Shakespeare Made Fun

 

You’ve likely heard your students complain about Shakespeare before. Every teacher has. He is hard to read. His work is boring. His work is not easily relatable. As a teacher, you know these complaints are quite untrue except perhaps for the difficulty in reading Shakespeare’s English. But how do you share the joy of Shakespeare’s work with your students while still making it fun? This article will explore several Shakespeare-themed activities which you and your students can do, and at the end if they still do not like Shakespeare, at least they will be able to say they had fun and learned about this brilliant wordsmith anyhow.

 

All The World is a Stage

Set the stage. If you are going to study Hamlet, for example, turn off the classroom lights, and set LED tea lights on tables and desks throughout the classroom to give the feel of a dark, slightly spooky night. Be sure to set the tea lights somewhere where they are not a distraction to students. You could even create a night backdrop. If you are going to teach Romeo and Juliet, you could create a scene that looks like the iconic window. Use inexpensive props, and your classroom will look like a Shakespeare set in no time. As a bonus, students will realize something is different, and will likely pay more attention.

 

Playlists

As you study the sections of a Shakespeare play, make sure to ask your students their thoughts on the characters. Discuss the character’s motives and personalities so that your class gets to know the characters. Then ask them to do a 3-5 song playlist of their favorite characters. With each song choice, ask them to include a two-paragraph mini essay explaining why they chose the song they chose. If you wanted, you could even ask them to properly cite song lyrics. Your students will much more easily remember that Justin Bieber was Romeo than simply answering questions about who Romeo killed on a reading quiz.

 

Hamlet’s Father

If you are studying Hamlet, you could have a discussion of the various ways to create Hamlet’s father’s ghost. Have your students discuss various ways of creating the ghost, including puppets, bedsheets ghosts, and anything else your students think up. Then discuss how the ghost was created in Shakespeare’s time. Be sure to discuss what makes the ghost foreboding.

 

Perform a Mini Play

A full play would be difficult to perform in a small space, but you could perform one scene from the play you are studying. Assign each student a character part. If you have more students than characters, assign some to make sound effects, flash the lights to make lightning or raise and lower backdrops. This way, your students can feel as if they are part of the Shakespeare experience.

 

Your lessons on Shakespeare do not have to be boring! They can be fun, informative and memorable. With the above activities, you can teach your class Shakespeare in a way they will never forget. Also, these are just a few suggestions to get you started. Use your imagination and creativity, and you can probably come up with many more. Believe us, your students will thank you.

Teaching New Vocabulary Words

Learning vocabulary an important part of education and life at any age. In fact, several markers of success in life have been correlated to having a larger vocabulary. In addition to this, keeping your students at grade level standards for vocabulary comprehension is critical for passing standardized assessment like Common Core’s PARCC tests.

But it takes more than copying down a new word’s definition for students to gain a true command over new vocabulary words. To help students grow a deep understanding of words, use interactive methods that make your students interact with the words in many different ways.

Here are some examples of ways to stretch students’ thinking and comprehension for new vocabulary:

Offer an extensive class library
Seeing new vocabulary words in context helps students learn new words. Encourage this by maintaining a large library of books students can borrow that are appropriate but challenging for the students’ level.

Identify vocabulary in books the class is reading together
Have students skim each chapter before reading it and write out any words they don’t know and use their lists as a guide to create a vocabulary list for the class. Before reading the chapter in full, review the list and their definitions.

Get students to restate or explain each word in their own words
This can be as simple as having students pair up with whoever sits next to them to discuss, or write it on paper. What’s important is that each student takes ownership of each word by explaining it themselves.

Have students create a visual representation of each word

As a class activity, have students create their own pictures (or other symbolic representations) of the words on the vocabulary list. This helps students think about a word’s meaning and gain a deeper understanding.

Have students create analogies for each word
This exercise is another way to tap into students’ creativity and get them to think more critically about the meanings of words on their vocabulary list. By creating their own analogies, students must determine their own understanding of a word’s given definition.

Have students find synonyms and antonyms for each word
Much like creating analogies for vocabulary words, this exercise makes students use other words in their vocabulary to develop a stronger contextual sense of the word’s definition.

Have students create their own jingles for the words and definitions.
The repetition of these creative exercises will help students engage with the vocabulary words with many different parts of their mind. Even better, a jingle can double as a mnemonic device that students can use as a reminder for words later on.

Keep reviewing old vocabulary words with games.
Don’t let old vocabulary words disappear after the test. To make sure those words become a long-term part of students’ vocabulary (and that they’re fresh for the end-of-year assessment), create games to play as a class that will reinforce them all year. Need ideas? Here’s a good place to start.

When these many different interactive learning techniques are used together, students develop a strong command over new vocabulary words. Better yet, an ability to use and understand these words stretches far beyond the next test and throughout students’ lives.

Using YouTube in the Classroom

As technology becomes more integrated into education methods, utilizing YouTube in the classroom is a trend on the rise. Early studies testing its effectiveness are proving promising.

In high school classrooms in Detroit, a video-enabled flipped classroom program helped reduce the fail rate for freshmen English and math classes by more than half. Additionally, semester to semester, discipline cases dropped from 736 to 249.

Used well, it’s clear that video can be a powerful educational tool. And it’s gaining traction, too—Education-oriented video channel TedEd has over a million subscribers.

How can you tap into this trend and enhance your students’ learning experience with YouTube? Here are some tips.

  • Create YouTube playlists as resources for the lessons.
  • Record class lessons and post them on YouTube for to access for on-demand review.
  • Keep videos short—no more than 10 minutes long—and opt for high-energy videos that will engage.
  • Use videos to bring a lesson to life: Watch a poet recite her own work, pull a segment of a play based on a book you’re reading, or show a reenactment of a moment in history.
  • Bring in a guest lecturer by showing filmed addresses from experts in fields you’re studying in class.
  • Every student’s learning pace is a little different. For students who take more time, sharing relevant videos for review can help students get the extra support they need. For students who are ahead of the pack, look for videos that can take lessons to the next level, keeping advanced students engaged.
  • Take advantage of education-oriented video tools like TeacherTube, TedEd, and YouTube for Schools to ensure quality educational content.
  • Don’t use video to replace lessons, only to supplement them.
  • The Internet, YouTube included, is full of all kinds of content, some extremely questionable for a classroom. Always watch videos all the way to the end before showing them to students, and never let students surf video content on their own.

A Powerful Educational Tool

When used wisely, YouTube can be a powerful tool to enhance students’ learning process. Early studies indicate significant improvements in performance and even in-class behavior when videos are used to enhance lessons. With some mindful application, you can tap into this potential to enrich your students’ education.

The Benefits of Playdates for Autistic Children

For children with autism, it can be a challenge to make social connections with peers. For their parents, helping these children learn to play with others well is a common challenge. But like most things in life, children with autism can improve their skills for playing and socializing with practice.

Which is a wonderful thing, because learning to play does more than keep a child busy for an hour or two. In fact, play helps children build important skills that will help them succeed and thrive throughout their lives.

What are these skills that we can build through play? Here’s a look at some of the ways autistic children benefit from play dates.

Play is a “safety zone.”
Playtime is a place where children can try out different things, such as life roles, without consequence. This lets them explore what they see in the world around them.

Boosts confidence.
Autistic and typical children alike gain confidence through play. Because they have worked things out in this “safe zone,” they are able to more confidently engage in real-world situations.

Improves ability to interact with new people.
Warming up to new people can be especially challenging for kids with autism, but play dates provide a great way to help your child start getting to know new people regularly. With time, this has been shown to make meeting new people easier for autistic children.

Practices important social skills.
This includes social expectations such as sharing and taking turns, which are instilled early but can be challenging for kids with autism to act on.

Helps identify social skill deficits.
When your child has play dates, observe how the children interact. Notice where your child seems to struggle, get stressed, or have trouble interacting appropriately. This can be a great way to learn how to help your child grow even more.

When arranging play dates, plan ahead to give your child time with many different kinds of peers, both autistic or other special needs, and typical kids. Engaging with typically abled children is important for learning age-appropriate social skills.

You can help your child prepare for play dates by talk about what to expect several days in advance, and again shortly before the other child arrives. Put away any toys that your child may not be ready to share so they don’t cause an issue, and to start, stick to activities your child knows well and enjoys—s/he is already doing on new thing! Shorter play dates are better to start, even just 30 minutes or shorter, to help your child adjust.

Over time, your child will become more comfortable in play dates, and be able to do more. Along the way, they’ll build important skills that will help them make friends, adjust socially, and live happy, full lives.

15 Tips for Teaching the Highly Functioning ASD Child

The needs of a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the classroom can be very different from those of typical students in the class—even high-functioning ASD students require extra, and often, different kinds of support compared to typical students.

ASD students have unique challenges including difficulty reading social situations and making friends; adapting to changes in their routines; and remembering complex ideas or directions; among other things.

These unique challenges of ASD students require a different kind of support than the typical student, and often more support. Here are some ways that teachers can give their high-functioning ASD/Asperger’s student support to help him/her succeed in the classroom:

  1. ASD students can benefit from opportunities to socialize with other students—when the engagement is structured, such as offering a group game to play.
  2. Seat the ASD student next to an appropriate buddy who can share notes and provide a friendly, patient presence.
  3. Give your ASD student directions in writing when working independently.
  4. Offer visual cues like underlining or highlighting to help draw the child’s attention to the most important parts of test directions or homework assignments.
  5. Break complex or long projects into simpler tasks.
  6. Break down worksheets and long tests so there are fewer questions on each page. This gives the ASD student more room to write, while also letting him/her digest smaller amounts of information at once.
  7. ASD students often have very strong interests in certain areas. Implement those interests to keep them engaged while learning new concepts.
  8. If possible, work with your ASD student on keyboarding skills and let him/her take notes on a laptop instead of with pen and paper. Many ASD children have difficulty writing, which does not improve with practice.
  9. Provide a written/illustrated schedule for the ASD student to help them navigate through the day. If there is a change to the normal schedule, give the student early and frequent warning of the change.
  10. Allow the ASD student to fidget—such as chewing gum, doodling, or squeezing a ball—as this can actually help him/her maintain focus.
  11. When you see the ASD student getting restless, move so that you are positioned nearer to his/her seat, and offer reminders to stay focused as needed.
  12. Be clear about expectations for any activity before the ASD student begins. Have the student repeat the directions in his/her own words.
  13. A visual record of accomplishment, like a progress chart, can help reinforce appropriate behaviors.
  14. The ASD child may sometimes struggle when there is a lot going on around them. Provide a “quiet time” space s/he can go to for a time-out.
  15. Talk to other students in the class to help them understand the ASD child’s differences in a positive way, embracing differences.

When you find that things are running smoothly for your ASD student, this doesn’t mean that s/he is “cured” or that the issues have disappeared—it means that you’ve found a way to cope with those challenges that work well.

It can be difficult to predict when an ASD child will have outbursts sometimes, and it’s completely normal to feel frustrated at times. Be patient with the ASD student, keep communication open with the student’s parents. With persistence and understanding, these tips can help your ASD student find success.

What is Digital Learning?

As technology becomes more and more integrated into everyday life, it’s likely no surprise that it’s becoming a bigger part of education, too.

The Alliance for Excellent Education defines digital learning as “any instructional practice that effectively uses technology to strengthen a student’s learning experience.” A digital learning approach to education allows more flexibility in the classroom to let students work at their own pace, while familiarizing students with the technology skills they’ll need for the “real world.”

How can you promote digital learning in your community? Wednesday, February 17, is Digital Learning Day. Here are three ways to celebrate while learning more about digital learning for you and your students:

  • Host an event
    Grow awareness for digital learning’s role in education by organizing an event at your school or in your community. Get ideas and support to create your event here.
  • Teach an interactive lesson
    When teachers and technology come together, it’s a powerful combination for student learning. Try one out with your class using Digital Learning Day’s interactive lesson library.
  • Explore a new digital learning tool
    There are tons of different digital learning options out there. Even if you already use some, there’s bound to be something new out there. Why not give one a try? Start with this list of digital learning tools.

Digital tools empower learning

Digital learning is not just giving students tablets. It’s a more personalized approach to learning that is already proving to power better learning.

In fact, data from Project RED showed the use of technology-based interventions was a top predictor for student improvements on high-stakes test scores, reducing dropout rates, and completing courses for students who were struggling with reading, in special education programs, or learning English.

This is only one of many efforts that are already demonstrating the positive power of digital learning. So this Digital Learning Day, pick up a tablet and learn more about how you can empower students with technology.

Using Devices in Elementary Years

When you think of children in the classroom, it is likely that your mind turns to studious heads bent low over notebooks, textbooks and worksheet handouts. It is likely you think of children turning in handwritten assignments, and if they are very young, learning to read and write like you did as a child. It is unlikely, however, that you think of those same children leaning over tablets and computers, playing educational games and sending in assignments that are typed, but this very picture is becoming a reality in a lot of classrooms around the country. Tablets and computers in the classroom offer some very distinct advantages to the elementary school student beyond just the novelty of using a computer in class. Electronic devices such as computers and tablets really are the way forward. Keep reading to learn why this is.

 

Interactivity

Web 2.0 technologies in the classroom are quite interactive. They allow students to write, publish and edit which are important workforce skills. Students are also encouraged to collaborate with other learners who may have different learning styles. This builds teamwork skills, as well as helping students become effective communicators with a wide variety of other students in classrooms across the country. This exercise also encourages problem-solving as students may have to work around such issues as language barriers and accessibility needs of others they come into contact with. Furthermore, this increased interactivity allows students to have an authentic learning experience in a way that is difficult to reproduce in physical space.

 

Accommodating Differentiated Learning

Not all students learn in the same manner. Computers and tablets in the classroom can help every student, based on learning style. Education no longer has to be simply a matter of writing and memorizing facts. Students can be shown how things happen, and in some cases they can actually have a chance to do things hands-on, even virtually. Also, for those students who have English as a second language, or those with learning disabilities there are podcasts and vodcasts, which allow students to have the content read aloud to them, and also to go back and study content which they have previously had difficulty with at any time.

 

The STEM Subjects and Digital Literacy

STEM is an acronym that stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. These skills are all very important if a student plans on entering the job market later in life. It is important to start teaching children these necessary tasks even in the early elementary years. Furthermore, an increase in digital literacy early on means that children, by the time they are ready to find a job, will already be  familiar with computers and tablets, and will not have to take classes on basic computer use before seeking that first job or college education, as many college classes also have a computer component.

 

Learning early use of computers is overall an important skillset for students, and what better place to learn than in the classroom? Computer-aided curricula allow students to become better problem solvers. They also learn to more effectively manage as team players, to anticipate and work with the needs of others, and to positively collaborate with children who may be quite different than themselves. Further, technology in the classroom allows for the lesson materials to be tailored to a child’s individual learning style. Computer-aided lessons also allow for a hands-on experience and incorporation of the STEM subjects into the curriculum. Therefore, having computers in the classroom really is the way to proceed.

Bringing Out The Best In Your Special Needs Students

Every student has the potential to succeed. But in a traditional classroom, it can be harder for students with special needs to tap into that potential.

Special needs students’ success can be limited by the unique challenges they face. It can require a thoughtful effort from teachers to ensure that special needs students thrive in the classroom.

 

How can teachers help special needs students thrive? Offer them the support they with these tips for classroom success:

 

Create a Safe, Welcoming Class Environment
From how a teacher talks to the posters on the walls, make sure that all of the cues in the classroom are positive and accepting of diversity from day one. Be clear that all different kinds of people have unique gifts.

Be Clear and Consistent About Rules
Set classroom expectations early, and adhere to them consistently. When a student understands what is expected and can count on the consequences, good or bad, being the same every time, it offers an important foundation and sense of order.

Look for Students’ Strengths
Speak with the previous teachers of special needs students, and the students’ parents. Ask them about the child’s strengths and challenges. Also talk to each special needs student one-on-one—what do they perceive themselves to be good at? What do they perceive themselves to be bad at? These conversations can offer a wealth of information to give each student appropriate support.

Tap Into Students’ Interests
As you engage with students, learn about what their interests and passions are. Then, find ways to incorporate their interests into the lessons. For example, instead of a typical math problem about trains, can you make one about hockey for a sports fan?

Arrange Desks in Groups
When students are grouped in a way that encourages engagement, it can foster an inclusive learning environment. All students benefit when they interact with individuals who are different from them, but it can be especially helpful for special needs students, who will benefit from working together on class activities.

Show Students Their Career Potential
Students with special needs can struggle to see themselves fitting into the adult world, as there is very little imagery available in mainstream culture to model success for them. Encourage them by making links between their interests, strengths, and specific career paths. For example, a dyslexic student who loves art could find success as a graphic designer.

Break Large Tasks Into Smaller Goals
This can serve two purposes. First, it helps students who struggle to bring large tasks to completion a sense of accomplishment. It also helps teachers measure individual students’ productivity and pinpoint specific struggles.

Follow the IEP
Every student with special needs is required to have an IEP—an individual education plan. This document includes goals, objectives and support services specific to each child for their entire academic career. Knowing the IEP for each student helps teachers ensure they stay on track for their education goals.

Communicate With Parents
Keep parents and caregivers informed of what the class is learning, how their child is doing, and especially notify them of any problems or areas of concern. Working together with parents and caregivers can stem concerns before they become serious issues.

 

With Support, Every Student Can Thrive

Students with special needs may have face more challenges within the confines of a traditional classroom setting, but with patience and support, every student can find success. To help yours reach their potential, establish a positive, consistent learning environment and support their learning process with the appropriate tools, goals and interests.

How to Handle Bullying Situations In School

According to DoSomething.org, a whopping 3.2 million students are bullied each year. Most teachers want to help, but we can’t always prevent bullying situations from occurring, but we can be prepared to handle bullying properly when it does take place.

Here are some tips to handle bullying situations involving your students:

 

Responding to Acts of Bullying:

  • If you witness bullying taking place, act immediately and stay calm. If necessary, get a second adult to help.
  • However, don’t call out other students to publicly state what they saw, and don’t question the students involved in front of other kids. Don’t force the students involved to make up on the spot.
  • Instead, separate the students involved. Before anything else, check to make sure that they are all safe and uninjured. Don’t try to sort out the facts from the students on the spot, and don’t talk to the two students involved together.
  • Address any medical or mental health needs, and get the police or medical professionals involved immediately if there was a weapon involved, any kind of hate-motivated violence such as racism or homophobia, or sexual abuse.
  • Also involve the police if there were threats of violence or accusations of any kind of illegal act, such as a theft.
  • As you deal with the students involved, model the kind of behavior you want students to emulate. Stay calm, and listen without blaming. Speak to each student involved, keeping the involved parties separate.
  • Don’t call the act “bullying” while you are still collecting information about what happened.
  • Whatever you do, don’t ignore the situation—bullying is not something students will work out on their own.

 

Dealing With a Student Who Was Bullied

  • Assure the student it is not their fault. Focus on the student to understand what the situation is, and show them you want to help.
  • Ask the student what would make them feel safe—but keep changes to their routine at minimal as possible, as the bullied student should not be singled out or penalized for being a victim. Work with schools, parents, and other relevant organizations to create a plan to ensure the student’s safety.
  • Never tell a student to just ignore a bully, and don’t blame the student for being bullied.
  • Children who are bullied sometimes struggle to talk about it, and may do better if referred to a mental health professional.

 

Dealing With a Bully

  • When addressing a bully, be clear about what the problem behavior is—and that bullying will not be tolerated.
  • Appropriate consequences for bullying behaviors focus on building empathy. For example, have the student lead a class discussion about how to be a good friend, or read a book about bullying.
  • It can also be beneficial to involve the student in making amends with the student who was bullied. This can include writing a letter apologizing, or paying for any property damaged. And of course, adhere to any guidelines in your school district’s code of conduct.
  • However, avoid using “zero tolerance” or “three strikes” approaches—witnesses to bullying tend to be less likely to report it if suspension or expulsion is the consequence.
  • Group treatment and peer mediation don’t work, either. Bullies tend to encourage bad behaviors in each other in groups, while mediation is only appropriate for parties who share equal blame.

 

Working for Safer Schools

A teacher can’t always prevent a bullying situation from occurring, but how you respond to one can be the difference between ongoing harassment and a brief incident. When adults act quickly and consistently to bullying, students get the message that this behavior is not acceptable, and research shows that this significantly reduces bullying behavior over time.

And remember, be persistent. Bullying is not likely to stop immediately, but by being diligent and working together with others at the school, you can create a safe environment for all students.

Bullying: Advice for Parents and Teachers

What is Bullying?

Put simply, bullying is when one child picks on another child. Bullying is defined as any unwanted, aggressive behavior from one or more children, toward another child or children. Bullying is often not an isolated event, but rather is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated.

Bullying can happen in various ways – physically, verbally or socially. It can take place anywhere – at school, on the bus, over the internet or even via texting. Bullying often involves an imbalance of power – whether it is real or perceived – leaving the victim feeling intimidated and inferior.

 

There are three main types of bullying which occur:

 

Verbal

This can include teasing, name-calling, taunting, making inappropriate comments or verbally threatening. This can occur orally or through written messages on the internet or via mobile phones

 

Social

Social bullying relates to bullying which affects a child’s social relationships. This might include attempts at damaging a child’s reputation by spreading rumours, leaving someone out in an attempt to isolate them or making public attempts to embarrass them.

 

Physical

Physical bullying relates to hurting a child physically, or even hurting their possessions. Physical bullies may use aggressive physical behavior such as hitting or kicking to hurt a child, they might try and induce physical harm by tripping someone or pulling their chair out etc., or may simply use rude hand gestures toward them.

 

National studies show that almost 30 percent of children are bullied, with cyberbullying becoming the fastest growing method of delivering the bullying behavior. Children who are bullied as well as children who bully are both at risk for very serious, lasting problems. Whether your child or student is being bullied or they are doing the bullying, it is a serious issue which needs to be addressed as soon as possible.

 

 

When Your Child or Student Is Bullied

Children who are bullied often feel vulnerable and powerless to their situations. If the bullying has been happening for some time they are often conditioned to feel different and alone.
Children who are bullied are often unable to stand up for themselves because the power imbalance that occurs in bullying can leave them feeling that they are not as powerful as the bully. Victims of bullying often exhibit behaviors such as appearing anxious or nervous, feeling sick or not doing as well at school as they usually do. If your child or student is acting differently, try and find out if they are being bullied. If they are, make sure the school and teachers are aware of the problems, and try the following tips in order to help the child deal with the situation:

 

·        Ask what he or she needs to feel safe and be clear that you are there to help
·        Teach the child to respond by looking the bully in the eye, standing tall and remaining calm. Teach them to walk away with their head held high.
·        Teach the child how to address the bully in a firm voice. Saying things like “I don’t like that” and “Please do not speak to me like that” can be helpful in confronting the bully about his or her behavior.
·        Ensure that the child knows who they can speak to about being bullied – trusted adults, teachers etc.
·        Develop a plan of action – be sure to communicate openly with the school and plan some steps that can be taken in order to resolve the situation. Consider what changes could be made to help (rearranging the classroom, switching bus route etc.)

 

Most importantly, be sure you support the child who is being bullied. Listen to what has been happening and focus on how the child is feeling. Assure the child that what has been happening is not their fault and that they are not alone – lots of other children have struggled with this problem. If your child is not willing to talk about it or is having difficulty opening up, think about who else might be able to speak with them about it – consider a school counsellor or other mental health service.

 

Don’t forget to be persistent – the issue may not resolve itself overnight. You will need to commit to ensuring that the bullying stops and support the child until it does.

 

When Your Child Is the Bully

Kids can exhibit bullying behavior for a number of reasons. This may include copying friends or trying to look ‘cool’, bullying in order to make themselves feel better or more powerful than the child they are bullying or even as a reaction to other circumstances in their lives such as problems at home. Whatever the reason – bullying is never acceptable. Studies have shown that children who bully often encounter problems as adults, including substance abuse, getting into fights and leaving school early.
If your child or student is responsible for bullying, it is important to address it right away – for the good of the child being bullied, and the bully. Here are some tips for addressing bullying with the child who is carrying out the bullying behavior:

 

·         Ensure that the child knows what it is they are doing wrong. In some cases, children don’t even realise how what they are doing is wrong or how it hurts people. Be specific – point out why it’s wrong and how it affects the child being bullied.
·         Be serious. Bullying is not a joking matter – make sure your child or student knows that you are taking the issue very seriously and that any continuation of the behavior will not be tolerated.
·         Speak with the child and try to get to the bottom of why he or she might be doing the bullying. Consider whether he or she might need some additional support from the school counsellor or another outside organisation.
·         Let the punishment fit the crime. Children who bully should not simply be let away with it – use consequences but ensure that they are appropriate and help the child to learn about bullying (you might consider having the child make an anti-bullying poster to paste around the school, or write a story about the effects of bullying on other children).
·         Make sure the child who bullied is involved in repairing the situation they have caused. This might mean writing a letter of apology or replacing any property that was damaged.

 

When Your Child Is a Bystander

If your child or student is merely a witness to bullying, there are still things to be aware of. Children who witness bullying may feel helpless or worried for another child’s safety, or their own. They may start to join in the bullying or they may not tell anyone about the bullying if they are feeling anxious that they will be bullied. Encourage children who are bystanders to tell an adult as soon as possible about the bullying and to help support bullied children.

Even being a bystander to bullying can affect children very negatively. Make sure they know that it is okay to speak out.