How To Handle A Bully

$28.95

Susanna Palomares & Dianne Schilling

Through the highly motivating and hands-on activities in How to Handle a Bully, students learn what to do if they are being bullied, how they can help others who are being bullied and how to change bullying behavior. Focusing on all three roles in the bully cycle – the target, the bully, and the bystander – is critical to the prevention of bullying.

The 20 group activities with corresponding reproducible experience sheets, along with the 25 bully-related Sharing Circles in this book from a cohesive program and strategy for dealing effectively with bullying.

The first few activities are devoted to helping children develop a greater awareness of the ingredients and dynamics of bullying — the feelings and reactions it generates in targets and bystanders and the possible motivations of bullies.

Next, students are given an opportunity to examine their individual rights, to understand how bullying violates those rights, and to recognize the importance of protecting and preserving them.

Additional activities deal with the importance of reporting bullying incidents. Students identify sources of help and learn how to ask for help. They also plan specific strategies for avoiding bully encounters.

Students then examine how self-talk affects their vulnerability to bully attacks, and practice using positive self-talk and affirmations to strengthen their resolve in dealing with bullies. They learn relaxation strategies for easing anger and tension, and review specific anger-management strategies.

Two simple formulas are presented to help students respond quickly and effectively in the heat of a bully encounter. Targets are given strategies to deflect a bully and bystanders learn what to do to take a stand against bullying, The students are given repeated opportunities to practice these response patterns. Finally, since friendship is a valuable support system shielding targets from bullies, students identify behaviors that strengthen and erode friendships, and discuss ways of improving their friendship skills.

Primary Subject Areas – Social Skills

Grades 3-9, 64 pages, 8-1/2 x 11, paperback