| As a follow-up activity
to Thursday's Count On Me multimedia presentation, Kristin
Moffitt's second-grade class had a riveting lesson about bullying.
Mrs. Moffitt read aloud the book, My Secret Bully, by Trudy Ludwig,
in which Monica's friend Katie begins to call her names and humiliate
her in front of other kids at school. Monica feels understandably
betrayed and isolated, but with help from her mother, this courageous
girl reclaims her power and decides with confidence how she can
best deal with a bully disguised as her friend. |
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But the bullying lesson didn't end there.
First, the class defined the word bully. Mrs. Moffitt then engaged
the children with reflective questions like, "Are you a
bully?, How does it feel to be bullied?, and How do you stop
a bully?" After a large-group discussion, students answered
these questions one-on-one with the teacher and she wrote down
their responses for their class bulletin board. They also wrote
and illustrated BULLY acrostics for display.
My Secret Bully and The Bully Free Classroom
by Allan L. Beane are available for check-out in Mrs. Gruener's
office. Additionally, there are many great organizations and
websites dedicated to helping combat bullying; here are two sites
worth visiting: www.bullying.org
and www.stopbullyingnow.com.
Often times, it's hurt kids that hurt kids. If bullying is an
issue for your child, whether in the role of victim or bully,
please contact his or her teacher or Mrs. Gruener for assistance.
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