ABC

I am focusing on higher levels of elementary. This would also work for middle school. The lesson would be ideal in classrooms grades 3-6. 

 

I am going to begin with previewing their current knowledge in order to understand what they already know about the topic. I'll split them into groups where they can brainstorm a definition for cyberbullying and then read it aloud to the class. The next word I will get them to define is community. I'll remind them we are a community online as well as in the classroom. With community in mind I will ask if anyone wishes to share about experiences when they have been cyberbullied or when someone they know has.

Then we will use the same groups to think of benefits of social media and online resources. We will compare and contrast the pros and cons of digital citizenship. It will be important to discuss not only cyberbullying but also how useful social networking can be. I would then read a poem I found online through pinterest. It's shown above "Cyber Sense Poem. " We would also watch a video I found online called Delete Cyber Bullying. It is a video by the campaign End to Cyberbullying.  I would also like to try this lesson I saw on my personal Facebook. A teacher took a picture of her class with a sign with a hashtag saying something like #howfarwillthisgo (I don't remember the exact hashtag.) The point was to show the children how quickly and how far an image can travel through social media. I would try this with my class and we could follow the hashtag online through Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Trying to integrate small amounts of information on cyberbullying throughout the school year can help children remember it is wrong. We would finish by discussing" what can we do?" For homework I'd ask them to go teach others what they learnt about cyberbullying and then in their journal the next morning I'd get them to reflect on this experience.