Bullies. People encounter them everywhere, at the playground, in the classroom, and even while standing in line at the grocery store.  October is National Bullying Prevention Month, a time to focus our energies on teaching youth about kindness, acceptance, and inclusion.

As part of the educator community, we know how important it is to weave anti-bullying life lessons into instruction so students are prepared to address bullying through effective conflict resolutions, instead of resorting to bullying tactics themselves. Instead of just sharing and reading stories about how others deal with bullies, let’s pumpkin spice things up a little and put your students in the mediator role with a fun activity: playing Read to Lead’s immersive learning games!

Check out our FREE Anti-Bullying Mediator Bundle filled with learning games, lessons, debates, and projects you can use with your class to teach students how to recognize bullying and how to resolve issues without resorting to bullying tactics. Pick one or do them all. The choice is yours!

Download the Anti-Bullying Mediator Bundle! ⬇️

Week 1: Play immersive learning games

Put students in a real-life scenario while they play learning game, Restorative Justice, where they gain literacy and reasoning skills while learning anti-bullying techniques. Or support students to learn the difference between gossip vs. fact and the dangers of bullying while playing Truthteller.

Week 2: Read about Anti-Bullying Month

Give students this reading comprehension lesson that uses informative text to uncover  the essential question “How does declaring October Anti-Bullying Month help reduce bullying?” 

Week 3: Discuss and debate 

Spark deep discussion and reflection with your students with an Anti Bullying Debate question.

 Extra credit: Watch past or upcoming debates on your local news channel and use it as an example of what not to do in preparation for respectful debates in your classroom.

Week 4: Create a Public Service Announcement 

Inspire action within your students. Allow students to create a public service announcement to promote kindness, acceptance, and inclusion.

There you have it! Four weeks of teaching National Bullying Prevention Month and fostering the skills students need express kindness, acceptance, and inclusivity.