-bulliedcanvary,butafewthingstolookforare: • SignsofemotionaldistressduringorafterusingtheInternetorthephone • Beingoverlyprotectiveorsecretiveoftheir“digitallife” • Withdrawalfromfriendsandactivities • Avoidingschoolorgroupgatherings • Slippinggrades • Changesinmood,behavior,sleeporappetite

How Parents Can HelpIfyoudiscoverthatyourchildisbeingcyber-bullied,talktohimorherandletyourchildknowthatit’snottheirfault.Letthemknowthatyousupportthemunconditionallyandwillworkonasolutiontogether.Talkingtoteachersorschooladministratorsmaybehelpful,butallowyourchildtohavesomeinputinthecourseofaction.

Manyschoolshaveestablishedguidelinesorpoliciesforrespondingtocyberbullyingsoresearchthisinformation.Beforereportingtheproblem,letyourchildknowthatyouplantodoso,asheorshecouldhaveconcernsabout“tattling”andmightpreferthattheproblembehandledprivately.

Othermeasurestotry: Block the bully.Mostdeviceshavesettingsthatallowyoutoelectronicallyblockemails,IMs, ortextmessagesfromspecificpeople. Limit access to technology. Althoughit’shurtful,manykidswhoarebulliedcan’tresistthe temptationtocheckwebsitesorphonestoseeiftherearenewmessages.Keepthe computerinapublicplaceinthehouseandlimittheuseofcellphones.Somecompanies allowyoutoturnofftextmessagingservicesduringcertainhours.And,mostwebsitesand phonesprovidetheoptionforparentalcontrols. Know your child’s online world. Checktheirpostingsandthesitestheyvisit.Knowhow theyspendtheirtimeonline.Talktothemabouttheimportanceofprivacyandwhyit’sa badideatosharepersonalinformationonline,evenwithfriends.Encouragethemto safeguardpasswords.Writeupcellphoneandsocialmediacontractsthatyouarewilling toenforce.

When Your Child is the BullyFindingoutthatyourchildistheonewhoisbehavinginappropriatelycanbeupsettingforaparent.It’simportanttoaddresstheproblemimmediatelyandnotwaitforittogoaway.Youcanstartthediscussionbytalkingtoyourchildabouthisorheractionsandexplainthenegativeimpactithasonothers.JokingandteasingmightseemOK,butitcanhurtpeople’sfeelingsandleadtogettingintrouble.Expressthatanytypeofbullyingisunacceptableandcanleadtoseriousconsequencesathome,schoolandinthecommunityifitcontinues.

Remindyourchildthattheuseofcellphonesandcomputersisaprivilegethattheyearn,sosometimesithelpstorestricttheuseofthesedevicesuntilbehaviorimproves.Ifyoufeelyourchildshouldhaveacellphoneforsafetyreasons,makesureitisaphonethatcanonlybeusedforemergencypurposes.Insistonstrictparentalcontrolsonalldevicesifthereisanyhistoryofyourchildmakingimpulsivedecisionswhentheyareonline.

LESSON PLAN EVALUATION

1. Thedefinitionofbullyingisthatitis“anintentionalactthatisrepeatedovertimeand involvesarealorperceivedimbalanceofpower.”___True___False

2.Cyber-bullyingisbullyingthattakesplaceusingelectronictechnology.___True___False

3.Ifsomeonebulliesyouonlineyoushouldalwaysrespondtothem.___True___False

4.Verbalbullyinguseswordstohurtsomeone.___True___False

5.Kidswhoarebulliedusuallydeserveit.___True___False