Bullying

Marisa Copeland, Eric Olivo, and

Jessica Ronchetti,
In Service Lesson Plan Agenda
● Topic: Bullying
● Target Audience: Junior High School student, ages approximately 11-14 years old
● Time: Approximately 55 minutes
○ Introduction to bullying with statistics – 5 minutes
○ Types of bullying- 5 minutes
○ Cyberbullying quiz- 2 minutes
○ Bullying consequences- 5 minutes
○ Facts about bullying and Junior High – 2 minutes
○ Bryan Stow story and pledge video- 8 minutes
○ Bully Dance Video- 10 minutes
○ Role play and critique- 10 minutes
○ See Something, Say Something- 3 minutes
○ Be the Change Video- 3 minutes
○ Closing Thoughts- 2 minutes
○ Resources – no time given
What is Bullying?
● Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged
children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance.
● The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over
time.
● Both kids who are bullied and who bully others may have serious,
lasting problems.
● Bullying must include:
○ Imbalance of power- physical strength, popularity, access to
embarrassing information that is used to control or harm others.
○ Repetition- Happens more than once or can happen more than
once
BULLYING STATS
● Nearly 1 in 5 students (21%) report being bullied during the school
year, impacting over 5 million youth annually
(National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2018)
● Youth who are bullied are at increased risk for depression,
anxiety, sleep difficulties, lower academic achievement, and
dropping out of school (CDC, 2018)
● Almost all forms of bullying peak in middle school, specifically
6th grade students reported the highest percentage of bullying
(29%) (NCES, 2019)

Reference: https://meganmeierfoundation.org/statistics
CYBERBULLYING STATS
● Approximately 34% of students report
experiencing cyberbullying during their lifetime
(Hinduja & Patchin, 2015)
● Over 60% of students who experience
cyberbullying reported that it immensely impacted
their ability to learn and feel safe while at school
(Hinduja, 2018)
● 59% of U.S. teens have been bullied or harassed
Reference: https://meganmeierfoundation.org/statistics
online, and over 90% believe it's a major problem
SUICIDE STATS
● Students who experienced bullying or cyberbullying are nearly 2
times more likely to attempt suicide (Hinduja & Patchin, 2018)
● Current research suggests that suicide ideation and attempts
among adolescents have nearly doubled since 2008 (Plemmons
et al., 2018), making suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death for
individuals 10-34 years of age (CDC, 2017)
● Approximately 1 in 20 adolescents experience a suicide in single
year (Andriessen, Dudley, Draper, & Mitchell, 2018)
 Self-Harm STATS
● Targets of cyberbullying are at a greater risk than others of both
self-harm and suicidal behaviors (John et al., 2018)
● Approximately 18% of youth report self-harming at least once,
impacting 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 10 boys
(Monto, McRee, & Deryck, 2018)
● About 6% of students have digitally self-harmed, or anonymously
posted online or shared hurtful content about oneself
(Patchin & Hinduja, 2017)

Reference: https://meganmeierfoundation.org/statistics
MENTAL HEALTH STATS
● Experience of bullying and cyberbullying are also associated with
the development of low self-esteem, depression, anxiety,
family problems, academic difficulties, delinquency, school
violence, and suicidal thoughts/attempts (Hinduja, 2018)
● Approximately 1 in 5 children and youth in the US experience a
serious mental health concerns associated with trauma, social
isolation, and bullying, yet only 20% of them receive the help they
need (CDC, 2019)
● Research has found that about 90% of individuals who die by
suicide experience mental illness, one of the greatest risk factor
for suicide (National Alliance on Mental Illness [NAMI], 2015)
Reference: https://meganmeierfoundation.org/statistics
Types of Bullying
● Verbal- teasing, name-calling, inappropriate sexual
comments, taunting, threatening to cause harm to others
● Social-Leaving someone out on purpose (exclusion), hurting
someone’s reputation, telling other children not to be friends
with someone, spreading rumors, embarrassing someone in
public
● Physical- hitting, kicking, pinching, spitting, tripping, pushing,
taking or breaking someone’s things, making mean or rude
hand gestures

Reference:
Cyberbullying
● Cyberbullying happens on cell phones, computers, and tablets.
● Can happen through social media (example: facebook), texting,
apps, emails, gaming, and forums.
● Cyberbullying is persistent, permanent, and hard to notice.
● Persistent- immediately and continuously communicated 24 hours a
day, 7 days a week, hard for children to find relief
● Permanent- most information communicated electronically is
permanent and public
● Hard to notice-It can be harder to recognize because it happens
where teachers and parents may not be able to notice

Reference:https://www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/what-is-it
Cyberbullying continued
● The 2017 School Crime Supplement (National Center for Education Statistics
and Bureau of Justice) indicates that, among students ages 12-18 who
reported being bullied at school during the school year, 15% were bullied
online or by text.
● The 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention) indicates that an estimated 14.9% of high school
students were electronically bullied in the 12 months prior to the survey.

References: https://www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/what-is-it;
https://nces.ed.gov/programs/crimeindicators/ind_10.asp;
https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/index.htm
Cyberbullying Quiz
Quiz Instructions: Answer each question.

1. True or false: It’s OK to say mean stuff about other people online because no one can find out it was you.

2. If someone threatens you or says something that makes you feel uncomfortable when you’re chatting
online, you should: a) threaten the person back b) tell a parent or trusted adult immediately c) ask for his or
her phone number d) meet the person so you can settle it face to face

3. True or false: If someone you know is being bullied online, you should stay out of it. It’s none of your
business.

4. Name two of the possible health-related effects that cyberbullying can have on a victim.

5. True or false: Cyberbullies can face serious consequences such as being kicked off sports teams or
suspended from school. Some even face legal punishments.
Bullying Consequences
Students who are bullied are more likely to experience:

● Depression
● Anxiety
● Sadness
● Loneliness
● Changes in sleeping and eating patterns
● Health complaints
● Lower GPA and standardized test scores
● Absenteeism
● Drop out of school
Bullying Consequences
Kids Who Bully Others are more likely to experience:

● Alcohol abuse
● Drug abuse
● Fighting
● Vandalism
● Dropping out of school
● Criminal convictions
● Be abusive towards romantic partners, spouses, or children as
adults

Reference: https://www.stopbullying.gov/bullying/effects
Bullying Consequences
Bystanders (those who witness bullying occur) are more likely to
experience:

● Increased use of tobacco, alcohol, or other drugs

● Depression
● Anxiety
● Absenteeism

Reference:https://www.stopbullying.gov/bullying/effects
Facts about bullying and Junior
High
1. In the US, 1 in 5 students ages 12-18 has been bullied during the school year.
2. Approximately 160,000 teens have skipped school because of bullying.
3. Students who reported that they were frequently bullied scored lower in reading,
mathematics, and science than their peers who reported that they were never or rarely
bullied.
4. The most commonly reported type of bullying is verbal harassment (79%), followed by
social harassment (50%), physical bullying (29%), and cyberbullying (25%).
5. Labeling an incident as bullying can be important because it influences whether students
tell an adult, as well as how adults respond to the student’s report.
6. More than half of bullying situations (57%) stop when a peer intervenes on behalf of the
student being bullied.
7. 6th grade students experience the most bullying (31%)
Bryan Stow
● Bryan Stow was a first responder, a paramedic who saved many
lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. A Santa Cruz local and father of
two, he grew up enjoying his life at the beach, going to countless
rock concerts, spending time with his family, and supporting his
favorite baseball team, the San Francisco Giants.
● On March 31, 2011, Bryan was brutally assaulted by two men at a
Los Angeles Dodgers baseball game on opening day. The attackers
nearly took his life. Fortunately, Bryan survived, but was left with
many disabilities
● Because of this tragic event, Bryan Stow is now on a mission to
teach kids everywhere how to live kinder lives as well as help
empower a change in attitude for kids with bullying tendencies.
Bryan stow anti-bullying
pledge
https://youtu.be/gQMwSSAVnxA
BullyDance- Witness Bullying
in Action
Role Play Scenario
While playing on the basketball court with two friends, you were
approached by some of the older kids who want to play a game
of basketball with two teams. They asked if your friends would
play on their team. You asked which team you were going to be
on and one of the girls laughed and said that you weren’t good
enough to be on the team and that you may as well go and find
something else to do!

● We need volunteers to help us act out this bullying scenario.

Role Play Volunteers
Bully

Victim

Parent of Victim

Parent of Bully

Bystanders
Critique of Roleplay
● Ask the person who was the victim how they felt
● Ask the person who was the bully how they felt
● Ask the audience what they problem was
● How they could have changed the situation
● Replay the situation using the new information they have
See Something, Say
Something
● What does See Something, Say Something mean?
○ If you see something happen that has hurt someone physically or
emotionally, say something!
● Say Something by any of the following means:
○ Tell a teacher
○ Tell a parent
○ Tell someone in the office
○ Tell a campus monitor

"In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing,
the next best thing is the wrong thing, the worst you can do is nothing."

-Theodore Roosevelt
BE THE CHANGE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vAGSSJuE28
Closing Thoughts for Students
● Bullying affects everyone, not just the victim.
● Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged
children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance.
● Bullying can be verbal, social, or physical
● Cyberbullying is a type of bullying and is persistent, permanent, as
well as hard to notice.
● Bullying has consequences for the victim, bully, and bystanders
● In the US, 1 in 5 students ages 12-18 has been bullied during the
school year.
● 6th grade students experience the most bullying (31%)
● If you see something happen that has hurt someone physically or
emotionally, say something!
● More than half of bullying situations (57%) stop when a peer
Resources:
11 Facts About Bullying. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-bullying

Public Affairs. (2019, December 4). Effects of Bullying. Retrieved from https://www.stopbullying.gov/bullying/effects

Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://meganmeierfoundation.org/statistics