KEY CONCEPTS: LEAD IN TO LESSON ON CYBERBULLYING
1. At the beginning of this lesson we watched a video from Common Sense Media about the exciting things that kids can get up to online.
2. Then I shared a scenario which involved a couple of children being online in a site which they had permission to be in – a site where they played games and got involved in chatting. But then one day – they started seeing some messages like:
I hate you.
You are ruining the game.
You are so stupid.
You are a dork.
We discussed how this would have made the children feel. We talked about why some people send messages to people they don’t know. We shared the nursery rhyme “Sticks and Stones may break my bones………” and the children talked with each other about whether they agreed or disagreed with it.
3. You’re Weird
We discussed how communication online is missing important elements like facial expressions and voice tone and how a statement like the one above could have an entirely different intent depending on how it was presented in person.
4. Crossing the Line
We placed a line down the centre of the room and the students had to position themselves in certain positions depending on whether they thought a message was ok, borderline or not ok.
5. Importance of engaging consciously and positively
At the end we watched this clip and had the lyrics in front of us too.