National Bullying Prevention Month: Lessons for Educating Your Students

The impacts of bullying on young children and teenagers, both physical and emotional, cannot be understated. Over the last decade, wonderful organizations like PACER and StopBullying.gov have brought much-needed attention to the issue of bullying. But there's still a lot of work that needs to be done, especially when it comes to educating our students about the issue. In honor of October's National Bullying Prevention Month, we've rounded up some differentiated close reading and argumentative writing lessons, featuring engaging and authentic informational and literary texts, about bullying to share with your students. Sign up for a free ThinkCERCA account to view these lessons >>

Free Close Reading Lessons

• An Experiment in Discrimination (Grades 3-5)
• Calling Someone Fat Names Can Make Them Eat More, Researchers Say (Grades 6-8)
• “Am I Pretty or Ugly” Videos a Symptom of Toxic Media Culture (Grades 6-8)
• We Have to Prevent School Bullying (Grades 9-10)

Applied Argumentative Writing Lessons

• Words Can Hurt (Grade 3)
• Are Cliques Good or Bad (Grade 4)
• Just Call Me Frank (Grade 5)
• Bullying: What We Can Do (Grade 6)
• The Real Problem (Grade 7)
• Words Can Hurt You (Grade 8)
• How Many People Does it Take to Stop One Bully? (Grade 9)
• School Shootings Illustrate the Need for Empathy (Grade 10)
• Bullied NY Bus Monitor Teaches Kindness Year Later (Grade 11)
• When a Bullied Kid Grows Up (Grade 12)

Differentiated Lesson Sets for Grades 4-12

• Bullying: How does bullying affect everyone involved: the victim, the bully, and the bystander?
• Conflict and Dominance: How do conflict and the struggle for dominance affect the human spirit?